‘Squid Game’ Director Reveals Which Game He’d Excel At

Within a month of its release, “Squid Game”became Netflix’s most-watched series, breaking records as the first Korean and foreign-language show to earn a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nomination.

Riding the wave of its unprecedented success, Netflix expanded the franchise by launching a reality competition series inspired by the drama, which premiered in November 2023.

Now, the “Squid Game” franchise is gearing up for the highly anticipated release of its second season.

Season two teasers have confirmed that Gi-hun will re-enter the deadly competition, and the latest trailer hints at his new role. This time, he seems focused on guiding contestants to survive and possibly rise up against the game’s organizers. However, his success will depend on his ability to help them overcome their inherent greed.

Gi-hun’s return marks the start of a larger battle, as his fight against those controlling the competition is expected to continue into the third and final season.

As he promotes the highly anticipated second season, director Hwang spoke to PEOPLE Magazine about the success of the show. He even revealed that he would likely excel at the honeycomb challenge. Reflecting on his childhood, he recalled using the same lifesaving trick as Seong in Season 1—licking the honeycomb to weaken the outline of the shape, making it easier to remove.

The Honeycomb Challenge (or Dalgona Challenge) is one of the most memorable and intense moments from “Squid Game” Season 1, appearing in Episode 3: “The Man with the Umbrella.”

Based on a popular South Korean childhood game called ppopgi or dalgona candy, the challenge tasks contestants with carefully carving out a shape—such as a circle, triangle, star, or umbrella—from a flat honeycomb candy using a small needle. The goal is to remove the shape without cracking or breaking the brittle candy, as failure results in elimination, which in the show means death.

The difficulty of the task depends on the chosen shape, with simpler designs like the triangle being easier to carve compared to the intricate umbrella, which poses an almost impossible challenge. In one of the show’s standout moments, Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) cleverly realizes that licking the back of the candy softens it, making it easier to carve out the shape without breaking it, a quick-thinking strategy that saves his life.

Rooted in South Korea’s street snack culture, dalgona candy was a nostalgic treat for many children, who would win another snack or free candy if they successfully removed the shape. This cultural reference resonated deeply with Korean audiences, while the tension-filled game captivated international viewers.

Following the show’s release, the honeycomb challenge went viral on social media platforms like TikTok, with fans worldwide attempting to recreate the game using homemade dalgona candy.

Hwang revealed to the outlet that the “pressure” to write a second season was “indeed immense,” especially since he never thought about doing anything past the first.

“I was thinking to myself: will I really be able to pull this off? Will I be able to create or write something that would exceed Season 1?” he told IndieWire. “But once I got to writing, and once I got into the story of Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returning to the games with his own motives, it actually went a lot better than I thought it would.”

He added, “I was able to create a story that I felt was more intriguing, come up with more interesting characters and come up with more original and intriguing games as well.”

Netflix renewed “Squid Game” in June 2022 and later announced that the series would continue with a third season, solidifying its place as one of the platform’s flagship franchises.

“Along the way, I think that sense of burden or pressure actually changed into a source of joy, and I gradually gained the confidence that we were creating something that the fans of the first season would not be disappointed with,” Hwang told the outlet. “Having said that, it was obviously no easy feat. However, I think with that confidence, I was able to go into it with a better approach.”

“Squid Game 2” premieres December 26 on Netflix.