‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Fever Descends on Seoul with Grand Spectacle, Heated Political Commentary: “We Have to Take to the Streets”

With an enormous Young-hee doll towering ominously above them, the creator and stars of Squid Game met the press in South Korea on Monday to publicly discuss the second season of Netflix‘s most-watched show for the first time. Fans and influencers who had flocked to Seoul from across the globe for the occasion could be heard chatting excitedly about how unnerving it was to be in the presence of the deadly Squid Game figurine, as well as the legions of pink-suited guards who were stationed throughout the event inside the city’s futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza. But it wasn’t long before Squid Game‘s director-creator Hwang Dong-hyuk reminded everyone that a far graver backdrop was looming over the show’s wildly anticipated rollout in its home country — a spiraling political crisis sparked by South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law less than a week ago. 

“There is political turmoil in Korea, and I am here with a heavy heart,” Hwang said. The director later added that he hadn’t been sure if members of the press would even show up to the premiere, given what has been unfolding inside his country.

“That we are releasing this show at this hour, I feel that it’s just destiny,” Hwang said, explaining that he deliberately sharpened Squid Games‘ dark sociopolitical commentary for Season 2 in response to the growing “conflict, division, upheavals and wars” seen in societies across the globe. 

South Korea has been in a state of crisis since Tuesday night, when the country’s deeply unpopular president took the drastic step of declaring emergency martial law, only to retract it six hours later after public outrage and a unanimous vote for withdrawal by the national legislature. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters assembled outside the country’s National Assembly as lawmakers gathered again to cast their votes on whether to impeach Yoon. But the president escaped impeachment when all members of his ruling People Power Party (PPP) fled the chamber and boycotted the vote. Party leaders have since said that they are managing the country’s affairs while Yoon prepares for eventual resignation. Members of the opposition and many analysts, however, have argued that the unprecedented arrangement has no constitutional basis and will only prolong the political crisis. 

Hwang said Saturday’s outcome was “unfathomable” and that he was “outraged as a Korean citizen.” 

“We have to take to the streets,” he added. “Whether it’s by impeachment or stepping down himself, the person responsible for declaring martial law has to take responsibility. I hope that we can return to a state of stability and that the Korean people can enjoy a festive holiday season as the year comes to an end — the people deserve to have that returned to them.”

Much of the Korean entertainment industry has thrown its support behind the protests calling for Yoon’s removal. On Friday, over 2,500 of the country’s film industry figures — including Parasite director and multi-Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho and acclaimed auteur Park Chan-wook — signed a petition demanding the president’s impeachment and arrest.

Hwang added at the premiere: “Season two draws a lot of parallels with what we are witnessing in the world right now. And with a heavy heart, I feel that watching the second season of Squid Game is not going to be very different from watching the news — and that’s how I want you take it.”

Many other moments of Netflix’s Squid Game spectacle in Seoul were business as usual for a top entertainment title making its first public splash — stars posing for photos and discussing the excitement of returning to set for the next installment of a wildly popular series.  

The show’s Emmy-winning star, Lee Jung-jae said there’s so much anticipation for the second season that, “When the cameras were on, we almost felt a little relieved from the pressure.” 

The Squid Game launch is indeed a major moment for Netflix’s Korean and global content teams. The company took over Seoul’s massive downtown Dongdaemun Design Plaza and decked the facility out with Squid Game sets, or “fan activation zones,” and a snaking pink carpet that would host the show’s stars as they enter the premiere screening of Season 2’s first episode Monday night.

Squid Game‘s first season still holds the record as Netflix’s most popular series of all time, with an astonishing 330 million views to date, or over 2.8 billion view hours, according to the company. The title has been instrumental in driving Korean content to ever greater global popularity. Netflix says more than 80 percent of its current global subscriber base has watched some Korean content on the service. 

Viewership for Squid Game‘s Season 1 jumped 60 percent in the immediate aftermath of the new season’s teaser trailer release, signaling massive anticipation for what’s to come, according to Netflix. 

Hwang, who famously lost eight teeth during production on Season 1 due to stress, added that “new toothaches emerged” during the shooting of Season 2. The showrunner has written and directed every single episode of the hit show himself — including its upcoming third season — an uncommon feat in the international TV industry.

“I’m kind of avoiding my dentist,” he said, “because I feel like the minute I visit him, I’m going to have at least two more teeth taken out and will need more implants.” 

“The reason that Squid Game was loved by so many around the world is because it’s such a Korean subject — with Korean games at the center of it all — but the sentiment the story carries is so universal,” said Korean leading man Lee Byung-hun, who plays the show’s enigmatic villain, the Front Man.

Lee Jung-jae added that fans shouldn’t be surprised to find that his character is a man deeply changed by what he experienced in Season 1.

“It’s the same character, but he’s a very changed person,” Lee said. “How he perceives the circumstances around him and engages with the world, he will almost seem like a different person. He is goal-driven more than anything else — and he has an extremely strong conviction to put an end to the game.”

Hwang acknowledged that Season 2 features far more young cast members than the opening block of episodes did — including actress No Eul as a mysterious North Korean defector, Hyun Ju as a transgender woman seeking money for a gender-affirming surgery, Jun Hee as a headstrong young woman coping with huge debts; and young heartthrob Myung Gi as a crypto bro gone bust; among others. 

“When I was writing Season 1, it was prior to the pandemic, and in order for someone to be deep enough in debt to be drawn into this game, I thought you had to be older,” the director explained. “Because you can’t fall so deeply in life at such an early age. But between Seasons 1 and 2, we had Covid and the crypto currency boom, and I realized that the social ladder is no longer there for people to climb up. Young people today are forced to just look for a jackpot. So now, young people really can find themselves up to their necks in debt.”

“Our society has become more drastic and many people feel that they are spiraling downward,” he added. 

Hwang also emphasized that even though a strong sociopolitical allegory runs through the second season, making an impactful piece of entertainment was always his top priority while writing the show’s final two-season arc.

“At the end o the day, what’s important is for the show to be entertaining,” he said. “I want people to react by saying, “If this isn’t a good show, I don’t know what is.”

Squid Game‘s Season 2 premieres Dec. 26. The clash between Lee Jung-jae’s Player 456 and the Front Man will continue into the series finale with season 3, which will be released in 2025.