Actor Lee Jung Jae, who is gaining global popularity with Netflix's 'Squid Game', confirmed his participation in the '2021 Asia Artist Awards', raising the dignity of the awards ceremony.

Lee Jung Jae will attend the '2021 Asia Artist Awards' (hereinafter referred to as '2021 AAA') to be held on December 2nd, raising the heat of the awards ceremony with a unique presence.

Lee Jung Jae, who celebrated his 28th year of debut this year, is receiving a lot of love by building a unique character with his attractive acting. Having digested various genres through movies such as 'Save us from evil', 'Sabaha', 'Along with the Gods', 'Assassination', and 'Contemplation', he has earned the modifier of 'A Trustworthy Actor' and is recognized as the best actor in Korea. In addition, he received the honor of receiving the Actor of the Year Grand Prize (movie category) at the '2020 Asia Artist Awards' through 'Save Me from Evil'. In particular, Lee Jung Jae caught the attention of people all over the world by exuding a different charm from before, when he played the main character Sung Gi-hoon in 'Squid Game', which was premiered on September 17. 'Squid Game', selected by 111 million Netflix subscribers around the world, ranked first in the 'Today's Top 10' in 94 countries, including the United States, Brazil, France, India and Turkey, as well as Korea.

According to 'Flix Patrol', a global OTT content ranking site, 'Squid Game' ranked first in the 'Netflix World Top 10 TV Program' category, and maintained the top position on the chart for the 24th day (as of October 16, 2021). In addition, Lee Jung Jae appeared on the US NBC talk show 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', which was broadcast last October 7, and continued his global steps, proving the power of an 'another level actor' recognized by the world.

'2021 AAA', which is getting more and more anticipated with Lee Jung Jae's participation, is expected to complete a splendid lineup with a large number of domestic and foreign top artists.

'2021 AAA', which heralded a festival where stars and fans harmonize Leeteuk and Jang Won-young was selected as MCs heightening the enthusiasm.

Hosted by Star News and Star Continent and co-hosted by the Asia Artist Awards Organizing Committee and The Star Partner, the '2021 Asia Artist Awards' will be held on December 2.

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Squid Game 2 is causing a huge buzz, and it’s not just because of the intense game action – it's Gong Yoo’s unforgettable role as "Ddakji Man"!

Director Hwang Dong Hyuk has shared his praise for Gong Yoo’s powerful performance, even claiming that his presence on screen is so strong that it surpasses Lee Jung Jae's in some scenes!

On January 2, Director Hwang Dong Hyuk sat down for an interview about Squid Game 2 at a café in Seoul, and he couldn't stop talking about Gong Yoo’s role.

He explained that the character of "Ddakji Man" was so well-received by fans in Season 1, despite his brief appearance, that Hwang knew they had to dive deeper into his backstory in Season 2.

“I didn’t want to explain everything in detail about who he is and why he became the way he did, but I wanted to leave some clues for the viewers", Hwang shared. He revealed that from the start of the planning for Season 2, he had one goal: to make the first episode focus on Ddakji Man.

Hwang, who had worked with Gong Yoo before on The Crucible, explained that he was beyond impressed with the actor’s return to Squid Game as Ddakji Man.

“His energy on set was just incredible. We wanted his death scene to be really cool, and Gong Yoo gave it everything. I couldn’t believe how well he brought the character to life,” Hwang said.

The director also shared that Gong Yoo told him it was his first time playing a villain. But it wasn’t just any villain – it was a mysterious one, and Gong Yoo was determined to make the role unforgettable.

Hwang was so amazed by Gong Yoo’s performance that he said there were times when the actor’s presence almost overshadowed Lee Jung Jae, who plays the lead role of Gihun.

“There were hardly any NGs (No Good takes) with Gong Yoo. He nailed it in one or two takes, delivering performances with expressions and energy I didn’t expect. It was truly a defining moment in his career,” Hwang confessed. The director added that all the staff could feel the same way – they all knew they were witnessing something special.

Since Squid Game 2 was released on December 26, 2023, it has been breaking records. The show topped the global OTT ranking site FlixPatrol in 93 countries, becoming the first Netflix original series to achieve such a feat.

With Gong Yoo’s incredible performance and the continuation of the high-stakes drama, Squid Game 2 is proving to be just as unforgettable as the first season!

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