The Los Angeles City Council declared Sept. 17 as Squid Game Day in Los Angeles to recognize the achievements of Netflix’s hit Korean series.
LA Councilmember John Lee, who is representing the LA City Council District 12, introduced the resolution.
At a ceremony in Los Angeles, Lee was joined by “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, director Hwang Dong-hyuk and producer Kim Ji-yeon, who all received certificates of appreciation from the LA City Council.
“Squid Game,” released on Sept. 17, 2021, emerged as the biggest show on Netflix with 1.65 billion hours viewed in the first 28 days on the platform.
“It is always important to me find opportunities to uplift the AAPI community and shine a light on our many accomplishments. Today, we celebrated the reality that a story, led by a predominantly Korean cast and one that was told in the Korean language, has become one of the world’s most watched and well-known series,” Councilmember Lee posted on Instagram.
He added, “It was my honor to stand alongside so many of the leaders in the AAPI community and @mayorofla to proclaim September 17th as 'Squid Game Day' in the City of Los Angeles. @aapi_la.”
“Squid Game” bagged 14 nominations at the 74th Emmy Awards, which will be held on Sept. 12.
Here is the full text of the Los Angeles City Council declaring Sept. 17 as Squid Game Day in Los Angeles:
Resolution
Squid Game Day
WHEREAS, director Hwang Dong-hyuk attempted to get Squid Game produced for nearly 10 years before Netflix took a chance on his outlandish concept; and
WHEREAS, taking that chance resulted in a show that ranked number 1 in more than 90 countries within a month of its release: and
WHEREAS, within the first four weeks of premiering, Squid Game was streamed by over 111 million viewers, shattering the previous record of 82 million making it the most watched Netflix original series to date: and
WHEREAS, it was the first ever Korean series on Netflix to reach number 1 in the US, breaking the barrier that many foreign language shows face with western audiences simply because of subtitles: and
WHEREAS, the show's cast is an artful assemblage of accomplished career actors and new, rising talent–with many gaining international stardom after the show became a cultural phenomenon: and
WHEREAS, Squid Game opened more doors into Korean culture, exposing us to new sweets and childhood games such as Dalgona cookies and the now infamous game of Ddakji: and
WHEREAS, in July 2022, Squid Game earned 14 Emmy Award nominations and is the first-ever non-English language series to be nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category, and
WHEREAS, in 2022 Squid Game made history by becoming the first Korean and first foreign language series to be nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, making history by bringing home three wins; and
WHEREAS, Squid Game marks another victory in the fight to grow representation of the AAPI community in film and entertainment, exposing audiences to Korean culture and traditions while paving the way for other AAPI communities to also have their stories told.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE II RESOLVED, that by the adoption of this resolution, the Los Angeles City Council, does hereby recognize September 17th, 2022 as Squid Game Day in the City of Los Angeles. We wish the cast. the director, the producers. and every single person involved in this production many more years of success and prosperity.
