‘Squid Game’ creator reveals it was ‘near impossible’ to cast a trans woman to play Season 2 character
Season 2 of the hit show. Hwang Dong-hyuk spoke about the criticism in a new interview with TV Guide, published on Tuesday. The character at the center of the controversy — a transgender woman named Hyun-ju — is a new addition to “Squid Game,” who reportedly partakes in the deadly competition because she is “short on money for her gender-affirming 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 part.The maelstrom that ensued did not surprise Dong-hyuk.“I did anticipate such discussions to arise from the first moment I began creating the character Hyun-ju,” he said. “In the beginning we were doing our research, and I was thinking of doing an authentic casting of a trans actor.” However, the “Squid Game” creator could not find a Korean trans actor to take on the role. “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,” Dong-hyuk shared.
Discrimination against LGBTQ people in South Korea is common. Same-sex marriage is not legal in the country. It was only in July that same-sex couples were allowed to have the same health insurance benefits as heterosexual couples following a ruling from South Korea’s Supreme Court.“It was near impossible to find someone who we could cast authentically,” he added.
