(Following Interview①) Yang Dong-geun portrayed Yong-sik, who participates in the game due to massive debts from habitual gambling, in 'Squid Game 2'. After arriving at the game venue, he learns that his mother, Geum-ja (played by Kang Ae-sim), has joined the game to help him, and they desperately try to protect each other.
Regarding the somewhat clumsy portrayal of Yong-sik, Yang Dong-geun revealed, "Originally, the director's vision for Yong-sik was not this kind of person. He was supposed to appear emotionally barren. However, since I had to show chemistry with my mother, I thought it wouldn't suit a typical mother figure like Geum-ja to have a son like this. After much deliberation with the director, we decided to approach it with the idea that 'like begets like,' adapting it to fit Kang Ae-sim's style."
A representative scene showcasing their affectionate mother-son relationship is the 'Dungrge Dungrge' game. In the show, 'Dungrge Dungrge' is played by spinning around to the music, and when a number is called, pairs enter a room, while the remaining players are killed.
However, during the game, Yang Dong-geun lost sight of Kang Ae-sim right in front of him, but fortunately, she entered the room with Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun and survived. After reuniting with Kang Ae-sim, Yang Dong-geun tearfully said, "Mom, I'm sorry."
Yang Dong-geun mentioned that he almost declined 'Squid Game 2' because of this scene, saying, "When I heard the news that I was cast in 'Squid Game 2', I was obviously happy. However, I have struggled with emotional acting since I was young. It left a trauma from my child acting days, and I really didn't want to confront those emotions. Still, since it was 'Squid Game 2', I went ahead with it, but it was so difficult that I felt physically ill during filming."
However, he stated that the final product was more satisfying than he expected.
“That scene was set against a carousel backdrop. When we started filming, the song 'Father,' which I made when I was young, came to mind. It contains stories about my parents that are hard to bring up, with lyrics like 'I wanted to raise you in the land of dreams.' But now, I'm at an amusement park with a carousel, unable to do that for my mother. Remembering that song brought up my emotions, and the scene turned out better than I had worried about. (Laughs)”
However, opinions among viewers regarding the scene where Yang Dong-geun loses Kang Ae-sim are divided. Some interpret it as 'the son abandoned his mother,' while others argue that 'Yang Dong-geun was dragged away by force.'
When asked what he thought while acting in that part, Yang Dong-geun replied, “For that part, I trusted the director first, and second, I thought it was up to the viewers to interpret it. The goal was not to explain 'what the intention was' but to allow each person to judge 'how they saw it.'”
Some have reacted by wondering how it would have been if rapper Yang Dong-geun had played the Thanos role, which was taken by Big Bang's T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun).
Yang Dong-geun said, “I saw comments suggesting that. I’m not sure exactly since it was in English, but it felt like they were wondering how it would have been if I had played Thanos. It seems that people overseas also know that I’m a rapper. My agency said I should quickly prepare an album. Maybe I could aim to be Korea's Will Smith,” he joked.
In conclusion, Yang Dong-geun reflected, “'Squid Game 2' is on a different level that cannot be compared to other works. Since it targets the global market, I even did promotional activities abroad for the first time. It was something that had never happened before, and I wonder if there will be anything like this in the future.”
He added, “I heard that Season 2 has been nominated for the Golden Globe, but I can't go yet. I have to do something in Season 3 first, so I need to go after Season 3.” He expressed strong confidence in the upcoming season.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
