Yim Siwan stated regarding the reaction to the release of "Squid Game 3," "I consider it a blessing and a compliment."
On the morning of the 2nd, an interview with Yim Siwan, the lead actor of the Netflix series "Squid Game" Season 3, was held at a cafe in Seoul's Sokgyeok-dong.
"Squid Game 3" depicts Gi-hun, who loses his closest friend in a game he re-enters with his own purpose, and the Frontman, who sneaks into the game while hiding his identity, as well as the final fate of the participants who survived in the cruel game. Season 1 premiered in September 2021 and created a global phenomenon, breaking viewership records and captivating audiences around the world. Season 2 was released in December 2024, and it finally culminates to conclude the series.
"Squid Game" Season 3 recorded 60,100,000 viewers just three days after its release on June 27 (Friday), maintaining the top position in all 93 countries that track Netflix's top 10, including Korea, the United States, Japan, France, and Brazil. This marked Netflix's first work to achieve number one in all countries in its opening week, proving its overwhelming success. Additionally, it entered the global top 10 for non-English series at number 9 during its first week of release, with Seasons 1, 2, and 3 all ranking within the top 10 of Netflix's all-time most popular series (non-English). Furthermore, Season 2 ranked 3rd and Season 1 ranked 6th in the global top 10 for non-English series based on viewers over the past week, proving that it remains a work of great interest among fans worldwide.
Yim Siwan plays the role of Myung-gi, who has contestant number 333, a YouTuber who caused significant losses not only for himself but also for his subscribers due to a bad investment while broadcasting cryptocurrency investments. Myung-gi is the ex-boyfriend of another participant, Jun-hee (played by Jo Yuri), who learns that Jun-hee is pregnant and struggles to live together. In the process, he transforms into a villain, becoming the series' top antagonist.
Yim Siwan expressed, "Myung-gi is receiving a lot of criticism, but I've heard it's a blessing to be criticized as a character. So, I want to think of it as a compliment and try to enjoy the period of receiving criticism." He added, "They say I'm a much worse villain compared to Thanos or Nam-kyu. I think there were such discussions as well."
In response to the question, "Do you agree with the assessment of being the worst villain?" he said, "I did not agree while filming. I thought the absolute evil was Thanos or Nam-kyu. So, during filming, the director's direction was confusing for me. I didn't think that way," adding, "I tried to grasp the director's direction, but looking at the result, I realized that I might not be the absolute villain, but I would get the title of being the most detested character."
Regarding the differences between Myung-gi and himself, Yim Siwan said, "They are very different. Myung-gi is unpleasant to compare with myself. (Laughs) Instead of seeing Myung-gi as a good or bad role, I approached him as a fearful and 'pathetic' individual. I think he believes he is smart, but ultimately, his dominant emotion is that of a coward and pathetic, which gives him a justification for his actions. If I look for points of connection with Myung-gi, I think the fact that he is quite fearful is one of them."
Furthermore, Yim Siwan added, "I did not think of Myung-gi as absolute evil, nor did I think he was simply bad. He was problematic because he was cunning, which led to poor outcomes, but at least I thought his feelings for Jun-hee were genuine while filming."
Meanwhile, "Squid Game 3" was released worldwide via Netflix in over 190 countries on the 27th of last month.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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