Note: The following story contains spoilers from “Squid Game” Season 3, Episode 2.
Any fan of “Squid Game” knows the more beloved the character, the greater chance they’re going to die. That certainly put a target on the back of Hyun-ju, the trans contestant who comes to be a leader in Seasons 2 and 3, as well as one of the kindest and most level-headed players to ever appear in the Squid Game. But just because Hyun-ju’s death has a ring of inevitability around it that doesn’t mean that her loss wasn’t a blow to series star Park Sung-hoon.
“Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of villain characters, so Hyun-ju was a present to me because she is such a cool character,” Park told TheWrap. “She has a good moral compass. I thought she died a little too soon. It’s a shame that she died.”
Hyun-ju has one of the most devastating deaths in a series full of them. Throughout Season 2, Hyun-ju befriends the pregnant Kim Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri) as well as Jang Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim). But in one of Season 3’s games, that friendship is put to the test. A demented version of hide-and-seek divides the contestants in half, telling the hiders to do their best to stay undetected and giving the seekers knives. If a seeker fails to kill another player within the allotted time, they will be murdered. But if the hiders avoid the seekers or find the exit within the time limit, they’re free to go to the next round.
Between her rebellion with Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and her performance in the other challenges, it’s clear that Hyun-ju could easily survive this challenge on her own. But instead of putting herself first, she partners with the elderly Geum-ja and the struggling Jun-hee. Even when Jun-hee goes into labor in the middle of the game, Hyun-ju stays by her side, keeping lookout, protecting the two other women from attackers and going back to find them after she discovers the exit.
Previously, Park and Kang worked together on the Korean series “Into the Ring,” which Park credits as the reason why they were able to develop their characters’ relationship “organically.” But it was also the fact that Seasons 2 and 3 were filmed in chronological order that led to the progressive deepening of their bond. The strength of Hyun-ju and Geum-ja’s relationship is cemented when both women risk their own lives to help Jun-hee give birth.
“Our bond grew stronger and stronger, so when we were filming that scene when Yu-ri was giving birth, we didn’t have to practice or rehearse the scene. We would just lock eyes and get it right away. We knew what each other was thinking,” Park explained. “It was a very holy, sacred moment of that baby being born. As a transgender woman, Hyun-ju probably felt a whole lot of emotions going through her head because this is something that she wouldn’t be able to experience herself.”
It’s a level of selflessness that rarely appears in Squid Game. And that’s what makes her death at the hands of Myung-gi (Im Si-wan), the father of Jun-hee’s baby, so horrifying.
Park’s portrayal of Hyun-ju has gained a good deal of attention in the United States since Park is a cis man playing a trans woman. Due to the very limited pool of trans actors in South Korea, director Hwang Dong-hyuk said in the past that it was “nearly impossible” to cast a trans actor. When asked how his portrayal of Hyun-ju has influenced conversations about trans representation in Korea, Park admitted he didn’t know. But the actor is hopeful his role will help to better conditions for trans people.
“What I do know is that there are, sadly, still people out there who have prejudices and biases against the LGBTQ plus community and transgender people. I just hope that my character, Hyun-ju, would show them a way [toward acceptance]. Geum-ja at first didn’t really like her, but later on, she warmed up to her, she embraced her as a very nice person, as a friend, as part of her family. So I hope people who have those prejudices and biases against the LGBTQ+ community would warm up to her, just like Geum-ja did.”
“Squid Game” is now streaming on Netflix.
