After three long years and an ambiguous ending that drove fans crazy, Squid Game is finally back with a second season with higher stakes and even more fascinatingly morbid games. Much like the first season, which was a gateway to K-dramas for many, Squid Game 2 has also drawn in many new fans, though the new season contains certain easter eggs that only K-drama veterans may have spotted.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Besides the many familiar faces in its star-studded cast, Squid Game 2 also has quite a few easter eggs and fun references to other shows that only the most avid K-drama fans may recognize. These include a subtle homage to one actor’s previous role in Strong Girl Bong-soon as well as a genius reference to the iconic 2015 show Reply 1988, proving Squid Game 2 is all about the details this time around.
[Related: Marvel’s Thanos Inspired One of Squid Game Season 2’s Best New Characters]
Squid Game 2 Makes a Subtle Nod to Strong Girl Bong-soon
The first of the easter eggs is found right in Episode 1, which introduces a new character named Woo-seok, played by Jeon Seok-ho, who, along with the boss of Sunshine Capital, is tasked with finding the Squid Game’s recruiter or salesman. While some newer K-drama fans may not be familiar with him, Jeon Seok-ho is best known for his role in Strong Girl Bong-soon, where he played Ahn Min-hyuk’s secretary, Secretary Gong.
Episode 1 of Squid Game 2 seemingly references Seok-ho’s role in Strong Girl Bong-soon right in Episode 1, where one particular scene features Seok-ho’s Squid Game character Woo-seok outside Dobongsan Station, which is coincidentally in the very area where Strong Girl Bong-soon takes place and is even part of Bong-soon’s iconic introductory catchphrase, “Do Bong-soon from Dobongdong, Dobong-gu.”
While it could entirely be just a coincidence, it does seem more intentional when one considers the fact that this particular station was chosen for this scene out of all the 768 subway stations in Seoul that Woo-seok could have been staking out looking for the ddakji man.
Squid Game 2’s Six-Legged Race Uses Reply 1988’s Nostalgic Opening Theme
Another more direct reference to another K-drama in Squid Game 2 can be seen in Episode 5 during the Six-Legged Race. When Gi-hun’s team finally gets their turn, the show switches the music to Shin Hae Chul’s 1988 debut hit “To You” which most notably serves as the opening theme to Reply 1988 and is commonly associated with the show as a result.
Though this may seem like a one-off coincidence, as the song itself is quite popular, Squid Game has actually made more than one reference to Reply 1988 in the past as well. In season 1, Player 456 or Seong Gi-hun actually reveals that both he and Sang-woo grew up in Ssangmun-dong, the same neighborhood where Reply 1988 takes place. In fact, in an interview with CNN back in 2021, Squid Game‘s creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed that he too grew up in Ssangmun-dong, with Gi-hun and Sang-woo’s characters being inspired by his own life.
This might also explain why the old neighborhood used during the game of Marbles in season 1 of Squid Game bears such a striking resemblance to that in Reply 1988. Given these countless connections between the two shows and that the choice of music was rather odd for the life-or-death scene it is possible Squid Game 2 may have been paying homage to Reply 1988 after all.
H/T: CNN
