'Squid Game' making history in 74th Emmy Awards

The Korean series 'Squid Game' and lead actor Lee Jung-Jae have been nominated for Emmy's

The Emmy nominations for the 2021 season produced some good news and bad news along the diversity front.

The bad news: This year there are fewer Latino and Black nominees in the high-profile acting categories.

The good news: There are nine Asian or Asian American acting category nominees; an  increase from last year. 

Altogether, there were 25 non-white nominees among the acting categories this year, a precipitous drop from 41 non-white nominees last year despite a noticeable increase in productions featuring actors, writers and directors of color.

Four of the acting nominations went to actors in the series Squid Games. The Korean dystopian drama garnered 14 nominations.

Amazingly, the American epic Pachinko with its predominantly Asian and Asian American cast was totally shut out despite its more serious tone, theme and more demanding acting roles.

FYI: For a complete list of the Emmy nominees, click here.

The Asian and AAPI Emmy nominees are:

Outstanding Drama Series: Squid Game

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game) 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Park Hae-soo and O Yeung-su (Squid Game)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: HoYeon Jung (Squid Game)

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama: Lee You-mi, (Squid Game)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Himesh Patel, (Station Eleven)

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program: Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef) and Tan France (Queer Eye)

Outstanding Director in a Drama Series: Wang Dong-hyuk (Squid Game); Karyn Kusama (Yellow Jackets); Cathy Yang, (Succession); and Hiro Murai,(Station 11)

Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai (Atlanta)

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Ali Wong (Ali Wong: Don Wong)

The Korean series, Squid Game, is making history. It is the first non-English speaking production to be nominated for an Emmy in any category.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Sandra Oh wears her fashionable Emmy jacket in support of Black Lives Matter

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Sandra Oh was casual but she got her message across.

Sandra Oh made a subtle fashion/political statement during the Emmy Awards show Sunday night.

Since the awards show was done virtually, there was no traditional red carpet where the stars get to show off their fashion sense, so the Killing Eve star forced herself "to reflect on who I am and how I express myself through clothes,” said Oh, who was nominated in the category of Best Actress in a Drama Series.

In case you missed it, she wore a purple bomber jacket with matching face mask that had Korean script supporting Black Lives Matter.

“After George Floyd’s death and the protests that followed, I felt that as an Asian-American, a Korean-American person, I wanted to express my support for the Black community in a way that felt personal to my community,” she told British Vogue.

“Then, a playwright friend of mine sent me this local LA brand, KORELIMITED, by the designer Matthew Kim, who had done a line of T-shirts and hoodies to support Black Lives Matter. Even though it’s really different from what you would normally wear on a red carpet.”

The script on the bomber jacket translates “Black Lives Are Precious” because “Black Lives Matter” is not directly translatable in Korean. The dashes are a nod to the Korean flag. And the color, royal purple, carries meaning for both the Korean and Black communities. It’s “super Korean”, Oh said. The use of purple in Black Panther (vibranium is purple, derived from the purple “heart-shaped herb”, reserved for the Wakandan ruler and their family, fitting because the color symbolizes royalty and power).

Oh did her own hair, braided in a traditional folklore style.

As expected, some of the winners used their acceptance speeches t make political statements on behalf of Black Lives Matter and calls for people to register to vote.

With the country undergoing a tumultuous time politically and culturally, Oh said, “This is the moment to wear fashion that’s important and sends the right message.” 

Custom versions of Oh’s jacket are available for purchase via KORELIMITED, with a portion of the proceeds going to her chosen charities: Campaign Zero and Black Girls Code.