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| Image Credit: Netflix |
The rapper with purple hair has become one of the most beloved characters of the second season. But here's why he doesn't appear at all in the advertising for the series... As often happens with such popular and world-famous titles, the release of Squid Game 2 was accompanied by criticism and controversy, from the decision to end the season with only seven episodes to the introduction of a new transsexual character. What focused the attention of the Korean media, however, was the presence of an uncomfortable figure for the public opinion of the country: Choi Seung-Hyun, better known as T.O.P, the rapper of the famous K-pop band BIGBANG.
In the series, the actor plays the role of Thanos, a famous rapper forced to join the games after losing a large sum of money due to bad investments. In his homeland, T.O.P.'s involvement in the cast was particularly controversial, to the point that the actor was removed from the series' posters and the official cast list, despite his appearance in the teaser trailer for Squid Game Season 2. The reason is linked to a scandal dating back to 2017, when Choi Seung-Hyun, who at the time was serving his two-year mandatory military service, was found in possession of marijuana, an illegal substance according to South Korean law.
At the trial, the star pleaded guilty to having used drugs on four occasions in 2016 and received ten months in prison and a two-month suspension from military service. Later, the Ministry of Defense reassigned him to civil service, not allowing him to return to the police, where he was undergoing his training. After the scandal, the rapper was ousted from the Korean entertainment industry, left the group he was part of, terminated his contract with the record company, and devoted himself to his personal projects. His acting in Squid Game 2 is therefore his big comeback after a seven-year hiatus.
And even though Korean audiences didn’t like it, T.O.P found a big supporter in Squid Game 2 director Hwang Dong-hyuk. “As you may know, Seung-hyun was involved in a big scandal in Korea and hasn’t been able to work in recent years,” he told PEOPLE. “For him, this is a big comeback after a long hiatus. On top of that, he plays a character who is a rapper and takes drugs. I think it was very brave of him to play someone who has so many negative similarities to his story. As a director, I was really impressed and very satisfied with what he did with his character.”
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