Korean movie director and playwright, Hwang Dong-Hyuk, revealed on Tuesday the movie streaming platform, Netflix, rejected the blockbuster series, Squid Game, 12 years ago.

Dong-Hyuk told the Korean Times that the series was written in 2008 and submitted for production in 2009.

He added that the script was rejected and turned down by numerous production companies, including Netflix.

“After about 12 years, the world has changed into a place where such peculiar, violent survival stories are actually welcomed,” the playwright said.

Originally titled: “Round Six,” the project got the streaming platform’s greenlight in 2019.

The nine-episode series was premiered in September.