The highly anticipated second season of the Korean thriller Squid game has has already been embroiled in several controversies before the series hits Netflix on December 26th.

One of them is about the casting of The fame Star Park Sung Hoon as a transgender woman named Hyun Ju aka Player 120.

She is one of many cash-strapped individuals who take part in the deadly games to win a huge cash prize.

According to Sung Hoon, Hyun Ju is a former special forces soldier who is participating in the games to fund her gender-affirming surgery.

The inclusion of a transgender character in a K-drama is a big deal for the relatively conservative country, where LGBT groups continue to face discrimination. Director Hwang Dong Hyuk wanted to shed light on the minority group.

Although he had good intentions, many were upset that the series didn’t cast a real transgender actor instead.

“That’s not how you represent… a cis man pretending to be a minority just doesn’t sit well with me, especially when he could have hired a real trans actress,” one netizen wrote on X.

There were also concerns that Sung Hoon might face backlash for taking on the role.

In October, conservative organizations called for a ban on BL dramas Love in the big city, He accused the show of “glorifying and promoting homosexuality.”

While trailers for the drama were removed and promotions halted to quell protests, the series aired as planned.