The person who made Squid Game has explained why they didn’t hire a trans actor to play Player 120.
When Netflix announced that cisgender actor Park Sung-hoon will play the transgender character Hyun-ju (Player 120), it stirred a lot of debate.
Could they not hire a real transgender woman? One user wrote, “This is going to make me mad.”
Someone else said, “It feels wrong that an actual trans woman isn’t playing the part, but since that’s not possible, I just hope the character is done well.” Don’t be a stereotype, please.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the show, has now talked about the sad truth behind this controversial casting choice, which shows how hard it is for LGBTQ+ people in South Korea to live their lives.
When Park Sung-hoon was cast as Hyun-ju, a transgender lady who enters the de@dly games to pay for surgery to change her gender, people reacted right away and were quite harsh.
A lot of people wondered why a cisgender actor was picked to play such an important transgender character, especially because there have been a lot of talks about how to depict people in media in a real way.
The performer knew how important the choice was.
Park told The Hollywood Reporter that when he originally heard he would be playing a trans woman in Squid Game, he believed it would be a great challenge for him as an actor.
But I also questioned myself at the same time. As a cisgender actor, is it okay for me to play a trans woman? So I was worried. I was worried.
Even though there was a lot of talk about it, Park Sung-hoon took his job seriously. He was resolved not to add to the damaging misconceptions that have hurt how transgender people are shown in Korean media.
Park said, “I was determined to make her a character who is not a stereotype.” I didn’t want to make her into a stereotype. I really wanted to emphasize her good attributes, the ones that make her so special.
He did a lot of planning.
He said, “I talked to a lot of transgender people, got some advice from them, and did a lot of research so I could learn more about this group of people and the people in it.”
Hyun-ju is different from other transgender characters in Korean media because she is complicated and heroic.
She is one of the most admirable characters in the series, and her transsexual status is only part of who she is.She has a kind heart. She doesn’t think about herself. She is concerned about other people. Park said that she is an excellent leader because she is courageous and charismatic.
This holistic portrayal was meant to go beyond the “flat” and clichéd images that have been common in Korean entertainment.
Hyun-ju’s narrative ends tragically in season three when she dies protecting her friends, one of whom is pregnant and has a baby.
ark Sung-hoon as Cho Hyun-ju in ‘Squid Game’ season 2
Park thought, “She dies trying to save her friends.” I believe that indicates that her heart is truly golden.
Park hopes this will lead to more opportunities. I think Hyun-ju will lead to more LGBTQ+ characters with more than one dimension in the future.
Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator, knew there would be uproar, but he said the casting choice wasn’t done carelessly.
He said the explanation shows a disturbing side of how South Korean culture treats the LGBTQ+ group.
Hwang told TV Guide that when they looked into it, there were almost no openly trans actors in Korea, let alone openly homosexual ones. This is because the LGBTQ population is still stigmatized and mistreated in Korean society, which is really sad.
This statement shows a harsh truth: the people who could have really played this character are mostly missing from Korean entertainment, not because they want to be, but because of discrimination and cultural pressures.
It wasn’t random that Hyun-ju was added. Hwang said that the games usually draw in the most marginalized people in society, and sadly, transgender people in modern-day Korea are among them.
Hwang told Gizmodo that the people who come to play the games in Squid Game are mainly outcasts or people who have been forgotten by society.
Sadly, in Korean society right now, the gender minority is not a group that is very well accepted. I wanted to make a character that would show that.
The creator hopes that Hyun-ju’s story could have a bigger meaning: I think that by making a character like Hyun-ju and showing how she acts, what she chooses to do, and how she carries herself in the game, I can raise awareness of these problems we face today.