‘All Of Us Are Dead’ director calls ‘Squid Game’ creator one of his “closest friends”

nme.com:

All Of Us Are Dead director Lee Jae-kyoo has spoken about his friendship with Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk.Lee reently spoke to South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily in light of his series’ global success – All Of Us Are Dead has been the most-watched series on Netflix globally for two weeks running so far – during which he also touched on the virality of Squid Game last year and his friendship with Hwang.“Director Hwang Dong-hyuk of Squid Game, as all of you are already well aware of, is actually [one of] my closest friends,” he revealed. “When Squid Game hit it off globally last year, I called him to offer my congratulations, but I also admitted that I felt pressured to be next in line as it had already been decided that All Of Us Are Dead would be released early this year.”However, Lee revealed that Hwang had told him that the All Of Us Are Dead director “should be thanking [Hwang] instead of feeling burdened”, before noting how Squid Game had helped usher in the greater global success of other K-drama series.“[Hwang] said, ‘I’ve opened up this door [for you] and you only have to step through and enjoy it.’ I didn’t really understand what he was talking about then, but I do now,” Lee added. “I feel that Squid Game has opened up the gateway for Korean content and also for me as well.”Lee then noted that he is “so excited and dazed” over the success of All Of Us Are Dead, adding that “there are so many positive responses” from the audience..

Earlier this week, All Of Us Are Dead had officially become the fifth most-watched non-English Netflix original of all time, after logging a total of 361million hours viewed since its premiere on January 28..