Former BigBang member T.O.P joins Squid Game 2, faces backlash over surprise casting
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Actors joining the second season of Squid Game include (from left) T.O.P, Lee Jin-uk, Won Ji-an, Park Gyu-young, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Jo Yu-ri and Roh Jae-won.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
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SEOUL – T.O.P, formerly of K-pop boy band BigBang, is joining the cast of South Korean Netflix series Squid Game in its upcoming second season, but some netizens are unhappy with his casting.
The streaming platform had announced in June that some of the original cast members would be returning to the global hit of 2021, together with four new faces.
Joining the original cast of Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon and Gong Yoo are Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon and Yang Dong-geun.
In a surprise announcement on Thursday, Netflix announced the remaining cast, which includes rising stars as well as veteran actors.
Besides T.O.P, whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, other new faces include actress Park Gyu-young (Sweet Home, 2020 to present); Jo Yu-ri, singer of now-defunct South Korean-Japanese girl group Iz*One; and actress Kang Ae-sim (Move To Heaven, 2021).
However, South Korean netizens have slammed the decision to cast T.O.P, bringing up his drug charges in 2017, which led to two years of probation.
The 35-year-old has not taken on acting roles since the Japanese-South Korean Web drama Secret Message in 2015 and German-Chinese action movie Out Of Control in 2017.
In May, he made headlines when he announced that he had left BigBang,
This left many fans heartbroken as well as bitter, and he faced a backlash then over his decision.
