It’s clear enough why Netflix wants to return to the nightmarish world of South Korea’s “Squid Game,” with its life-and-death decisions, betrayals and humiliations among participants desperate for the fortune offered to the winner. After all, the series is the streamer’s biggest hit to date and has won three Screen Actors Guild Awards and six Emmys (including for drama series, leading actor for Lee Jung-jae and directing for creator Hwang Dong-hyuk).

But why would Hwang want to come back for more, and how could he justify putting Lee’s character Gi-hun in such danger again?

It turns out that Hwang has a lot more to say about humanity through “Squid Game,” even enough for two more seasons (Season 2 arrives on December 26th and the team is currently working on Season 3). And in doing so, he made an important change – one that changed the show’s central question.

On his protagonist: “By the end of the first season, Gi-hun was already a different person,” Hwang says through an interpreter about what could drag this everyman back to the candy-colored hell. “After he emerged victorious from the game, he discovered that his mother was dead and dyed his hair. Even if he tries to return to his normal life, the damage is already done. Because of the trauma, he cannot return (to that life).”

Lee Jung-jae, center, as Gi-hun in Season 2 of “Squid Game.”

(No Ju-han/Netflix)

Season 2’s Gi-hun isn’t the hapless loser that viewers first met. It’s three years later and he has devoted his now considerable fortune to searching for the mysterious island where he saw so many people die to the amusement of those attending the games. He’s on a mission to end the games once and for all. But his trauma runs deep, as shown in a shocking scene in which he tries to get information out of someone – by playing Russian roulette with them.

“They’re playing this game in a small space with just two of them, and it’s literally a death game,” Lee says, also through an interpreter, of the games’ lasting impact on Gi-hun. “There must have been some kind of explosive rush of adrenaline. And I thought, maybe Gi-hun is enjoying this rush without even realizing it. When I thought about the motivation behind it as an actor, I also doubted myself. This scene is very cinematic, it is very dramatic,” he says.

Hwang admits it was inspired by “The Deer Hunter.” “So I had to think, ‘How do we get this on the ground? How do we make it realistic? There are these two elements: (He’s obsessed with) finding those behind the game and putting an end to it; and on the other hand, he unintentionally has fun.”

However, the main difference between the two seasons comes from the series’ examination of human nature. In the first season, contestants were given one option to vote: either continue pursuing big money or quit and go home with nothing but their lives. Those who wanted to end the competition won… but most proved desperate enough to return anyway. In season 2 this vote takes place after every gameand if the majority decides to quit, the survivors share the pot – everyone gets a little richer and goes home alive.

But what happens if the majority decides they would rather try to get? a lot richer, even if that means that most of their fellow human beings would have to die, even those who wanted to leave? The human question is no longer just about survival: What would you give up of yourself to live? – to greed – are you willing to let others die for your chance at fabulous wealth?

And there is also a socio-political question. It’s a binary system; a selection of extremes. And that’s exactly what Hwang wanted to address, behind the twisted trappings of the world’s most popular thriller series.

“I tried to ask the question, ‘What does this voting system and majority rule mean?’ Is majority rule always correct?’” says director Hwang Dong-hyuk.

(Shayan Asgharnia/For The Times)

Hwang says, “In Season 2, I want to take full advantage of the voting system. There are many issues surrounding presidential elections in Korea, the United States and around the world. (Factions) attempt to dominate through majority rule. And throughout Season 2 and Season 3, I tried throughout to ask the question, ‘What does this voting system and majority rule mean?’ Is majority rule always right?’ As I looked at the political and social landscape around the world, I thought it would make a lot of sense to ask this question at this time. Across the world today, economic and political polarization and extremism are widespread. So that was something I wanted to look into.”

Lee says, “Director Hwang said that if you look at the voices on the show, it’s almost always one more voice or one more person who makes the difference. It’s almost 50-50. Then one vote makes one side the winning side,” which raises Hwang’s question of majority rule when the decisions are so polarized and the stakes are so high.

“It does reflect reality, but as a performer I focused more on people’s greed and desire,” Lee adds. “At first people think, ‘Oh, I’m good at this.’ I can leave the game with exactly this amount of money.’ But if you play another round, you get richer and it’s natural to think, “How about?” just one more?’ ”