The long-awaited second season of the dystopian South Korean thriller Squid Game finally hit Netflix this week.
Season two sees Player 456 return to the game determined to save as many lives as possible, all while trying to uncover the secrets of the shadowy figures who created the game.
While leading man Lee Jung-jae (who plays protagonist Seong Gi-hun in the series) is back, there’s also a number of new characters for viewers to get to know.
In addition to esteemed South Korean actors like Park Sung-hoon and Lee Byung-hun, season two of the hit series features a number of K-pop stars.
From a legendary rapper to a boy band star to a girl group member, the second instalment of Squid Game certainly isn’t short on musical talent.
Jo Yuri, who plays Player 222 Kim Jun-Hee, is already emerging as a breakout star this season.
The 23-year-old first found fame on the reality TV competition series Idol School, which saw dozens of K-pop trainees competing to make it into a new girl group.
She placed fifteenth on the show and missed out on making the final lineup, but she returned the following year to compete on Produce 48 – another girl group competition series featuring trainees from both Korea and Japan.
The new season of Squid Game features multiple K-pop stars in acting roles, including Jo Yuri (pictured) who plays Player 222 Kim Jun-Hee
This time, Yuri was able to rank in third place, snagging herself a coveted spot in the group IZ*ONE.
The Korean-Japanese group became an overnight sensation and sold millions of record in Asia until disbanding in 2021, when their three-year recording contract expired.
Yuri then launched a solo music career, releasing the singles Glassy, Loveable, and Taxi.
Squid Game marks Yuri’s first major acting role following her successful music career.
In the series, she portrays troubled Kim Jun-hee, who was forced into the game after trusting the wrong person.
Discussing how she landed the coveted role in Netflix’s record-breaking series, Yuri told Teen Vogue that the audition process wasn’t easy.
‘So, it was actually a very long audition process. I had to talk a lot with the director [Hwang Donghyuk] before I was officially cast,’ she explained.
‘I think the whole audition process took about four or three months as a whole,’ she added.
Yuri was a member of the best-selling girl group IZ*ONE, who sold millions of records across Japan and Korea during their three-year career
The 23-year-old launched a solo music career after her time in IZ*ONE came to an end
Also lighting up the small screen is Im Siwan, who plays Player 333, Myung-gi.
Siwan, 36, got his start in the K-pop industry as a member of the boy band ZE:A, who debuted back in 2010 with the single Mazeltov.
The group released multiple singles and albums but were never able to hit the big time in the crowded and highly competitive K-pop scene.
Siwan made his acting debut in 2012 with a supporting role in the Korean drama Moon Embracing the Sun, which ended up becoming a ratings blockbuster across Asia.
The success of the series led to him landing bigger roles in a number of K-dramas and feature films, and his individual fame quickly surpassed his group’s popularity.
Also lighting up the small screen is Im Siwan, who plays Player 333, Myung-gi
Siwan, 36, got his start in the K-pop industry as a member of the boy band ZE:A, who debuted back in 2010 with the single Mazeltov
In Squid Game, Siwan’s character is a cryptocurrency influencer who makes a series of disastrous decisions that leave him with no choice but to compete in the deadly game to dig himself out of financial ruin.
The biggest K-pop star to grace Squid Game this season is rapper Choi Seung-hyun, better known by his stage name T.O.P.
As a member of BIGBANG -South Korea’s most successful boy band of all time- T.O.P is considered K-pop royalty.
He plays retired rapper Thanos in the series, who leads a clique of Squid Game’s youngest players.
T.O.P has enjoyed a successful acting career for well over a decade at this point, most notably in the hit action series Iris and the Korean war film 71: Into the Fire.
The biggest K-pop star to grace Squid Game this season is rapper Choi Seung-hyun, better known by his stage name T.O.P
As a member of BIGBANG -South Korea’s most successful boy band of all time- T.O.P is considered K-pop royalty
Unfortunately, the group’s legacy has since been tarnished following member Seungri’s involvement in the Burning Sun rape scandal.
Squid Game’s first outing back in 2021 swiftly became Netflix’s biggest ever show and racked up a whopping 1.65 billion viewing hours.
It followed the story Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) along with other people down on their luck faced a string of deadly children’s games, with many dying along the way, in a bid to win millions.
Season two sees Seong again returning to battle it out, however some critics have claimed the show has now ‘lost it’s edge’ while others declared it ‘utterly engaging’.