Squid Game creator defends casting choice amidst controversy
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of "Squid Game," reveals the reasons for casting a man as the transgender woman Hyun-ju. He admits: "I did anticipate such discussions to arise." Note: this article discusses a new character this season but does not reveal its plot.
A new character, Hyun-ju, a transgender woman who was a special forces soldier, appears in the second season of "Squid Game." She enters the game to earn money for gender confirmation surgery. This character, played by Park Sung-hoon, has gained the audience's sympathy, even though the actor is not transgender. This has sparked controversy.
The series creator told TV Guide:
- I did anticipate such discussions to arise from the first moment I began creating the character Hyun-ju. In the beginning we were doing our research, and I was thinking of doing an authentic casting of a trans actor... When we researched in Korea, there are close to no actors that are openly trans, let alone openly gay, because unfortunately in the Korean society currently, the LGBTQ community is rather still marginalized and more neglected, which is heartbreaking.
The lack of a suitable actress forced the creators to engage a man.
- It was near impossible to find someone who we could cast authentically. This led us to the decision to involve Sung-hoon. I have watched his work ever since his debut, and I had complete trust in him that he would be the right person in terms of talent in portraying this character.
The transgender character in "Squid Game" is a breakthrough
There are few examples of transgender characters in Korean series, which is why Hwang wanted to introduce such representation in the second season, because it "is not as accepted widely within society."
- I saw the people who come to join the games in Squid Game as people who are usually marginalized or neglected from society, and not just financially speaking - Hwang said in an interview with Decider. In season 1, the representative character for that was Ali, who was a foreigner working in Korea, which is one of the most representative minority groups in Korea... Today, unfortunately, in Korean society, the gender minority is a group that is not as accepted widely within society, which is why I created the character Hyun-ju as a male to female transgender woman.
During the second season, Hyun-ju talks about her life and challenges as a transgender woman, including the discrimination she faced. Hwang hopes that her story in "Squid Game" will help "raise awareness of these issues," which many people still struggle with.
The second season of "Squid Game" is now available on Netflix, and the third season will be released in 2025.
