Changes in ‘Ogem’ Season 2 “Bigger set + new game + replacement of dead characters” [Squid Game Season 2 Press Conference ②]

‘Squid Game’ Director Hwang Dong-hyeok and CEO Kim Ji-yeon of Cyran Pictures mentioned the changes and differences in the new season.

On the afternoon of August 1, a press conference for the new season of the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’ was held at the Seoul Nuri Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Director Hwang Dong-hyeok, who wrote and directed the ‘Squid Game’ series, and CEO Kim Ji-yeon of Cyran Pictures attended the event that day.

Director Hwang Dong-hyeok explained the changes in ‘Squid Game’ Season 2, saying, “In Season 1, Sung Ki-hoon (Lee Jung-jae) was an immature character who participated in the game to make money without knowing anything, but in Season 2, he finds the host and jumps into the game with a clear purpose in order to finish the game. That‘s the biggest change. I killed off the popular characters in Season 1, but good new characters have appeared to replace them and we’re playing a new game.””He continued, “In Season 1, the ‘Should we continue the game?’ vote that appeared once in the beginning will be utilized in a more active way in Season 2. By showing groups divided into true or false through voting, I wanted to depict the conflicts that are currently happening in societies around the world, such as taking sides, drawing lines, and defining, distinguishing, and attacking each other,” he added.


Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’ is a story that begins with ‘Ki-hoon’ (Lee Jung-jae) who gave up on going to the United States and returns with his own purpose, following Season 1 which was about people who participated in a mysterious survival show with a prize of 45.6 billion won risking their lives and challenging extreme games to become the ultimate winner. The cast includes Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, and Gong Yoo, who returned from Season 1, and Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-wook, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun (former Big Bang T.O.P), Noh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri, and Won Ji-an.

Regarding the games and sets of Season 2, Director Hwang said, “I can’t reveal the games directly, so I only gave hints through videos. I think it would be good for the participants to watch the games and learn about them as they become their own. There are games that are uniquely Korean, which everyone has played at least once as a child, and games that are well-known worldwide. Since they can’t be used as is, there are also modified games,” and explained, “The sets are bigger and more versatile than Season 1. I tried to create a beautiful and fun set that is more fairytale-like and makes it seem like something like this wouldn’t happen.”

The focus on “Squid Game” is to globalize it while also Koreanizing it. Director Hwang said, “When making Season 1, I thought about the possibility of meeting viewers around the world through the Netflix platform. I wrote the script with much more consideration and consideration for global viewers than when I originally wrote the script for the movie. That‘s why I simplified and changed the game a bit, and I used circles, triangles, and squares to make it easier to understand intuitively regardless of language.”

He said, “’Squid Game‘ is the most Korean story, but it’s also a work that I wanted to show worldwide. There aren‘t many changes in Season 2. It’s a work that contains all of my experiences living in Korea my whole life, so although it‘s a Korean work, I considered the international viewers who loved it. He said, “We tried to create a work with many intuitive elements that does not require words or explanations.”

Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’ is set to be released on December 26, 2024, and season 3 is scheduled to meet viewers in 2025.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo courtesy of Netflix