Squid Game creator defends controversial decision to cast cis man as a trans woman

Squid Game director and creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has defended the controversial decision to cast a cisgender man as a trans woman in season two of the hit Netflix show.

Park Sung-hoon plays Hyun-ju, also known as Player 120, in the second season of the survival thriller series, which has left many people wondering, why, in 2024, the role of a trans woman was given to a cis male.

Now, speaking to TV Guide, Hwang has revealed why casting a trans woman would’ve been difficult in South Korea. 

“I did anticipate such discussions to arise from the first moment I began creating the character,” he said. “In the beginning we were doing our research, and I was thinking of doing an authentic casting of a trans actor.

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