From Scandal to Spotlight: ‘Squid Game’ Creator Cheers T.O.P’s Stunning Comeback Following Marijuana Scandal

The second season of ‘Squid Game,’ titled ‘Squid Game 2,’ premiered on Netflix on December 26, 2024. Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the season stars Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun, and several new cast members.

Set three years after the first season, the story follows Seong Gi-hun as he returns to the deadly games with a new purpose, competing alongside new participants for a ₩45.6 billion prize. Meanwhile, Hwang Jun-ho works with the military in a side plot to track down Gi-hun.

One of the new cast members for the current season is Choi Seung-hyun who portrays Choi Su-bong “Thanos.” To wider audiences, Choi Seung-hyun is better known as T.O.P. He is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He started as an underground rapper before joining YG Entertainment and debuted in 2006 as the lead rapper for BigBang, one of Asia’s best-selling groups and a global sensation.

In July 2017, he was sentenced to 10 months in jail with a two-year suspension after being found guilty of using marijuana, which is illegal in South Korea. Following the scandal, he was blacklisted from the Korean entertainment industry and his career was virtually dead.

‘Squid Game’ director Hwang Dong-hyuk shared with ‘PEOPLE’ that he was impressed by T.O.P’s performance in the show and explained why he chose the controversial actor. He noted that T.O.P hadn’t worked in Korea for nine years following a marijuana scandal, making this role a significant comeback.

Hwang praised T.O.P’s courage in taking on a character—a rapper who uses drugs—that mirrors some of his own past struggles, calling it a brave and bold choice.

As you may know, the actor Seung-hyun, about nine years ago got involved in a marijuana scandal in Korea and wasn’t able to do any projects for the past nine years in Korea. And so this is a comeback after quite a long hiatus, and particularly because he portrays a character that’s a rapper and also someone who is on drugs.

I feel that it took him a lot of guts, in a way, to portray a character, especially someone who shares a lot of similarities that are quite negative to him as a person too. So I think it took him a lot of courage to take on that role.

Despite the long hiatus, I have to say, as a director, he performed very impressively and I’m very satisfied with what he did with the character.

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Following his indictment in June 2017, Choi Seung-hyun (T.O.P) issued a handwritten apology to fans on YG Entertainment’s website. He expressed deep regret for disappointing and upsetting many people, admitting he felt too ashamed to face them directly.

Choi took full responsibility, acknowledging he deserved any punishment, and apologized for the hurt he caused to fans, his group members, agency, friends, and family. He vowed to reflect on his actions and apologized again for not being able to address everyone personally.

After his indictment, Choi was hospitalized during his military service when he was found unconscious from an overdose of prescribed tranquilizers. YG Entertainment later confirmed he regained consciousness and was moved to another hospital for psychiatric care.

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