‘Squid Game’ Creator Reveals It Was ‘Nearly Impossible’ To Cast A Trans Woman To Play Season 2 Character

The creator of “Squid Game” has responded to backlash over his decision to cast a cisgender actor to play a transgender character on Season 2 of the hit show.

Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke about the criticism in a new interview with TV guidepublished on Tuesday.

The character at the center of the controversy – a transgender woman named Hyun-ju – is a new addition to “Squid Game” who is reportedly entering the deadly competition because she “lacks money for her gender reassignment surgery.”

Dong-hyuk, who also directs the Korean-language series, told TV Guide that he could not find a transgender female actor to play Hyun-ju. Ultimately, he hired Park Sung-hoon, a cisgender man, to play the role.

The maelstrom that followed didn’t surprise Dong-hyuk.

“I expected such discussions to arise from the first moment I started creating the character Hyun-ju,” he said. “In the beginning we did our research and I thought about doing an authentic casting of a trans actor.”

However, the creator of “Squid Game” could not find a Korean trans actor to take on the role.

“When we did our research in Korea, there are hardly any actors who are openly trans, let alone openly gay, because unfortunately the LGBTQ community in Korean society is currently pretty much still marginalized and neglected, which is heartbreaking,” Dong-hyuk shared . .

Discrimination against LGBTQ people in South Korea is common. Same-sex marriage is not legal in the country. It was not until July that same-sex couples were given the same health insurance benefits as heterosexual couples following a ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court.

“It was almost impossible to find someone that we could cast authentically,” he added. “And that led us to the decision to cast Sung-hoon.”

Sung-hoon was on Dong-hyuk’s radar before he cast “Squid Game” Season 2.

“I’ve seen his work ever since his debut and I had full confidence in him that he would be the right person in terms of talent to portray this character,” the director told TV Guide.

Sung-hoon’s recent credits include the Korean hits “The Glory” and “Queen of Tears.”

Only a small number of Korean dramas have included transgender roles. The Netflix series “Itaewon Class,” which follows an ex-consultant and his friends as they struggle to make their ambitious dreams of their street bar come true, was praised after its 2020 release for featuring a transgender female character, Ma Hyun- yes.

However, the role was played by a cisgender woman, actress Lee Joo-young.

Season 2 of “Squid Game” premieres Dec. 26 on Netflix.