This article contains light spoilers from Squid Game Season 2 that impact the plot of Season 3.
For actor Wi Ha-jun, shooting the scenes out at sea for Squid Game‘s third season felt like second nature to him, having grown up on an island in South Korea‘s Wando county.
“I grew up on an island and have had a lot of experiences riding boats,” Wi tells Deadline. “My father had a boat because of his sea-based farming business, so it was easy for me to film.”
In the third season of Squid Game, Wi’s character, Hwang Jun-ho, continues to search for his older brother, In-ho/Front Man (played by Lee Byung-hun), suspecting that he is on the island where another instalment of the deathly, winner-takes-all game is taking place.
“Most of the scenes with lines were shot on a set outdoors, while scenes that required full shot, we shot out on the sea,” adds Wi.
Besides Wi, actors Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Yim Si-wan and Kang Ha-neul also star in the third and final season of Squid Game. The six-episode season picks up from Season 2’s bloody conclusion, with Gi-hun continuing to play deadly games alongside the surviving players, while VIPs return to spectate the battles.
Wi Ha-jun has played several memorable supporting roles in series like Gyeongseong Creature and Little Women, before landing this breakout role in the Squid Game universe.
Reflecting on the life-changing journey that the series has brought him on, Wi says: “Thanks to Squid Game, I’ve been given a lot of options and opportunities as an actor, which has enabled me to go on many different journeys and take on new challenges. I’m very thankful for that.”
Wi also says that Squid Game marked a milestone in his acting career, as it was the first time he has participated across multiple seasons of a show.
“This was my first time being part of a season-based series and now that I am almost done with this experience, learning to act with the whole picture in mind is my biggest takeaway as an actor,” says Wi.
On the other side, Squid Game is only the second series that singer-actress Jo Yu-ri has featured in, playing the role of Kim Jun-hee (Player 222).
She was previously part of South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*one until 2021 and participated in Mnet’s reality competition series Produce 48 in 2018.
Jo says that she was a “huge fan” of the first season and it was surreal to eventually join the series as an actress.
“I’ve had countless lessons from this show but one of the most remarkable things was having the opportunity to act and collaborate with cast members who are much more experienced than I am,” says Jo.
Looking ahead, Jo says that she would like to appear in an action or thriller series in the near future, as those are her two favorite genres. She adds that 2008 Japanese film One Million Yen Girl is her favorite film.
Playing Jun-hee, the ex-girlfriend of Myung-gi — who is accused of fraud after running a YouTube channel about cryptocurrency called MG Coin — has also provided Jo another real-life lesson.
“Another takeaway is to not be part of the coin craze,” says Jo. “I don’t have a lot of knowledge regarding these investments and things like that, but going forward, I know I’m not going to be interested in this.”
