[theqoo] SQUID GAME 2’S DIRECTOR “MARIJUANA IS LEGAL OVERSEAS… I DIDN’T KNOW CASTING TOP WOULD BE SUCH A BIG ISSUE”

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk of the Netflix series Squid Game 2 addressed the casting controversy surrounding TOP, a former member of the group BigBang.

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Hwang said, “I’ve heard a lot of criticisms regarding the casting. It seems there are many such opinions in Korea, but the way I saw it, since marijuana is legal in some countries overseas, I thought this issue wouldn’t arise.”

He continued, “When casting him (Top), I looked into the histories of people who had stopped their careers due to marijuana or similar issues and later made a comeback. Even people who were arrested during the Park Chung-hee administration for marijuana use were able to return to their careers after four years of a ban.”

Hwang added, “There were similar cases in the 2000s, and among them were some truly famous individuals. After calculating, I realized that Top’s marijuana case was from 6 to 7 years ago, so I thought the public would be somewhat accepting of it, and that’s why I went ahead with the casting.”

He confessed, “But after seeing the (negative) reactions, I was surprised. However, I couldn’t just suddenly dismiss a friend we’d been preparing with, saying ‘You’re unforgiven, so you can’t be in this.'”

He concluded, “As a director, I said, ‘Let’s just make a good show and show whether or not you’re someone who can be forgiven.’ I believe forgiveness from the media and the public will be decided after the work is evaluated, and that’s why we’ve come this far.”