Squid Game has been criticised for not casting a transgender actor as a trans character in the forthcoming second season.
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South Korean male actor Park Sung-hoon plays the role of a transgender woman in the Netflix drama, who joins the competition to fund her gender-affirming surgery.
As part of a new 10-minute video released by Netflix today (December 5), the cast talk about their respective characters in season two. Park talked about his role as Hyun-Ju, a former special forces soldier who joins the game.
He added: “Even though she faces prejudices and tough situations, she shows incredible strength, decisiveness, and natural leadership. Through her resilience, she breaks down stereotypes and shines as an inspiring character.”
Despite that many were quick to criticise the fact the role didn’t go to a transgender actor with one writing: “Could they not cast an actual transgender woman… this gonna piss me off.”
Another added: “This is not how you give representation… a cis man pretending to be part of a minority group just doesn’t sit right with me, especially when they could’ve hired an actual trans actress,” while another wrote: “Literally could’ve given this opportunity to a trans person, but ok.”
Could they not cast an actual transgender woman… this gonna piss me off
— steven (@arianaunext) December 4, 2024
this is not how you give representation… a cis man pretending to be part of a minority group just doesn’t sit right with me, especially when they could’ve hired an actual trans actress
— dawnmoer (@dawnmoer) December 4, 2024
Literally could’ve given this opportunity to a trans person, but ok. https://t.co/M3KafnAdp5
— Tricia⁷ 2/7 ARE HOME (@Artist_Joonie) December 4, 2024
Why not get an actual trans woman to play the role
— Zartashia Rai (@lifewithzartash) December 5, 2024
Last month, a new trailer for the second season dropped.
Netflix has released several teasers for the second season, including a ‘Backrooms’ preview of the show’s set, filmed in a first-person-filmed found footage format. Back in August, it also confirmed that Squid Game had been renewed for a third and final season.
Elsewhere, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the hit K-drama, recently admitted that the reason he made a second season was “money”.
The second run of episodes of the satirical Korean survival show is set to land on the streaming service on December 26 and will follow Gi-hun, the winner from season one, as he becomes “determined to find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport”.
“Even though the first series was such a huge global success, honestly I didn’t make much,” Hwang said. “So doing the second series will help compensate me for the success of the first one too. And I didn’t fully finish the story.”
The writer-director also discussed how he lost “eight or nine” teeth from stress during the shooting of the first season, but admitted, “the stress I feel now is much greater,” given the show’s huge success.
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