Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of Netflix’s Squid Game, has said the show’s astronomical success has not translated into personal wealth for him.
The hugely popular Korean series has become the most-watched show on Netflix in more than 90 countries, and fans of the show have been showering the cast with praise for delivering incredibly poignant and nuanced performances throughout its nine episodes.
The show centers around a group of 456 people who risk their lives as part of a mysterious survival show in a bid to win $38,460,271.20 (₩45.6 billion).
Dong-hyuk said he's not quite as rich as fans may think he is, but that he definitely has "enough to put food on the table", per The Guardian.
The writer explained that the streaming service paid him as much as his original contract stated, and he was not given a bonus despite the show bringing in $900 million to the streaming platform.
"I'm not that rich," he told The Guardian. "But I do have enough. I have enough to put food on the table. And it's not like Netflix is paying me a bonus. Netflix paid me according to the original contract."
Elsewhere in the interview, Dong-hyuk responded to LeBron James' thoughts on how the show ended.
While he was happy that the LA Lakers star watched the entire series, he didn't appreciate the NBA star's criticism of the show's storyline.
Watch LeBron James give his take on Squid Game's ending:
After James and Lakers teammate Anthony Davis finished the series, James said wasn't a big fan of the ending.
"Yep, I finished it. Did you finish it? Did you watch it? You done?," asked James, to which Davis replied: "Yes!"
The 28-year-old athlete gushed to James that he was "seriously involved" with the story while binging all nine episodes. Not matching Anthony's energy, LeBron admitted that he "didn't like the ending though."
Reacting to the basketball star's feedback, Dong-hyuk playfully referenced James' new film, saying: "Have you seen Space Jam 2?
"LeBron James is cool and can say what he wants. I respect that. I’m very thankful he watched the whole series. But I wouldn't change my ending. That's my ending."
"If he has his own ending that would satisfy him, maybe he could make his own sequel. I'll check it out and maybe send him a message saying, 'I liked your whole show, except the ending,'" he added.
