Actor Lee Byung-hun has talked about how he came to appear in ‘Squid Game 2’.

Lee Byung-hun recently met with Donga.com for an interview about the Netflix series ‘Squid Game Season 2’ (hereafter ‘Squid Game 2’) at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and talked about the work.

On this day, Lee Byung-hun said about the hot response since the release of ‘Squid Game 2’, “There are mixed reviews, but overall, it‘s surprising.”.

Lee Byung-hun, who seemed to make a cameo appearance in Season 1 of ‘Squid Game’, but has established himself as a main character in Season 2, said, “My mindset hasn’t changed much. I‘ve done cameo appearances a few times, but when I do them, I have more questions. That’s because I don‘t know the character’s narrative. It‘s not like I can explain it, but rather, the director has to explain more, and I want to see more of the character’s form. That‘s how you can immerse yourself in that emotional state. If you vaguely ask me to act, it’s hard to act. That‘s why there were more questions in season 1. Of course, there were a lot of questions this time too. The director said that he felt like his story was complete because he asked me so many questions during season 1 and season 2.“ Regarding the process of appearing in season 2, Lee Byung-hun said, ”At first, we didn’t even call it season 1. I‘ve had a relationship with director Hwang since ’Namhansanseong,‘ so we talk a lot about things outside of the work. One day, he suddenly said that we should do season 2. When I heard that, I said, ’Then I‘ll be in it too.’ I thought, ‘That’s great.‘ When I was filming ’Our Blues,‘ he came to Jeju Island to visit and we talked about season 2 while drinking. At that time, everyone imagined, ’Will the story from before, In-ho‘s story, come out?’ The director said that too, so I thought the story from the past would come out. I was surprised when I read the draft a long time later. I was so surprised at how the story written in 6 months was written so coherently. I thought that he was good at directing, but he had a genius talent for writing stories.”



“Squid Game 2” is being evaluated as a work where Lee Byung-hun’s acting stood out more than anything else. Regarding this, Lee Byung-hun said, “I feel so good when I hear that kind of praise. It’s a compliment I’ve always heard, but it’s precious. But I don’t know how to talk about it. I’m just trying to get closer to the form I felt when I read the work, and I didn’t try to change it. The audience is much more focused on the story when they see whether the character expresses their emotions properly. But if I try to focus on the change, I think I’ll put my energy elsewhere. I think it’s a struggle to continuously approach the character who is being portrayed in a new way. I think it’s a process of holding on to that. If I act with a sense of déjà vu, I don’t think I’ll have fun. From that moment until the end of filming, if I feel the same emotions over and over again, I think my work will be less fun,” he said.

Lee Byung-hun, who had already been active in the overseas film market through Hollywood before the birth of Netflix, said about the ‘Squid Game’ syndrome, “When I first started with Hollywood works, especially blockbusters, I had no intention of putting down roots in the US or competing with Hollywood works. I just went there out of curiosity. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to work on works in Hollywood while living my life as an actor. I didn’t think, ‘I’m going to compete here’. It was difficult to leave my hometown and pioneer, but I wanted to experience it. But on the other hand, I thought, ‘People from all over the world will recognize me,’ and ‘What should I do?’ But no one recognized me. That kept happening. This time, when I went to the US for ‘Squid Game Season 2”, I was deeply moved by the fans’ reactions. When I first did ‘G.I.Joe’, I thought this would happen, but for a Korean work, I am receiving this much support and love from people? It was ironic and deeply moving. I think I have to go out and see the status of K-content to know, ‘Is it really this much?’.

Lee Byung-hun then said, “When I see BTS or Blackpink, I try to call them ‘seniors’,”, making people laugh.

Meanwhile, ‘Squid Game 2’, released on December 26th of last year, is a story about Ki-hoon (played by Lee Jung-jae), who returns to the game after vowing revenge, and the fierce confrontation between the frontman (played by Lee Byung-hun) who greets him, and the real game starting again.

Choi Yoon-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com