Netflix announces new cast for ‘Squid Game 2’

Netflix Korea on Sunday announced the new cast for the second season of the sensational series “Squid Game.”

Joining the original cast will be actors Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon and Yang Dong-geun.

Yim most recently starred in the Netflix thriller flick “Unlocked,” while Park played a villain in Netflix’s “The Glory.” Kang was the lead actor in hit TV drama “When the Camellia Blooms” (2019) and Yang appeared in Netflix action flick “Yaksha: Ruthless Operations” (2022).

Netflix Korea introduced the new faces during Tudum, a global fan event that was held in Sao Paulo, Saturday local time, without revealing the roles they will play.

Actor Lee Jung-jae will continue to play a lead role in the sequel, the streaming platform said, along with actors Lee Byung-hun who starred as the frontman and Wi Ha-joon, a police officer who goes undercover in the deadly games to find his missing brother. Gong Yoo, who recruited the participants for the survival game, will return as well.

With “Squid Game,” Lee became the first Korean actor to win an Emmy for lead actor in a drama series for the award's 74th edition last year.

Shooting for the second season will begin during the second half of this year, Netflix Korea said.

In 2021, director Hwang Dong-hyuk's dystopian take on children's games gained popularity immediately after its release, reaching 111 million fans globally as Netflix’s biggest series launch. It also became the most watched show on Netflix with 1.6 billion hours.

After the series’ stunning success, Netflix has said it would double down on Korean content, pouring $2.5 billion over the next four years. Between 2015 and 2020, Netflix’s investment in K-content amounted to some $700 million, producing about 80 Korean films and series.

The US streaming giant’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, will make a two-day visit to Seoul this week.

Sarandos will meet with journalists, industry insiders and aspiring content experts, a Netflix official told The Korea Herald. The Seoul visit is not part of any other business trip nor is he making stops at other neighboring countries, he added.