Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae: "We were able to feel such a wide range of different emotions for each game, which reflects the range of emotions we wanted the audience to feel as well"

In what’s been a golden period for South Korean film and TV, dubbed “Korean wave”, one of the biggest hits of all has been Netflix’s survival thriller Squid Game. Arriving in the midst of Covid in September 2021, the show – based on a South Korean kids’ game, and concerning a group of contestants who battle it out for massive prize money – struck an enormous chord amidst the dystopian tenor of the times.

With its iconic masks and costumes, the show – inspired by creator Hwang Dong-hyuk’s economic struggles, as well as South Korean class disparity – came out of virtually nowhere to become one of Netflix’s biggest ever hits. It’s now back for a hotly anticipated third season, with international audiences – the series boasts viewers in virtually every country in the world – on tenterhooks to find out the fate of the protagonists, including Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), and Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun), the mysterious Front Man of the game, who ultimately becomes a participant.

To start with the basics, how did creator Hwang Dong-hyuk approach writing the season?

“Originally, I had only planned to be for the narrative to be a single season,” he notes. “So I was only planning for season two, and in the process of writing, I had expected it come to about to eight episodes in total. But the story developed into a total of 12-13 episodes, so I felt it would be too long to put into a single season. As a result, we decided to split it into two. This was really going to be a story about the showdown between Gi-hun and Front Man, on their own beliefs regarding humanity.

“The second season was about following Gi-hun’s character arc. At the end of episode seven, his rebellion fails and it costs him his closest friend, and he hits absolute rock bottom. In terms of the story length, as well as the pace and emotional arc, that was just the right place to end the second season.”

Squid Game. Credit: Netflix.

There’s a dramatic irony in the new season, in that we know the identity of Front Man, but Gi-hun does not.

“In the first season, we also had a player number one,” says Hwang Dong-hyuk. “He was the mastermind of the games. But as we all know, the audience didn’t know his true identity, and neither did Gi-hun or anyone else. It’s toward the late end, when we see that twist of his true identity being revealed. That was actually a very important factor and tool, as a means for entertainment.

“But in season two and three, I wanted to flip that around. We again have the same player number one, but he’s Front Man. The audience knows that, so we are all in on the secret, but it’s Gi-hun who doesn’t know. So I thought that by having our audience on our side, and in on the secret, it could create a different sense of tension. That’s one of the main differences in seasons two and three.

“In season two, Gi-Hun was almost mocked and manipulated by In-ho. So in season three, I think it’s going to be really intriguing for the audience, to look forward to when and how Gi-hun will find out – and how that will affect his decisions.”

As for lead actor Lee Jung-jae, how does his character recover from the devastating cliffhanger of season two?

“His rebellion fails and he loses his best friend in front of his eyes,” says the actor. “At the end of the second season, you see Gi-hun in a place where he feels all of that is his fault. He is ridden with a very heavy sense of guilt and despair, so you could say he has almost completely given up on everything. At the beginning of the third season, whether it’s the games or just in life, you will see Gi-hun with no will to carry on.

DESTITUTE TIMES

“However, even in those really destitute times, the only reason he is able to find meaning and courage once again is because of those people around him. It’s because of those people who have survived and made it to that point in the games, that he finds a way to summon up the courage and get back up on his feet. Gi-hun is constantly asked, ‘Do you still have faith in humanity?’

“But no matter how many time he is deceived, mocked or ridiculed by other people, Gi-hun is someone who willl constantly try to find ways to have faith.”

As for Lee Byung-hun, how does he handle the change for Front Man, who has gone from being Squid Game mastermind to participant?

“I’m not sure how much of a change you’ll see in his emotional state in seasons two and three,” he says. “But when I sneaked into this as a fabricated player, it’s all performance. Still, because Front Man played all the games with the other players, and felt those emotions together with them, he did experience a little change. He’s no longer the totally emotion-free Front Man that he was.

“And when he shot Gi-hun’s good buddy right in front of him, because Front Man is behind the mask, the audience believes he’s this cruel, merciless figure, who could just shoot someone in the eye. But behind the mask, he might have squinted a little pulling the trigger. I believe that after spending time with the players, and enjoying all those moments with them, he still has that last remaining, minimal amount of benevolence in him.

“While he still wants to push Gi-hun to breaking point and prove him wrong, in a corner of his heart, he wants to root for him – he wants Gi-hun to prove there is hope for humanity.”

Squid Game.
Credit: Netflix.

What was the hardest game to shoot?

“Some games are very physically demanding, and some are very emotionally demanding,” says Lee Jung-jae. “If I look at all the games from season one to three, each of them have their own unique colour, and I have different memories of each. As actors, we were also able to feel such a wide range of different emotions for each game, which reflects the range of emotions we wanted the audience to feel as well.

“Physically speaking, Red Light, Green Light was quite demanding, because in season one, I went into shooting the game not knowing what to expect. Both emotionally and physically, at times I would feel very awkward, and it was quite challenging, I have to say. But then in season two, when we shot Red Light, Green Light again, I had to play this role of having to convince all 455 other players to listen to me.

“So I was always screaming at the top of my lungs. I almost felt like a teacher trying to quieten a huge, loud classroom. The other game that was most emotionally challenging was Mingle, because you’re in there with the other players. Some you have to embrace, and then the next minute, you have to suddenly neglect them.

“Even when you get into the room, if the number is not right, you have to end up killing someone. So I think the entire emotional arc of that game was quite demanding.”

PECULIAR DISCOVERY

Finally, what’s Hwang Dong-hyuk’s favourite aspect of Squid Game?

“The basic geometric shapes I used in the show,” he replies. “The circle, triangle and square. Those are actually the shapes that first came to mind when I conceived of the idea of Squid Game. I was quite literally thinking of myself playing it as a kid. Those are exactly the shapes you drawn on the ground when you play, and these three shapes have come to represent the limitless competition in late capitalism.

“In our show, it’s also used to show the different classes among the masked guards. The way these simple, fundamental shapes came to symbolise our show – as well as some of the issues we face in current society – does feel quite odd. But I’m just really drawn to it. In the beginning, when I first thought of those shapes, I thought it was quite a peculiar discovery I had made, but I’m quite fond of it.”

• Squid Game season three is streaming on Netflix from June 27.