By now, viewers everywhere have all been on the “Squid Game” bandwagon; whether it’s participating in viral TikTok trends or cosplaying as the characters for costume parties, the Netflix hit series has taken the world by storm. Recently, at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, “Squid Game” has reached a new height of recognition as the first foreign-language series to win multiple awards.

Not only did the show take home Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama series, actor Lee Jung-Jae won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama and actress Jung Ho-Yeon won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama. Both individuals exhibited surprise and joy at the announcement, as they made their acceptance speeches.

“Thank you, SAG Awards,” Lee said graciously, “and thank you to the global audience for all of your love for ‘Squid Game.’ Thank you ‘Squid Game’ team.”

Jung Ho-Yeon tearfully stepped up to the podium, absolutely floored by the results. “First and foremost, thank you so much. I have sat many times watching the actors in front of me through a screen dreaming of becoming an actress myself. The fact that I am standing in this position today is such an honor to me,” she said before concluding with, “I love you ‘Squid Game’ team!”

Given the surge of popularity the series garnered late last year, the results didn’t come as a surprise to many. E! News reported that as of October 28, 2021, the Netflix show landed at the top of streaming rankings as it was streamed over 3 billion minutes over the course of a week. This is an amazing feat, considering that this beat out a record that was previously held by widely popular shows such as “Bridgerton.”

Following Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” as another Korean title to win a SAG award, “Squid Game” is expected to continue to garner more positive attention as it was recently confirmed by director Hwang Dong-Hyuk that there would be a second season. Although there is no official release date, we can hopefully expect the series’ continuation on small screens soon. Lee Jung-Jae himself has even stated to PEOPLE, “A second season has become inevitable in a way . . . we can’t not do one now, because we’ve received so much love all across the world.”

The success of “Squid Game” has especially resonated with South Koreans as the plot deeply reflects on the ongoing trials and tribulations of the country’s socioeconomic divides. Many of the characters have ended up in a literal life-or-death predicament due to their desperation to survive in a society that can often promote putting financial gain over humanity. However, such issues aren’t limited to falling into the hands of South Korean residents. People all around the world found themselves as victims of capitalism, which may be why the series has been so well-received on a global scale.

JULIE Kim

Asia Journal

The common factor between the three films is director Hong Sang-soo, with whom she has openly admitted to having a romantic relationship.

Strong creative bonds commonly exist between directors and actors, with the latter often serving as screen embodiments of personas envisioned by the former. The Korea Herald has compiled a list of director-actor duos that have gained both local and international fame.

Bong Joon-ho, Tilda Swinton and Song Kang-ho

A still of the film “Snowpiercer,” depicting Tilda Swinton (CJ Entertainment)

The famed director and Scottish actress have on various occasions made public their mutual professional respect and fondness for each other.

Swinton’s appearance in Bong’s dystopian drama “Snowpiercer” (2013) was the result of the actress’ initiative, she said. When the two met at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Swinton had eagerly expressed her wish to star in a Bong production.

“We started chatting like children the moment we met,” Swinton said in a 2013 interview. “I told him, let’s make a fun movie and he said he was confident.”

The actress had wrapped up two lengthy projects at the time — “Julia” (2008) and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” (2011). But her meeting with Bong had overturned her decision to take a long break, she said.

“I was exhausted like a farmer after a hard harvest. But I couldn’t give up on working with Bong. I had been a longtime fan.

“I had always wondered how his films could be so unique when watching them. Working with him, I felt he was someone who structured a film perfectly but who also had an intense energy.”

Known to tackle eccentric parts, Swinton played the role of Mason, the maniacal rule-keeper of the train that is doomed to a never-ending journey in order to generate heat in the frozen world of “Snowpiercer.”

Swinton stars in the Bong’s upcoming film “Okja,” which was on Thursday named for this year’s Cannes’ competition category.

In a trailer released by Netflix, Swinton is seen in a platinum blonde bob narrating, “I took science and nature and I synthesized.” Viewers assume Swinton plays a scientist or executive in the company that gives birth to Okja, a gruesome, gentle monster.

A still of the film “The Host,” depicting Song Kang-ho (Showbox)

In Korea, meanwhile, Bong’s persona has long been represented by actor Song Kang-ho, known for his unfettered portrayals of the comic and the everyman — characters who possess no extraordinary traits, yet preserve an essence of humanity within an inexplicably savage world.

Song starred as an unassuming small town detective looking into the country’s first serial killing in Bong’s breakout mystery “Memories of Murder” (2003).

In the 2006 sci-fi thriller “The Host,” in which a strange creature overtakes Seoul’s Han River, Song plays the lethargic father Kang-du who finds himself galvanized to action to protect his daughter in the face of disaster.

Song plays Namgoong Min-su in “Snowpiercer,” an engineer-turned-drug addict dredging in the lowest-class compartment of the hierarchical train, choosing to escape from reality. He eventually rises as a guide to passengers in their rebellion, a figure who does not yield to authority but rejects the system altogether.

Hong Sang-soo, Jung Jae-young and Isabelle Huppert

Jung Jae-young (right) and Kim Min-hee (left) in “Right Now, Wrong Then” (NEW)

Before director Hong’s much-publicized affair with the actress Kim, he had long been known for inserting his alter ego into his nonchalantly realistic films, represented by actors such as Kim Tae-woo, Yoo Joon-sang and Kim Sang-kyung.

But the best embodiment of Hong’s trademark character, the hypocritical artist who is often chauvinistic, vain but hopelessly self-unaware is perhaps actor Jung Jae-young, who starred in “Our Sunhi” (2013), “Right Now, Wrong Then” (2015), “On the Beach at Night Alone” (2017) and “Clair’s Camera” (2017).

“I don’t think I acted out a character. I tried my best not to act,” Jung said in a 2015 interview for “Right Now, Wrong Then,” in which he portrays a married film director clumsily making advances at a timid painter, played by Kim Min-hee.

A still of the film “In Another Country,” depicting Isabelle Huppert (Jeonwonsa Films)

French actress Isabelle Huppert has also worked with director Hong multiple times, first in the 2012 comedy-drama “In Another Country,” and most recently in “Clair’s Camera.”

In the 2012 film, Huppert plays three different versions of the “charming French visitor” — a famous filmmaker, the wife of a rich French executive, and a divorced housewife — as the film traces how her hosts’ behavior and conversations shift subtly according to her different statuses.

“Through these three little stories we see a woman’s whole emotional life — desire, expectation, loneliness, love, disappointment,” Huppert said to The Guardian in a 2012 interview at Cannes. “(Hong) writes his dialogue every night and gives you the script every morning, and you shoot it. The film looks spontaneous but it’s very precise actually.”

Kim Jee-woon & Lee Byung-hun

A still of the film “A Bittersweet Life,” depicting Lee Byung-hun (CJ Entertainment)

Director Kim Jee-woon rose to acclaim through his highly stylized, elegant depictions of bleak lives. Actor Lee Byung-hun is a central figure in his filmography, the core of the director’s calculated cinematography.

The 2005 mobster noir “A Bittersweet Life” still remains one of Kim and Lee’s representative works to this day. Lee plays Seon-woo, a loyal and perfectionist gangster whose life spirals out of control when he is ordered to carry out the dangerous task of spying on his boss’ girlfriend, and acts on an emotional impulse.

In Kim’s Korean-style Western adventure “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” (2008), an homage to Sergio Leone’s “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” (1966) and set against the backdrop of 1930s Manchuria, Lee plays “the bad” gang leader Park Chang-yi. The character is ruthless in his single-minded pursuit of treasure depicted on a mysterious map, the dark counterpart of “the weird” train robber played by Song Kang-ho and “the good” bounty hunter played by Jung Woo-sung.

The role brought Lee critical and popular acclaim, imprinting him in viewers’ minds as a villain of all-consuming force. Lee himself called Kim an “intense director” in a 2009 interview. “You can tell from his films. How can you create such scenes … if you are not intense?”

E J Yong & Youn Yuh-jung

A still of the film “Actresses,” depicting Youn Yuh-jung (Showbox)

Director E J Yong’s muse and persona seem to be the veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, who starred in “Actresses” (2009), an experimental documentary-style film tracing behind-the-scenes gossip among female performers.

E is known for spotlighting the often irrational emotional battles between his sensitive characters. Youn plays a version of herself, a 60-something actress who feels awkward at a fashion shoot.

She teams up with E again in “The Bacchus Lady” (2016) in which Youn portrays an aged sex worker who ends up offering much more than sexual services to her elderly clientele. Youn won best actress for her performance in the film at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

“It’s not a commercial film. But I was happy I could take on a role that fits my age,” Youn said in an interview last year. While the filming process was “unbelievably hard,” Youn said she took on the project due to her faith in E. “I know him well … and I trusted he would deal with the subject matter in a way that is not sensational or extreme.”

A scene from director Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming film “Okja” (Netflix)

Co-written by Bong and Jon Ronson of “Frank,” Okja tells the story of a young girl who risks everything to prevent a multinational company from kidnapping her best friend — a massive animal named Okja. The movie streaming service invested $50 million in the film.

A scene from director Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming film “Okja” (Netflix)

The teaser unveiled several scenes in which An Seo-hyun, the Korean actress who plays Mija, is desperately trying to locate Okja in a forest and Tilda Swinton, who plays a senior researcher, is getting makeup applied for a news conference. There also was a scene where Okja sadly looks at the girl.

The sci-fi film was produced by Hollywood studios — Plan B, Lewis Pictures and Kate Street Picture Company — and also stars Jake Gyllenhaal of “Nightcrawler” and “Everest” and Paul Dano of “Love & Mercy” and “12 Years a Slave.” The cast includes Korean actors such as Byun Hee-bong, Choi Woo-shik and Yoon Je-moon.

A scene from director Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming film “Okja” (Netflix)

Okja is set to open in Korean theaters and simultaneously on Netflix in June.