Squid Game creator addresses criticism of casting a cisgender actor to play a trans role
The creator of Squid Game has addressed criticism over casting a cisgender man to play a trans character in season two. On 26 December, the Netflix dystopian thriller returned for its highly anticipated second entry.
Picking up three years after the deadly events of season one, the new batch of episodes follows former Squid Game winner Gi-hun, aka Player 456, as he tries to “find the people behind the game and put an end to their vicious sport.” The official synopsis adds: “Using this fortune to fun his search, Gi-hun starts with the most obvious of places: look for the man in a sharp suit playing ddakji in the subway. “But when his efforts finally yield results, the path toward taking down the organization proves to be deadlier than he imagined: to end the game, he needs to re-enter it.” Since its release, Squid Game season two has received generally positive reviews, with fans and critics praising the series for its countless twists, cast performances, and dynamic story.
However, the second season has also faced its share of controversy, particularly regarding its new trans character, Hyun-ju.
Played by Park Sung-hoo, Hyun-ju is a former special forces solider who enters the game as player 120 to fund her gender-affirming surgery.
