'Squid Game' season 2 officially green-lit at Netflix
The Hindu
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk also revealed that Song Gi-hun aka player no 456, played by Lee Jung-jae, and The Front Man, a mysterious character essayed by Lee Byung-hun, will reprise their roles
Streaming service Netflix has officially renewed its hit Korean survival drama series "Squid Game" for a second season with writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk promising fans that "a whole new round is coming".
Hwang also revealed that Song Gi-hun aka player no 456, played by Lee Jung-jae, and The Front Man, a mysterious character essayed by Lee Byung-hun, will reprise their roles.
He also teased the return of Gong Yoo, who played the unnamed character of a man in the suit with 'ddakji' who recruits players into the 'Squid Game', a series of Korean's children games with a deadly twist whose last surviving contestant will be rewarded 45.6 billion won as cash prize.
In a note shared on Netflix's social media pages late Sunday night, the acclaimed director thanked viewers for loving the show, which only saw the light of day 12 years after it was conceived.
"It took 12 years to bring the first season of 'Squid Game' to life last year. But it took 12 days for 'Squid Game' to become the most popular Netflix series ever. As the writer, director and producer of 'Squid Game, a huge shout-out to fans around the world. Thank you for watching and loving our show.
"And now, Gi-hun returns. The Front Man returns. Season 2 is coming. The man in the suit with ddakji might be back," Hwang said.
The director, also known for Korean films such as "Silenced" and "Miss Granny", said in this season the audience will be introduced to Cheol-su, the boyfriend of Young-hee, the giant creepy doll that shot lasers out of its eyes in the first round 'Red Light, Green Light' of "Squid Game" season one.
“Writing, in general, is a very solitary process,” says Yauvanika Chopra, Associate Director at The New India Foundation (NIF), which, earlier this year, announced the 12th edition of its NIF Book Fellowships for research and scholarship about Indian history after Independence. While authors, in general, are built for it, it can still get very lonely, says Chopra, pointing out that the fellowship’s community support is as valuable as the monetary benefits it offers. “There is a solid community of NIF fellows, trustees, language experts, jury members, all of whom are incredibly competent,” she says. “They really help make authors feel supported from manuscript to publication, so you never feel like you’re struggling through isolation.”
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.