Playing one of the key characters in the second season of “Squid Game”, Park Sung-hoon attracted the wrath of the media and the Internet after “accidentally” sharing a pornographic parody of the Netflix series.
Playing Hyun-ju (the transgender player, number 120), Park Sung-hoon was quickly congratulated for his performance in season 2 of “Squid Game”. The Netflix series, the second chapter of which already has 126 million views worldwide, confirmed the talents that the 39-year-old South Korean had already demonstrated in series like “The Glory” or “The Queen of Tears”.
But just four days after the release of “Squid Game 2,” Park Sung-hoon made a misstep that could well cost him his reputation. The actor shared an explicit Japanese parody of the series in an Instagram story in which many “players” appear naked and engaged in sexual acts. Given his 2.4 million subscribers on the platform, the pornographic image was quickly relayed although he deleted it a few minutes later.
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Public apology
If his agency quickly published two apologetic press releases, explaining that it was only an “error”, the Internet’s “cancellation” (digital condemnation of celebrities for inappropriate behavior) so quickly and fiercely was immediately launched against the actor. Internationally, his fans expressed great disappointment in their idol, who had nevertheless shown his respect for women and the LGBTQ + community by playing a transgender woman in a country where transidentity continues to be discreet.
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And on site, with the local community, it even went a little further. If Internet users seemed open to the idea of forgiving him for this mistake, the media pressure has not calmed down. It was in the face of this climate of tension – which other South Korean celebrities who had made mistakes had suffered before him – that Park Sung-hoon ended up presenting a public apology, with tears in his eyes, during a conference of press held in a cafe in Seoul, Wednesday January 8.
A simple mistake?
As reported by the “Korea Times”, the actor claimed that it was just a handling error on his part. “I received this image via private message. I was shocked and thought she might be problematic,” he said. “I wanted to hand it over to my team to take care of but something went wrong. I still don’t understand how but when I came back to the application, I realized that I had put it in ‘story’. I regret this mistake so much. »
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Moved to tears, Park Sung-hoon said he understood that his mistake had a big impact at a time when the series and his character were receiving flattering media attention. “I am deeply sorry to the team and everyone who was affected. »
In “Squid Game,” the actor plays Hyun-ju, a transgender woman, former soldier of the armed special forces who participates in the series of deadly games in order to be able to pay for her transition surgery. A definitely key character in this second chapter of the Netflix series.
