--- description: Find out why Hwang Dong-hyuk is one of the 100 most influential people of 2022. title: Hwang Dong-hyuk: The 100 Most Influential People of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75b087a97243bdb/698a320247ca3879583b999e/Hwang-Dong-hyuk-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- May 23, 2022 # Hwang Dong-hyuk by Lee Jung-jae  Netflix Much of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s success stems from his ability to illuminate the feelings of the characters and to build believable lives for them from the ground up. As a television and film director, he knows how to weave a story so that no matter what choice a character makes, it feels natural. When I received the script for [_Squid Game_](https://time.com/6104461/jung-ho-yeon-squid-game/ "undefined")_,_ I knew it would be an interesting experience—the characters were all so rich in detail, with distinct characteristics that gave them depth. Director Hwang was brilliant in visualizing this intricate and savage world that looked like a game, but revealed piercing truths about society and humanity. He was able to take [something brutal](https://time.com/6163440/outlaws-tokyo-vice-61st-street/ "undefined") and make it beautiful. _Lee is an actor_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177760/hwang-dong-hyuk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177760/hwang-dong-hyuk/"},"headline":"Hwang Dong-hyuk","datePublished":"2022-05-23T10:12:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:10.925Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177760/hwang-dong-hyuk/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","TIME100 2022"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75b087a97243bdb/698a320247ca3879583b999e/Hwang-Dong-hyuk-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75b087a97243bdb/698a320247ca3879583b999e/Hwang-Dong-hyuk-time100-2022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177760/hwang-dong-hyuk/","name":"Hwang Dong-hyuk"}}]}] ```