Netflix's show, which features a contest among financially struggling players, has drawn scrutiny for casting a cis male actor as Player 120, a trans character, played by Park Sung-hoon. Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk defended this choice, citing cultural differences between Eastern and Western perspectives on transgender representation. He remarked on the scarcity of openly transgender actors in Korea, indicating that the lack of available talent made casting a trans actor challenging. This situation contrasts sharply with Western concerns regarding representation in media.
"In Korea, there are really not many transgender [people] who have come out and are actors, and there [are] just a couple of gay [actors] who have come out publicly, so it was physically difficult to find a transgender actor who could really play the role. It was, realistically speaking, nearly impossible."
"I do understand that there [have] been some concerns from the Western world, from the US. But in the case of Korea, we didn't have as many concerns because of the Eastern or Asian culture."
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