In life, once in a while comes along a television series that excites you. For me currently, that show is Squid Game Season 2. My hats off to South Korea for another thrilling TV series.
I am happy to see some of my favourite Korean actors in the series like Gong Yoo, Lee-Byung-hun and Kang Ha-neul. I last saw Gong Yoo in “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God”, Lee in “Mr Sunshine” and Kang in “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo.” Those were the days when I was crazy about South Korean TV series and not a day would pass without me watching one on the Internet.
I have also been a fan of the South Korean boy band, BigBang from the days when it was still a five-piece band. Later, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry in March, 2019 and BigBang rapper T.O.P aka Choi Seung-hyun, left in May 2023.
I did not know that T.O.P, who took on the role of Thanos (Player 230) in Squid Game Season 2, was involved in a scandal involving marijuana use which is illegal in South Korea.
His casting in the series has stirred up controversy due to his past so much so that his face was obscured recently in MBC’s “Live This Morning” broadcast about the series. This subsequently sparked a strong backlash from fans and netizens online, especially on X, formerly Twitter.
Although illegal drug use is not encouraged, one wonders how long poor T.O.P has to pay for his mistake. After he was caught using marijuana in 2017, T.O.P was blacklisted. For nine years, he could not appear on any Korean screen show.But anyway, I thought he acted very well in Squid Gam
e Season 2 and is among the standout characters who are desperate to win and pressurise players to vote for “O” so that the competition will proceed to the final round.
The Squid Game director has admitted it took a lot of courage for T.O.P to accept a role that resembled his real-life struggles.
Besides the appearances of my favourite South Korean actors, I also like the children’s games in Squid Games Season Two. For example, I can listen to the Mingle Game Song “Round and Round” for hours. It is so relaxing to listen to.
But how many of you, I wonder, are aware that the jingle from “Mingle” is one of South Korea’s most popular nursery rhymes?In Squid Game Season
2, when “Mingle” plays, the players stand on a revolving carousel. When the music stops and the carousel halts, players must join teams of a designated number and claim an unoccupied room. Players who cannot claim a room with the correct number of team members are eliminated from the Squid Game.
In an interview, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was reported to have said the games in the series were simple children’s games that a lot of kids in Korea grew up playing.
“I remember being on set and being reminded of my childhood days,”he said.
Hwang wanted the games to be universally recognised. With the current popularity of the series, he has definitely succeeded in achieving that goal. I’m sure I am not the only one in the world hooked on the melodious song of “Mingle”. Never mind, if it is connected to a blood bath on Squid Game Season 2.
Since it was released on Dec 26, 2024, the world’s response to the South Korean dystopian survival thriller television series has been outstanding. For instance, in just four days, it succeeded in racking up 68 million views, making it the biggest launch ever seen on Netflix.
In the first week of its availability, the series attracted 58.2 million views to take first place in the Top 10 non-English shows available on Netflix in 91 countries.
This season’s show stars Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Wi Ha-joon, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-wook, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kan Ae-shim and Jo Yu-ri.
Seong-Gi-hun, winner of Squid Game Season 1 (played by Lee Jung-jae), returns to the games after three years with the intent of stopping it once and for all.
Once again, he dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won. In a side plot, Hwang Jun-ho tries to locate Gi-hun with help from hired mercenaries.
There are a lot of loose ends in Squid Game Season 2, so viewers all over the world are impatiently looking forward to Squid Game Season 3 which is set to be released as early as June this year.
Let’s be patient, my friends.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
