With December here, fans of Netflix’s “Squid Game” eagerly prepare themselves for the release of its second season. Talks about the show are at an all-time high, and people are unsurprisingly excited about the return of the award-winning show! With the teaser being dropped last month, fans have been chattering about the characters and roles of each actor.
However, one particular actor, Park Sung-hoon (박성훈), is playing a surprising role in the show. For “Squid Game Season 2,” the actor will play the role of a transgender woman who joins the game to fund her gender-affirming surgery. Netizens first saw him in the Netflix trailer, where he was wearing a wig and eye makeup to appear more ladylike.
It’s reported that this is the “Queen of Tears” actor’s first time playing a transgender. However, he has played the role of a gay man before in a musical, providing him experience of playing a member of the LGBTQ community. However, despite gaining attention for his new role, many fans also expressed distaste for Netflix choosing to hire a cisgender male actor for a transgender role.
Netizens have conveyed how they felt online, suggesting that the show should’ve recruited a transgender actor as they’d know the struggles and hardships of being part of a minority community. Many said hiring a transgender actor could’ve been a great opportunity for the South Korean series to display inclusivity to their viewers who were in the same situation.
Although some were angered that Netflix didn’t give a proper representation for the minority group, others suggested that it may be hard to find transgender actors in South Korea, as it is a conservative country and LGBTQ+ is a taboo and sensitive topic in the nation. What do you think about this? Will you be tuning in for the new season?
Tiana contributed to this article.
