‘Squid Game’ Stars On What They Will Miss About The Netflix Series

It is the rather unpredictable and often shocking television series that has taken the world by storm. Squid Game on Netflix has cleverly brought familiar childhood games to groups of money-hungry adults to compete for a cash prize – yet the real kicker has consistently been that if you lose, you die.

Since premiering the 6-time Emmy-winning Korean series on the video streaming giant in September 2021, Squid Game has become so much more than just a show – it has encouraged a universal discussion about social class, human greed and trying to hold onto one’s compassion for others within the most high stakes environment.

Now with the two seasons streaming on Netflix and the third & final season premiering on June 27, the Squid Game cast and crew assembled in Hollywood, California this past Friday evening at the historic Egyptian Theatre for a Netflix FYSEE event to celebrate the critically-acclaimed second season.

While speaking there with these creative artists (with the assistance of a translator), knowing that the entire series has already been filmed, I wondered what they are going to miss most about exploring this Squid Game world on-screen, and if they feel any relief with it ending, being such an intense subject matter and an elaborate production.

Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae, who plays “Gi-hun” on Squid Game, said, “Well, the thing I miss most is the actors and staff, and the rewarding part is the acting with actors and filming with the staff. I think I’m going to miss all the great times we had on production. I’m very proud of what we’ve done with all the crew and cast. One thing I am going to be relieved of, I don’t know if there’s anything, but I think maybe the fact that I don’t have to go on a diet anymore.”

Kang Ae-sim, who plays “Geum-ja” on the Netflix series, said, “I’m going to miss the food, the catering – and there was a restaurant that was really good, so I’m going to miss the food.”

Squid Game creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk said, “I miss the most from the production days, the atmosphere of the set. It was full of people – like actresses, like actors and crew members. I lived here for like one year, so I kind of miss it because I’m living alone by myself, so I am lonely and sometimes sitting on my couch alone. At the same time, what I really like, walking away from the production is my own time by myself. It’s like a strange feeling. Relief? Yeah. Got free from the production and all those green suit extras. So, I miss it. Also, I’m happy to be walking away from it.”

Park Sung-hoon, who plays “Hyun-ju” on Squid Game, said, “So, you know, it was quite intense, the filming, so we have this camaraderie between us. It was really bad that I didn’t get to see [the cast and crew] after production wrapped, and I’m really happy that we got this opportunity to get to see them once again.”

Choi Seung-hyun, better known as T.O.P. for his longtime Korean rap music career, plays “Thanos” on the Netflix series. He said, “So, it was just a really great show with amazing actors. I learned so much.”

Lee Byung-hun, who plays “In-ho” and “Front Man,” said, “I miss my mask (laughs) and I’m happy that I don’t have to wear my mask anymore.”

Also speaking with a few more of the creatives behind-the-scenes of Squid Game, I was curious what was their favorite part while building out this Netflix television production and what has been their biggest challenge within their specific role.

Editor Nam Na-young said, “I’m always just happy to make my bag – to make my money – but also, I would say that the whole process was really enjoyable for me. Of course, the whole process is also difficult because it takes a very long time. I’m sitting there piling through all the takes and trying to figure out which is the best take. So yeah, I would really say there were pros and cons to the entire process.”

Director of photography Kim Ji-yong said, “I didn’t work on season one. I was a fan, so I was just very excited being on the iconic set of Squid Game. It was fun – exciting to shoot.”

Production designer Chae Kyoung-sun said, “I would say that being able to express the world of Squid Game, visually, was really exciting for me. I got to be really creative in the ideas I pitched and had some really interesting conversations with director Hwang to be able to develop this world. Of course, you know, in creating these ideas, there’s a lot of challenges, as well.”

As this creative team will soon move on to new projects after this Squid Game Netflix series concludes this summer, I wondered what knowledge will they take away from their experiences on this production and bring into their next roles moving forward.

Lee Byung-hun said, “Before Squid Game, Korea only used to have mostly limited series – we are not used to having subsequent seasons. So, I think that through the experience of Squid Game, we’re going to have that experience of having multiple seasons. So, I think for my future projects, I’m going to be thinking about that in advance, so that I can better plan for particular content to come out.”

Choi said, “So, Thanos was a rapper, so I learned to rap for the first time – just kidding. So maybe, I’ll just debut as a rapper now.”

Park said, “We had a lot of veteran actors on-set, so I learned so much from them, whether it’s life lessons or acting lessons. I think I’m going to use all of them in my next projects.”

Hwang said, “I learned a lot about enduring things from season one, two and three, because I wrote and directed everything. I probably shot more than 300 days for the three seasons, so I learned how to endure the times and it’s going to be helping me a lot for the next project.”

Kang said, “There were a lot of different situations while filming, so I learned how to kind of react to those situations, and I think that’s going to be very helpful going forward in my career.”

Lee Jung-jae concluded with, “I think in Squid Game, I learned a lot of new filming techniques – and also, it was a project that I spent a lot of time on with the cast and crew. I think that I was able to re-learn what it means to work together, so I’m definitely going to bring that onto my next projects. Season two, Gi-hun was alone a lot – that’s the way director Hwang wrote it. So, I was quite lonely – unlike in season one, when I got to chat a lot and have fun with other people. I was isolated during seasons two and three, so I think that the one thing that I am going to carry onto my next projects is the value of working together and communicating.”