Making the first season of Squid Game cost its creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, nine of his teeth. If you’re among the quarter of a billion viewers who watched the ultra-violent Netflix series, you might fantasise about how this happened. Was his head locked by studio execs in a ghastly contraption, a single tooth pulled for each day the script was late? Or his mouthwash swapped for corrosive acid when he failed to tie up plot strands? The reality was more pedestrian: Hwang was so busy and stressed that he totally neglected his oral hygiene. After production wrapped in 2020, he got dental implants.
The suffering paid off. When it was released the following year, Squid Game became an instant phenomenon. To this day, it is the most-watched show in Netflix history. It was also nominated for 14 Emmy awards, the first non-English language show to be shortlisted for outstanding drama, and won six.
Its cultural impact was similarly enormous: for Halloween 2020, the hot pink overalls of the game’s guards and mint-green tracksuits of the contestants became the costumes of choice. In Korea, a broadband provider sued Netflix for damages, saying people watching the show were putting too much strain on their network.