‘Squid Game’, which created a ‘syndrome’ all over the world, is coming to an end with Season 3 following Seasons 1 and 2.Director Hwang Dong-hyeok shared his thoughts on ending ‘Squid Game’ with Season 3, as well as the possibility of a Season 4 or spin-off.

On the morning of the 9th, the production conference for the Netflix series ‘Squid Game Season 3’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Squid Game 3’) was held at the Grand Ballroom Hanla on the 3rd floor of Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.Actors 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, Jo Yu-ri, Chae Kook-hee, Lee Da-wit, Noh Jae-won, and director Hwang Dong-hyeok attended the event.







On this day, Director Hwang Dong-hyeok was the first to say, “I did my best with the actors and staff.Please watch over me and support me until the end.” Lee Byung-hun said, “I’m finally able to reveal Season 3 to you all, so I’m really looking forward to it as a viewer.I hope you look forward to it and show a lot of interest.”

Director Hwang Dong-hyeok also said about season 3, “Many people have probably already seen the trailer and guessed, but Sung Ki-hoon, who lost his friend, fell to the bottom due to guilt over his own mistakes.It’s a story about whether he can hit rock bottom and get back up.It will be fun to watch the battle of values.”

Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said about the message that ‘Squid Game’ wanted to convey, “Rather than a set message of ‘Think this way,’ what I wanted to say throughout seasons 2 and 3 was a question.I wanted to ask the question of whether we humans can create a slightly better future from the many side effects that occur in a capitalist society, the stimulation of excessive competition and desire, and the frustration and sense of defeat that follow.”





Lee Jung-jae explained the changes in Season 3, saying, “In Season 3, there is a change where Ki-hoon overcomes the guilt over his friend’s death and his inability to save the people who entered the arcade, and he begins to think about what more he should do in the arcade and decides to do what he can.”

Lee Byung-hun explained, “Ki-hoon loses his best friend because the frontman kills him, and he becomes extremely helpless from the shock.But he makes a plan to bring down the system with his beliefs and humanity and bring everything down.The frontman makes his own plan while watching Ki-hoon.Ultimately, if you consider seasons 2 and 3 as one story, season 3 is a story with a final ending.It’s bound to be very dramatic and powerful in many ways.You could say that it’s a story of a full-blown confrontation between the frontman and Ki-hoon.”

Park Sung-hoon said about Season 3, “I think Hyun-joo’s fundamental righteous nature will not change.I think she will be able to show a stronger and cooler side of herself as she lives together with the contestants she has built bonds with while playing the game and protects them.”





Director Hwang Dong-hyeok explained about introducing Cheol-soo after Yeong-hee, “Young-hee and Cheol-soo are always a pair.They are friends who appear together in textbooks, so in seasons 2 and 3, if there is a game that they have to play at the same time, I definitely wanted to show them as a pair playing.I also wanted to show viewers around the world that there is a male character other than Yeong-hee.”

Regarding his thoughts on wrapping up ‘Squid Game 3’, Wi Ha-jun said, “We had our first shoot for Season 1 in May 2020.Five years have already passed.It’s such a new feeling that I don’t know how time passed.I’m happy to have received so much love.I was honored and fortunate to have worked on a piece that raised the value and status of Korean culture and art.I think I’ve grown a little as an actor and as a person.I hope this piece will be remembered for a long time.”

Lee Byung-hun continued, “It’s a bittersweet feeling.Every time a production ends, I feel bittersweet.What was new was seeing the fans ‘warm welcome while promoting Season 2, and I received support and hospitality that I hadn’ t felt even when I did a Hollywood movie.It was a new experience to receive such great hospitality for Korean content.I’ve been an actor for a long time, but I’ve never had such new and happy experiences, so I always think that this production has a very different and big meaning to me.”





Lee Jung-jae said, “In terms of the production, it was a good experience to experience Director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s deep and grand worldview together.It is very difficult to create everything from a large theme to the smaller themes in each episode.That’s why I think the greatest achievement so far has been to distribute the social issues for some characters and the emotions that different characters can feel.” He also said, “When I meet fans of ‘Squid Game’ from abroad and in Korea, each of them has a different character they root for.I also feel proud that we are communicating well with so many people with such long content.I would like to give a round of applause to everyone who participated.”

Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said, “I have devoted my time and effort to the work called ‘Squid Game’ for the past six years since I started writing it.Miraculous things have happened that I never imagined.Everyone dreams of success, but that’s not how you make it.Miraculous things have happened, and I have had valuable experiences.Receiving awards overseas and meeting fans were good experiences, but looking back, I think the things I felt while working with great actors as an individual will serve as fertilizer for my growth.I think the moments I filmed were the most precious moments.I am thinking a lot about not being intoxicated by the glitter and spotlight of success, but taking these lessons to heart and preparing for my next work.”





Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said, “Seasons 2 and 3 were not works that could be made at once and then changed after seeing the reactions.It was not a situation where things could change or anything.I think any regrets about the ending or the characters ‘narratives will be resolved when you watch season 3.”

Lee Jung-jae said about the evaluation he wants to hear after the release of’ Squid Game 3 ‘, “We worked hard on it, and since many people will speak their feelings about it, rather than saying what kind of evaluation I want in particular, I’m curious to hear many valuable opinions.I want to hear more opinions soon.” Director Hwang Dong-hyeok then caught everyone’s attention by saying, “I want to hear that everything that was laid out in Season 2 has been resolved.I think the best evaluation would be that it has ended nicely, as befits ‘Squid Game’.”





When asked about the production plan for Season 4 of ‘Squid Game,’ Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said, “There are no plans to make Season 4.We discussed it with Netflix and proceeded with it.If you watch the work, you’ll think that we don’t have to make it.If you ask me if I will never return to the ‘Squid Game’ story in the future, that’s not true.I’m preparing the next movie, but I’m thinking about a spin-off.There are times when I become curious as I make it.There are times when I suddenly become curious about the story and want to dig into it, so I think about making a story like that.”

When asked about SNS incident involving Park Sung-hoon and Park Gyu-young, Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said, “I was flustered.I asked about it.Everyone makes mistakes.It’s in the past and we have to move on, so I thought of it as just another incident.Some viewers may have been disappointed or upset because they felt like they’d been spoiled in advance, but I hope you see it as a mistake.I think the spoiler will be so entertaining that it won’t interfere with the fun.” Regarding efforts to prevent a recurrence, he said, “I don’t think it’s necessary to prevent a recurrence because the members themselves would know best how to prevent a recurrence.”





Park Gyu-young, who caused controversy with spoilers on SNS, said briefly, “I think you’re very curious about the characters ‘stories, so I would really appreciate it if you could check it out in the main episode that comes out on the 27th.”

Meanwhile,’ Squid Game 3 ‘, which will be released on the 27th, is a story about Ki-hoon(played by Lee Jung-jae)who loses his best friend in a game he re-entered with his own purpose, the Frontman(played by Lee Byung-hun)who hid his identity and entered the game, and the final fate of the participants who survived the cruel game.

Following the release of’ Squid Game Season 1 ‘in 2021,’ Squid Game Season 2 ‘was released in 2024, and will end with’ Squid Game 3’.

Reporter Yoonna Choi com Donga.com yyynnn@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.