Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said, “I didn‘t know (this casting) would become this controversial” regarding some of the criticism directed at Choi Seung-hyun (former Big Bang member T.O.P) who was cast in season 2 of ‘Squid Game’.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who directed the Netflix original series ‘Squid Game’, and producer Kim Ji-yeon of Cyran Pictures, held a press conference about the series at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul on August 1 ahead of the release of season 2 on December 26. This press conference was held four months before the release of Season 2, and the embargo for reporting related content was set for November 13.

On that day, Director Hwang said about the reason for casting Choi Seung-hyun, who has a drug use record, in Season 2, “(Choi Seung-hyun’s drug use) happened in the past, and it‘s already in the past, and his suspended sentence (for drug use) has ended. There have been many celebrities who caused a lot of controversy in the past, and there were marijuana controversies, but many of them have returned. I thought that if this much time had passed, he would be able to start working again, so I cast him.”

Despite all this, he continued to say about the huge public criticism, “There were much bigger concerns than I thought. That’s why I thought I was short-sighted,” and “That‘s why we did a lot of verification (of Choi Seung-hyun), and the actor’s will was also strong. However, I was anxious so I did an audition, and he showed a lot of ability in audition spirit and leading,” he added.

Director Hwang also said that he had been keeping an eye on Choi Seung-hyun since his past acting career, and said, “I can’t go into detail right now, but the character that actor Choi Seung-hyun played is a character that really requires courage. (Regarding the casting) there was controversy, but I had gone through a lot myself to go back on my decision, and so I thought I had no choice but to show through the results why I had to work with this actor. You may not understand why I insisted on this casting, but I think you‘ll understand when you watch the drama,” he said.

Meanwhile, Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’ contains the fierce confrontation between Ki-hoon (Lee Jung-jae), who vows revenge and returns to participate in the game of death, and the Frontman (Lee Byung-hun) who greets him, as well as the real game starting again.


Reporter Seung-mi Lee smlee@donga.com