California, 14 September 2022 (TDI): Korean actor, Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian star to win the Emmy award for best male actor in a drama. The South Korean actor won the award for playing the main role of Seong Gi-hun in the hit Netflix show, Squid Game.
Congratulations to Squid Game on a history-making #Emmys! Lee Jung-jae’s Lead Actor in a Drama Series win makes him the first Asian winner ever in the category, first native Korean winner, and first ever for a non-English language series. pic.twitter.com/Mn9cJHyQsy
— Golden (@netflixgolden) September 13, 2022
During his speech, the actor thanked director Hwang Dong Hyuk for giving him the opportunity to play an important role in the drama. He also thanked Netflix as well as the Television Academy and the Squid Game team for supporting him.
Additionally, the actor also thanked his family and fans for their continued belief in his capabilities.
Remarks by Foreign Minister of South Korea:
On Tuesday, the Foreign Minister of South Korea, Park Jin congratulated actor Lee Jung-jae on winning the award.
황동혁 감독님, 이정재 배우님.
비영어권 드라마 최초 에미상 감독상 및 남우주연상 수상을 진심으로 축하드립니다. 이번 수상으로 한국의 문화 소프트파워가 다시 한 번 전세계에 널리 알려지게 된 것을 기쁘게 생각하며, 앞으로도 지구촌의 글로벌 매력국가로서의 위상이 더 높아지길 기대합니다.— 박진 외교부 장관 FM Park Jin (@FMParkJin) September 13, 2022
Additionally, he wrote on Twitter that this award highlights Korea’s cultural power which is renowned throughout the world. Moreover, the Minister expressed that he looks forwards to raising Korea’s status as a global attractive country.
Felicitations by US Ambassador
The US Ambassador to South Korea, Philip Goldberg also congratulated the actor. Ambassador Goldberg said that the actor has made history b becoming the first Korean to receive an Emmy award and that too being a non-English.
Congrats #SquidGame on a historic night at the #Emmys 👏. The first Korean series to win a major #EmmyAward!!! Lee Jung-jae also became the first actor from a non-English show to win!!! 🇺🇸🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/fd1xFWf6eb
— Ambassador Philip Goldberg (@USAmbROK) September 13, 2022
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards or Emmys is an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit in the American and international television industry. Ceremonies for the annual Emmy Award are held throughout the year.
Consequently, this year the Emmy Awards 2022 were held in September in California. Many celebrities attended the ceremony.
Correspondingly, the creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk also won the best drama series director prize also becoming the first Asian to do so.
The director appreciated the audience for their immense support while assuring that Squid Game won’t be the last non-English series to be here at the Emmys. Additionally, he expressed his hope to win another Emmy with Season 2.
The Squid Game
Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama television series that has a whopping 45.6 billion won the prize at stake. Set in Seoul, the series saw hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children’s games.
Actor Lee Jung played Player 456, a single cash-strapped father. He entered the game to win the cash prize and ultimately won. The show became a pop culture phenomenon when it debuted last September. It is the first non-English language series nominated for the outstanding drama series at the Emmys.
Squid Game had 14 nominations altogether and won two of the main categories for the show.
