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Hwang Dong-hyuk.
Presley Ann/Getty Images for NetflixSquid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explains why actor cisender Sung-hoon Park was cast as Hyun-ju’s transgender character in season 2.
Hwang, 53, who also wrote and directed both seasons, knew some fans would expect to see a transgender woman play Hyun-ju, a former special forces officer who takes part in a South Korean series’ deadly competition to win money on for sex-affirming surgery. .
“I anticipated that such discussions would arise from the first moment I started creating the character Hyun-ju,” Hwang told TVGuide earlier this month. “In the beginning, we were doing our research, and I was thinking of doing an authentic cast of a trans actor.”
Hwang soon found, however, that there were “nowhere near any openly trans actors” in South Korea.
“Unfortunately, in Korean society right now, the LGBTQ community is still somewhat marginalized and neglected more, which is heartbreaking,” he explained.
After deciding that it would be “almost impossible to find someone we could authentically cast” as a trans woman, the Squid Game team settled on Park, 39.
Park Sung-hoon in ‘Squid Game.’
Well Ju-han/Netflix“I’ve watched his work since his debut, and I had complete faith in him that he would be the right person in terms of talent to portray this character,” Hwang said of Park.
The director’s decision to include a transgender character in season 2 is consistent with the message of season 1, which premiered on Netflix in 2021.
The hit Netflix series Squid Game shares a surprising connection with Dancing With the Stars through actress Reagan To. While fans may recognize To, 13, as the voice of the Red Light, Green Light villain doll Young-hee, she’s also an accomplished ballroom dancer who has worked with DWTS alum Mark Ballas. The pro dancer, 38, recently (…)
“I saw the people who come to join the games inside Squid Game as people who are usually marginalized or neglected from society, and not just financially speaking,” Hwang said Decision maker on Friday, December 27. “Today, unfortunately, in Korean society, the gender minority is a group that is not so widely accepted within society, which is why I created the character Hyun-ju as I am a transgender woman.”
Transgender actors playing trans roles is a relatively new development even in the United States, but trans activists argue that casting cis actors in trans roles perpetuates the harmful belief that trans people dress up. Annette Beningthere is his son Stephen Ira Beatty transgender, explained the concept during a 2020 interview with The Telegraph.
“The important thing that I’ve really started to understand about that issue is that sometimes people see trans people as some kind of performance,” said Bening, 66. “But actually that’s a mistake, it’s a misunderstanding .”
Despite facing some criticism for Park’s casting, Hwang is hopeful that Hyun-ju’s character will be very positive.
“By creating a character very similar to Hyun-ju and through her choices, her actions, and the way she carries herself in the game, I hope that could raise awareness of these issues that n face us today,” he told Decider.
Season 2 of Step Squide hit Netflix on Friday, December 26. The dystopian thriller series follows participants in a life-or-death game as they compete to win billions of dollars.
