“Voting is important” The significance of ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 amidst the impeachment issue of President Yoon (Comprehensive) [DA:On-site]
A life-threatening game vote and an impeachment vote that will determine the fate of the country. As if it were a twist of fate, the timing was just right. As the second season of the global hit ‘Squid Game’ is about to be released, expectations and interest in the second season of ‘Squid Game’ are growing amidst the story that is deeply connected to reality and the real world that is more serious than the work.
On the morning of the 9th, a production conference for the second season of the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’ was held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Art Hall in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, as well as Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Wi Ha-joon, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-wook, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-shim, Lee Seo-hwan, and Jo Yu-ri attended the event.
Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said on this day, “Season 1 of ‘Squid Game’ ended with Ki-hoon trying to board a plane to the U.S. to meet his daughter but turning back and saying, ‘We are people, not words. We will find you.’ Season 2 contains Ki-hoon’s journey that takes place after that. The core conflict will be the confrontation between Ki-hoon, who tries to find out who started the game and stop it, and the frontman who tries to stop Ki-hoon once again.”
The difference in Season 2 is that “the yes or no voting system that was briefly introduced in Season 1 will be implemented in every game in Season 2 and will be treated importantly. There‘s a lot of talk about voting these days, and if you think about connecting voting and the real world, there will be a lot of interesting points. It’ll also be fun to watch a new game,“ he said. This was an indirect reference to the vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.
He said, ”In Korea and around the world, from what I see and feel, I think that conflicts are deepening, where people are divided, divided, and hostile to each other. There are conflicts within countries and wars between countries,“ and ”When you see people who are divided, divided, and hostile to each other, you will feel that the real world and the world of ‘Squid Game’ are very similar. I hope that ‘Squid Game’ will be an opportunity to look back on the world we live in.“
Director Hwang said about the reason why the participants‘ ages have become much younger, ”When I wrote Season 1, it was before COVID-19, so I thought that people of a realistic age could participate in the game while taking on this much debt. But between seasons 1 and 2, COVID-19 came along and the coin craze swept the world. Many young people invested in stocks and coins in hopes of making a fortune overnight. He explained, “I thought I should include those issues that the younger generation is experiencing in season 2, so I hired young participants.”
Just like the foreign workers and North Korean defectors in season 1, he set up the role of transgender Hyun-joo (Park Sung-hoon) as a minority character in season 2. Director Hwang said, “I created Hyun-joo while thinking about what it would be like to include the issues of sexual minorities. Personally, I think that Hyun-joo will receive a lot of attention and love among the characters appearing in season 2. He said, “In the world of the game of Abiguihwan, you will be able to see the most persecuted and marginalized yet human beings protecting something.”
First, Lee Jung-jae returns as ‘Ki-hoon’, who shows his determination and obsession to finish the game, while Lee Byung-hun and Wi Ha-joon return as ‘Frontman’ and ‘Jun-ho’, respectively. Im Si-wan and Jo Yu-ri play ‘Myeong-gi’ (Im Si-wan) and ‘Jun-hee’, acting as ex-lovers. Kang Ha-neul appears as ‘Dae-ho’, a former Marine, Lee Jin-wook appears as ‘Kyeong-seok’, who enters the game to earn money for his daughter’s medical expenses, Park Sung-hoon appears as a transgender ‘Hyun-joo’, and Park Gyu-young appears as ‘No-eul’, a North Korean defector and former soldier. Yang Dong-geun and Kang Ae-sim were cast as ‘Yong-sik’ and his mother ‘Geum-ja’, who participate in the game to pay off gambling debts, and ‘Jeong-bae’, an old friend of ‘Ki-hoon’, also participated in the Season 2 game.
Lee Jung-jae foreshadowed a Ki-hoon who was completely different from Season 1, and Lee Byung-hun explained, “In Season 1, he existed as a functional role that oversaw and ran the game, but in Season 2, the frontman‘s warrior nature is somewhat explained. It reveals why he participated in this game and what his thoughts are. He is a character who has completely different thoughts from Ki-hoon about the existence of humans. From the frontman’s perspective, he thinks Ki-hoon is making wrong decisions and takes action to help him realize his true colors.”
Wi Ha-joon explained, “Thankfully, Jun-ho came back to life and I‘m so honored that I can join him in Season 2. In season 1, Jun-ho witnessed a miserable situation, learned that his brother was the frontman, and came back from the brink of death. ”In season 2, as a detective and a member of the family, he desperately runs to find his brother and stop this game. I hope you look forward to Jun-ho’s coolness and charisma during that process,“ he said.
Park Sung-hoon described his character Hyun-joo as ”a transgender who wants to get gender confirmation surgery but doesn‘t have enough money for it, so she enters the game room. She is altruistic, courageous, and a righteous person with leadership.“ Im Si-wan introduced him as ”a coin investment expert named Myeong-gi. He gets involved in a coin scam, causes huge losses to his subscribers, and becomes a debtor who runs away, joining this game.“ Kang Ha-neul said, ”Dae-ho is a friendly and sociable friend. After hearing Ki-hoon say, “I’ve played the game,” he takes him as his older brother and experiences many things by his side. I would be grateful if you look forward to the chemistry between him and older brother Jung-bae.”
Park Gyu-young, who plays No-eul, said, “She is a character who needs money to find her lost daughter. She is a character who feels guilty for losing her daughter and is determined to find her. I would be grateful if you could see in the main story what choices she makes to earn money.” Lee Jin-wook introduced him as, “She is the most ordinary character. She participates in the game to earn money for her daughter who has childhood cancer. She is a sad and pitiful character.” Yang Dong-geun said, “Please look forward to the happenings that unfold when he unexpectedly meets his mother after participating in a game while struggling with gambling debts.”
Ahead of the release of Season 2, Director Hwang said, “There are twists in points that viewers could have predicted, and there are also new moments that bring back memories of Season 1. I put a lot of effort into creating twists that overturn expectations. I look forward to the response that says, ’Season 3 needs to come out soon.‘” Lee Jung-jae added that many of the fun elements from Season 1 were included in this installment, and Lee Byung-hun added, “It may be less shocking than Season 1, but since there are many characters with universal emotions, I think more story and drama will be the driving force behind the story.”
Finally, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk confessed his feelings about the upcoming release of his work amidst the dizzying current situation, clearly stating his thoughts. He said, “My heart was heavy that ’Squid Game‘ was being released in these times,” and “I also couldn’t believe the announcement of martial law (on the 3rd) and stayed up all night to watch it. “I watched the impeachment vote live, and it’s unfortunate and infuriating that the entire nation has to lose sleep over such an absurd thing, take to the streets, and spend the end of the year feeling anxious, fearful, and depressed,” he said, raising his voice.
Director Hwang publicly stated, “I hope that whoever is responsible, whether it’s impeachment or voluntary resignation, will take responsibility so that we can return the end of the year to a year that is helpful and a blessing to each other. As a citizen, I hope that this situation is resolved quickly.”
He continued, “Isn’t it the fate of ‘Squid Game’ to be released at this time? After watching it, you will be able to connect the absurd conflicts and situations happening in our country and around the world to the real world. I think that watching ‘Squid Game’ is not far from viewing the world, so I hope you watch it with that mindset.” While saying this, he hoped, ”Although my feelings are complicated in many ways, I hope that our work can be helpful and comforting to our citizens and people around the world in some way.“
‘Squid Game’ season 2 will meet viewers around the world through Netflix on the 26th.
Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
