'Squid Game': South Korea President Moon Jae-In Praises Director, Crew For 'Raising Nation's Status'

South Korea President Moon Jae-In celebrated the nation's first Golden Globes win and lavished praises on the entire cast and crew of "Squid Game" for giving glory to the nation as the drama's popularity continued to soar overseas.

Moon also congratulated "Squid Game" actor Oh Young-Soo for receiving the Best Supporting Actor Award For Television at the 2022 Golden Globes this week.

"His journey of acting for more than half a century eventually overcame borders and cultural differences, creating great emotional and lingering impressions on the world stage. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to actor Oh Young-Soo, also known as 'Gganbu Grandpa,'" Moon said in a congratulatory message, The Korea Herald reported.

"Gganbu" means "close friend" or "partner," according to 1 Minute Korean.

"After hearing the news, I told myself for the first time, 'you're a nice dude,'" Oh said. "It's no longer us within the world, it's the world within us. Embracing the scent of our culture and the love for my family, Thank all of you in the world. I wish you a beautiful life."

The 77-year-old actor is the first South Korean actor to receive recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which organizes the annual ceremony. He won the award for his portrayal of Oh Il-Nam, also known as The Host or Player 001, and beat Billy Crudup who starred in "The Morning Show" and Kieran Culkin from "Succession."

"The message that 'Squid Game' delivers is heavy. On the outside, it shows an extreme game that separates winners and losers, but there is a hidden message that tells the story of not losing hope and humanity despite the difficulties," Moon said in his message.

Though the hit Netflix drama failed to clinch the award for Best Drama Series and Lee Jung-Jae did not receive the Best Television Actor trophy, Moon heaped praises on everyone who worked on the drama.

"Unfortunately, they did not win, but I would like to give a round of applause to director Hwang Dong-hyuk and the production crew, who made us proud and raised our nation's status, and also to actor Lee Jung-Jae, who gave his best performance," the president said.

The 2022 Golden Globes was held privately after actors, directors and film studios shunned invitations to the event amid criticisms against the HFPA for lacking ethnic diversity and for allegedly participating in questionable business practices. This year's winners were announced on Twitter on Sunday night. HBO's "Succession" won the Best Drama Series Award and Jeremy Strong won the Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series for his role in "Succession."