[All] “There is also underage prostitution, so why are you insulting the top?” Overseas reactions to ‘Ogame 2’ different from domestic ones

Haepil also has a weak past, but he came out as a drug addict;;;;

I didn't know Song Youngchang would be in Ogame either. I really liked him as a stage actor;;; but after the incident, I developed a prejudice;;;

Even if it is the past, being cursed at is something that must be accepted as a result of the mistakes that one has made.

I don't think it's at the level of, "whose fault is greater, so they get cursed at more?"

It's sad because I think our country is actually too lenient on crime.

This time, I thought the acting in the squid game wasn't bad either.

The role of Thanos that Top took on was weak and he was a bit of a jerk, so I didn't think his acting was strange.

Actors Top (left) and Song Young-chang, who appeared in 'Squid Game 2'. Netflix broadcast screen

The foreign reaction surrounding Big Bang's T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun) who appeared in the Netflix drama 'Squid Game 2' was quite different from that in Korea.

Recently, an article on social networking service (SNS) X, in which Director Hwang Dong-hyeok of 'Squid Game 2' introduced the domestic reaction to T.O.P, who had been criticized since the casting, has become a hot topic. In the article, Director Hwang said, "I didn't expect people to not forgive T.O.P's past."

The post received a high number of views, approximately 30.9 million, and various opinions poured in. The reactions were mainly from overseas netizens, and they showed different reactions from those in Korea.

One netizen said, “This guy (TOP) was the highlight of this season and I can’t believe they (Koreans) treat him like a devil because of marijuana.”

Another said, “I wonder why Korean fans don’t forgive him for smoking marijuana 9 years ago.” He added, “Rather than this nonsense, why can’t they focus on the fact that he’s getting an incredible response from overseas viewers? The world doesn’t agree with Koreans.”

He also said, “If you didn’t know the guy, you’d think he was a murderer or something,” and “all he did was smoke marijuana.”

There were also many who defended TOP by mentioning actor Song Young-chang, who appeared in 'Squid Game 2'.

Regarding this, one netizen said, “Korea is a mother country and has respect, but it is seriously problematic that they charge more for smoking marijuana than for repeat pedophiles and rapists.”

Another netizen said, “Surprisingly, they (Koreans) don’t forgive him because he smoked marijuana 7 years ago and someone paid a 16-year-old girl to have sex, but Koreans don’t talk about it.”

He also said, "Koreans treated him (TOP) as a pedophile or worse than him (Song Young-chang), but the only thing he did was smoke marijuana, and it's funny that 90% of Koreans attacked him."

Some foreign netizens mentioned the prostitution of minors with Song Young-chang in mind. Song Young-chang was investigated by the police on charges of paying 150,000 won to A, a 16-year-old teenager whom he met through a voicemail advertisement near Ilsan Lake Park in Ilsan-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do in September 2000, and having sex with her on two occasions for 350,000 won.

Song Young-chang was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 2 years of probation for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse. As a result, he was permanently banned from appearing on all three terrestrial broadcasting companies. Afterwards, Song Young-chang returned in 2004 with the film 'Detective' and has been actively working in the film industry to this day.

Foreign netizens have brought up Song Young-chang's past criminal history and raised the issue that TOP is receiving unfair criticism in Korea.

However, domestic netizens are not agreeing with these overseas reactions. There are already many people in Korea who are active in the entertainment industry despite having a criminal record for smoking marijuana, and in the case of T.O.P, there were many who pointed out that the background to the criticism was the fierce war of nerves with fans, such as his declaration of retirement from the domestic entertainment industry.

In a recent interview about 'Squid Game 2', Director Hwang said, "(Regarding Top) I think there are a lot of complaints about the character. This reaction is especially more prominent in Korea." He continued, "In fact, there are many places overseas where marijuana is legal, so I thought this part wouldn't be controversial."

He also said that before deciding on casting TOP, he looked into cases of celebrities who returned from drug or marijuana incidents, and said, "If TOP's incident happened 6-7 years ago, I thought that people would be somewhat tolerant after that much time had passed."

As soon as 'Squid Game 2', which had been controversial since its top casting, was released, harsh criticism about his poor acting skills followed.