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#Showbiz: 'Squid Game is art imitating real life' – Lee Jung-Jae

KUALA LUMPUR: Squid Game star Lee Jung-Jae's feelings towards the hit South Korean online drama's success are bittersweet.

AsiaOne reported yesterday that Lee, 49, described his experience in Squid Game as "art imitating real life".

"I'm happy about it, of course, but it's bittersweet," said Lee.

"Yes, it's great that audiences are consuming Korean content around the world and they appreciate it.

"But if you think about the themes of Squid Game — how far we are willing to go to accumulate personal wealth — the fact it resonated with so many around the world is worrying.

"You get a sense this is the reality for so many people and that makes me feel sad."

In Squid Game, Lee played Seong Gi-Hun, a man who was addicted to gambling and accumulated a large debt to loan sharks.

He joined Squid Game with the hope of paying back his debts and paying for his ailing mother's treatment, but the violence and inhumanity he experienced changed his objective into a struggle to survive.

And while the show was a blast for many around the world, the actors were horrified by the extent of what they had to do when playing their characters.

Lee said: "We had to express the experiences of these characters being pushed to extremes, it was terrible.

"The more beautiful the game set was and the more childish and fun it seemed, the more horrific it was for the characters, and actors."

Lee added: "I do think about what happened in that show. It's impossible not to. And it made me think about what I'm not doing.

"Many of us live obliviously. It made me rethink how I look at the world."

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