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Associated Press

Stepping onto the set of Squid Game season two, Lee Jung-jae felt like he had never left.
“Including promotion, I’d been living with Gi-hun for about two years,” Lee says. “I really felt like I was him.”
Squid Game follows an underground competition in Korea that recruits people in debt to participate in childlike games for money. Once the games begin, the contestants realise there are deadly consequences.
The show was a global hit when it was released in 2021, becoming Netflix’s most-watched series. It also won numerous accolades, including Primetime Emmy Awards for acting for Lee Jung-jae and directing for Hwang Dong-hyuk.


Lee’s career catapulted, taking him to the Cannes Film Festival and giving him his first English-language role in the Star Wars series The Acolyte for Disney+.
Lee says when Netflix ordered a second season of Squid Game, he questioned the timeline because it took Hwang years to work on the first one. “I wondered, ‘How many years will it take him to write season two?’,” said Lee.
Hwang, in turn, surprised everyone – including himself – by taking just six months to write season two and a third and final season. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to write something that fast again,” he said.
Creating new characters and their individual stories came easily. The biggest challenge, Hwang said, was deciding what should happen with Gi-hun. Lee says when he read the scripts he thought Hwang “really is a genius”.

It is rare for even successful television shows in Korea to have more than one season so it was a big swing, even for the new cast.
“There’s a Korean phrase, ‘There’s not a sequel that does better than its prequel’,” said actor Yang Dong-geun, whose character debuts in season two. “I’ve been careful because we aren’t really sure what the reaction will be.”
The outlook is positive. Season two has already been nominated in the best drama series category at the coming Golden Globe Awards.
The opportunity to work on a project with worldwide appeal is a dream come true for a performer. Lee Byung-hun, who reprises his villain role from season one, has appeared in big-budget English-language films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra with Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid, and Red 2 with Bruce Willis.
Yet it is Squid Game that he credits for taking his career to another level.

“I’ve been an actor for over three decades and … maybe most people outside of Korea have never seen anything that I’ve been in. If anyone through Squid Game wishes to see more of me or becomes more curious about my previous works, as an actor, nothing would be more rewarding or bring me greater joy.”
The audition process moved slowly. K-pop star Jo Yu-ri recalls waiting two months between the first and second round. When she finally got the part, Jo says, “I actually remember crying.”
The actors were asked to not speak publicly about their casting to wait for Netflix to make an announcement. “There were a couple of close friends that popped champagne for me when they found out,” Yang says.
Netflix’s Squid Game universe is also growing. A second season of a reality competition show based on the series has been ordered and an English version of the series is in development. Season three of the original has also completed filming and is in post-production.

Season two is not without controversy. The new episodes feature a transgender character played by Park Sung-hoon. Hwang says he understands why hiring a trans actor would have been ideal, but that the casting is a reflection of how the LGBTQ community and gender identity is viewed in Korea.
“To be honest with you, in Korea, when it comes to the LGBTQ and gender minority community and culture compared to the Western worlds, it’s not as widely socially accepted yet. Unfortunately, a lot of the groups are marginalised and neglected from society, which is heartbreaking,” Hwang says.
“We don’t have a very large pool of actors that allow for authentic casting when it comes to transgender characters. We did our research. We tried to find someone who we thought could be the best fit. However, we weren’t able to.”
Hwang says Park’s talent and approach to the character ended up making him “the perfect fit”.


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Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in a still from Squid Game season two. The first season of the show was a global hit, and expectations are high for the new season. Photo: Netflix

Hwang Dong-hyuk took just six months to write season two and a third and final season. Photo: AP

Lee Byung-hun has appeared in English-language films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra and Red 2. Photo: AP

Lee Jung-jae feels like he has never left the world of Squid Game. Photo: AP

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in a still from Squid Game season 2. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix

Lee Jung-jae in a still from Squid Game season 2, the most anticipated Netflix series of the year and the best K-drama show of 2024. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix

Lee Min-ho as Gong Ryong and Kong Hyo-jin as Eve Kim in a still from When the Stars Gossip, which is set aboard a space station. Photo: tvN

Lee Min-ho as Gong Ryong in a still from When the Stars Gossip. Photo: tvN

Kong Hyo-jin as Eve Kim and Lee Min-ho as Gong Ryong in a still from When the Stars Gossip. Photo: tvN

6 of the best new K-dramas to watch in December 2024, led by Netflix’s Squid Game season 2

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun, winner of the previous squid game, in a still from Squid Game season 2. The K-drama is among our pick of six coming to screens in December 2024. Photo: Netflix

Lee Byung-hun as Front Man, the master of the games, in a still from Squid Game season 2. Photo: Netflix

The 15 best romantic K-dramas of all time, from Crash Landing on You and My Love from the Star to Secret Garden and Twenty-Five Twenty-One

Hyun Bin and Ha Ji-won in a still from “Secret Garden”. Photo: SBS

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin in a still from “Crash Landing on You” (2019). There have been many romantic K-drama classics over the years. We rank our 15 best ever. Photo: TvN

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As the Netflix K-drama hit returns for a second season, cast and crew including Lee Jung-jae reflect on show’s impact globally – and on them


As the Netflix K-drama hit returns for a second season, cast and crew including Lee Jung-jae reflect on show’s impact globally – and on them.
