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Wi Ha-joon Talks ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 And 'Emotional' Reunion With The Front-Man
South Korean star Wi Ha-joon discusses his character's storyline in Netflix's 'Squid Game' and how he is an expert at Gonggi
South Korean star Wi Ha-joon is all smiles as he talks to us over a Zoom call, with the help of an interpreter, on the reception to the second season of Squid Game.
Ha-joon’s character of Hwang Jun-ho endured a frustrating time in the latest edition of Netflix’s smash hit series, as the former police detective spends all season in vain trying to locate the mysterious island where the games take place.
After infiltrating the 33rd Squid Game last time around and finally cracking the secret of what happened to his missing brother — he turned out to be none other than Hwang In-ho, the Front Man — much was expected from Jun-ho this time around.
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“I do understand from the audience’s point of view, it might have been frustrating and it looked like I was just going in circles. But for me — since I had the whole narrative in mind already — it wasn’t so difficult. In season three, my purpose and my arc will be fully unraveled, so please stay tuned!” says Ha-joon, who is also popular for his roles in other K-Dramas such as Something in the Rain, Romance Is a Bonus Book and Little Women.
After joining hands with the central protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), the new season sees Hwang Jun-ho mostly engage with a group of mercenaries hired to locate the island, though it is revealed towards the end that they have been going around in circles. This is because Captain Park, who saved Jun-ho’s life earlier, is revealed to be an imposter.
“During the shoot, I mostly interacted with Oh Dal-su, who played Sea Captain Park, and the rest of the guys who were soldiers at sea looking for the mysterious island. There were a lot of things I learned from the other actors in terms of their ethics and attitude on set, and also how to conduct oneself off-camera. Everyone really had very warm personalities too, which made the set a really inspiring place to be at,” recalls Ha-joon.
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While many of the other Korean stars who were part of the cast got to relive some of their childhood memories by playing the different traditional games as contestants on the show, Ha-joon’s storyline didn’t afford him such an opportunity. The 33-year-old actor, however, says that he’d have been excellent at a couple of them had he acted as a contestant instead.
“I would have won at Red Light, Green Light for sure! It’s something that I played often as a child and I’m very good at it. In season two also, there was Gonggi (the game played with five colourful lightweight stones or marbles) which I’m surprisingly excellent at. I’d have loved a chance to play both these games and show how good I am at them,” he laughs.
With the third and final season of the show set to premiere on June 27, fans across the world eagerly await the brothers Hwang Jun-ho and Hwang In-ho meeting each other again, in what is expected to be an epic showdown.
Ha-joon doesn’t give away much, but he does promise that it will be an intense sequence. “So… whether the two brothers will reunite in season three is something that you should wait to find out. But, if there was to be such a reunion, then Hwang Jun-ho would surely go through a lot of indescribable emotions such as sadness, anger and also happiness.”
“Expressing these kinds of emotions was something that was very challenging for me as an actor, so I hope everyone looks out for this in the third season,” he concludes.