The “heartbreaking” reason Squid Game’s Hyun-ju isn’t played by a trans woman

After the release of Squid Game Season 2, there’s a clear fan favorite: Hyun-ju, aka Player 120, a trans contestant – but they’re not played by a transgender actor.

The second season of the Netflix series follows Gi-hun as he returns to the games as Player 456, hellbent on finding the Front Man and stopping the competition once and for all.

That means he’s competing alongside a new batch of contestants, and some are nicer than others. For example, Thanos (Player 230) is completely loathsome, but Jung-bae (Player 390) slowly becomes one of Gi-hun’s most loyal allies, even when he makes bad decisions.

And then there’s Cho Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon), who’s been hailed by fans as the best character by the end of Squid Game Season 2.

Who is Hyun-ju in Squid Game Season 2?

Netflix

Hyun-ju is a trans woman who served in the ROK Special Forces. She held the rank of sergeant first class, but she lost her job when she came out as transgender.

Not only that, but none of her family or friends supported her decision. Left with no help to pay for gender-affirming surgery, she entered the games to make enough money for the procedure and move to Thailand to start a new life.

While she doesn’t always stay in everyone’s good books (she votes to continue the games in an emotional vote, betraying the trust of her allies in the competition), she does everything in her power to protect them in the next game, and she volunteers when Gi-hun stages a coup against the guards.

In a Netflix featurette, Park (who you may have seen in K-dramas like Queen of Tears and The Glory) said: “Even though she faces prejudices and tough situations, she shows incredible strength, decisiveness, and natural leadership. Through her resilience, she breaks down stereotypes and shines as an inspiring character.”

Why Hyun-ju isn’t played by a trans actress

Netflix

Hyun-ju’s actor isn’t trans in real life, and there’s a sad reason: there aren’t many openly trans actors due to Korea’s attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community.

As the show’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explained to TV Guide, “When we researched in Korea, there are close to no actors that are openly trans, let alone openly gay, because unfortunately in the Korean society currently the LGBTQ community is rather still marginalized and more neglected, which is heartbreaking.”

Hwang had hoped for an “authentic casting of a trans actor”, and when he cast Park in the role, he “anticipated such discussions to arise from the first moment I began creating the character.”

“It was near impossible to find someone who we could cast authentically… and that led us to the decision to cast Sung-hoon. I have watched his work ever since his debut, and I had complete trust in him that he would be the right person in terms of talent in portraying this character.”

In another interview with The Wrap, Hwang added: “She’s a person who got hurt a lot by social discrimination and prejudice. And there are many incidents in Korea where transgender people suffered prejudice and discrimination.

“Because I do know all the incidents, and I also have personal memories, and also on top of that, like, social incidents, but I wanted to emphasize the fact that even so, even if she is transgender, she has the inner beauty in herself as a human.”

In the meantime, find out more about Squid Game Season 2’s post-credits scene, why Season 2 only has seven episodes, and our ranking of every Squid Game challenge.

You can also read our list of the best TV shows of 2024 and best movies of the year.