[Limelight] Director Hwang Dong-hyuk: "Seong Gi-hun is Don Quixote... We Need Him"

Seong Gi-hoon Striking a Rock with an Egg, Resembling Don Quixote
Futile Thoughts Growing Bigger: "Possible Because I'm a Dreamer"
"The Era That Valued Ideology and Thought Seems Over... It's Sad"
"Just Questioning Those in Power Is Meaningful Enough"

In Netflix's 'Squid Game' Season 2, Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) devises a perilous plan. He proposes a surprise attack on the organizers to participants who want to quit the game midway. He persuades those who want to continue the game that there is a chance of winning if they seize firearms while some participants are being attacked. The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), disguised as participant number 1, raises a question.

"Are you saying we should accept small sacrifices for the greater good?" "If we miss this opportunity, we will face even greater sacrifices. Even if we suffer losses now, we must end this game this time."

Seong Gi-hun re-enters the game to oppose injustice and to prevent others from experiencing the misfortunes he endured. However, he loses his way between voluntary judgment and strictness.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk referred to him as a Don Quixote who sets out to bring justice to the world and eradicate injustice. Although his tragic life makes him a subject of ridicule, his journey to seek ideals against the materialism and vulgarity surrounding him is similar.

"Seong Gi-hun realized reality through the game in Season 1. He understood that falling behind in a competitive society was not just due to laziness or incompetence. He came to revolutionary thinking to change the system. I wanted to show in Season 2 how good intentions can be frustrated. There are quite a few similar cases in human history. The socialist revolution is a representative example. It started with the goal of making everyone prosperous but was ruined after countless sacrifices. Seong Gi-hun is no different. His original goal was just, but his plans repeatedly failed, leading him to attempt reckless rebellion. He is like Don Quixote striking a rock with an egg."

Don Quixote charges at the monstrous windmills, ignoring the superficial and shallow modern epistemology's ridicule. He lives in a deep world invisible to modern eyes. By refusing to accept the given environment and embarking on an adventure to assign new meaning, he becomes his true 'self.'

Seong Gi-hun's journey is similar. In Season 1, he is outraged by the Front Man's words. "You like horse racing, right? You are the horses. Horses at the racetrack. It was unexpected. I thought you wouldn't run far." "Who are you?" "Just think of it as a dream. It wasn't such a bad dream for you, was it?"

A year later, Seong Gi-hun becomes a different person as he gives up his flight to the United States. "Listen carefully. I am not a horse. I am a human. So I am curious. Who are you, and how can you do this to people? That's why I cannot forgive." Director Hwang explained, "It is the moment Seong Gi-hun steps onto the path of a dreamer."

His unrealistic thoughts grow stronger as the game progresses. The pinnacle is his claim that to achieve the public good, they must attack the organizers. There is a huge contradiction here. According to the Front Man, if they want to stop the game, it would be easier to kill the participants wearing the 'O' name tags on their right chests. Seong Gi-hun chooses a much more difficult path with a vague plan. He simply believes in human goodness.

Many viewers criticize this series of events, pointing out a lack of plausibility and a decline in the character's appeal. Director Hwang said, "It may seem frustrating, but it is possible because he is a dreamer."

"If this were the 1980s or 1990s, such criticism might not have existed. It was a world that could understand dreamers. Ideologies and thoughts were highly valued. Nowadays, people seem to regard dreamers as fools. It was sad to see the audience's reactions. Students who protested in college went out to the streets knowing they might be arrested. I felt that such pursuits of values and ideals could no longer be established."

In fact, Director Hwang sensed this trend even before directing 'Squid Game' Season 2. You can tell just by the changes in the game format. After each round, survivors publicly vote on whether to continue the game, and the majority decides. Participants who press 'O' shout "One more round!" Conversely, those on the 'X' side become anxious. Director Hwang explained, "I wanted to depict the global division, boundary-drawing, and conflicts caused by mutual antagonism." So why did the Front Man introduce voting? Director Hwang said, "He must have had confidence that the game could continue."

"There was voting in Season 1 as well. But if a participant quit the game midway, they couldn't take any money. It was a setting designed to prevent participants from voting. However, the social atmosphere flowed toward desiring more. The Front Man must have been certain that participants wouldn't be satisfied unless the prize money reached a certain amount. The changed setting could be even more fatal to Seong Gi-hun. It could further shatter his faith in humanity and himself."

The life of a human harboring the remnants of a hero within is a continuous struggle against an uncertain future. In an era that requires action, that value can shine even more. Just as Don Quixote inevitably emerged in the Renaissance, when humans began to rely on themselves first rather than placing hope in God.

"The world needs Seong Gi-hun. Life has become extremely difficult. Prices keep rising, and jobs are disappearing. Politics is a mess. People argue and point fingers at each other every day. A world where people point fingers sideways or downwards is frightening and sad. Someone is needed to comfort them. When everyone is too busy surviving to care, there must be someone who points a comforting finger for everyone. The very act of questioning those in power is meaningful enough. Even if it is just like striking a rock with an egg."