🎥 Introduction

Today's K-Drama Shorts features Squid Game Season 2! However, instead of diving into the storyline, this short video focuses on brief self-introductions by the cast members. Starting with a friendly "Hello," each actor introduces the role they will play and shares an encouraging message, asking fans to look forward to Squid Game Season 2. While the clip doesn’t reveal much about the plot, it’s a delightful sneak peek at the cast. Please enjoy this special preview!

title-Squid-Game-Season-2-Shorts-Meet-the-Cast-and-Korean-Cultural-Insights

 

🎥 Short Video 

[Source] YouTube, @NetflixKorea

 

🎥 Actor Greetings Script Translation

임시완: 안녕하세요. 오징어게임 시즌2, 시즌3에서 명기역할을 맡은 임시완입니다. 많은 기대 부탁드리구요. 그럼 파이팅입니다!”

*Im Si-wan is a South Korean actor and singer.

Im Si-wan: "Hello, I’m Im Si-wan, playing the role of 'Myeong-gi' in Squid Game Season 2 and Season 3. I hope you'll look forward to it. Let's make it awesome!"

 

The phrase 그럼 파이팅입니다 was translated as “Let's make it awesome!”

Here, 그럼 is an adverb used at the beginning of a concluding remark, meaning “in conclusion” or “finally.”

As for 파이팅 or “Fighting,” it is widely used in Korea as a cheer or slogan meaning “cheer up” or “let’s go!” It is often used to encourage someone or boost morale, particularly in situations requiring effort or sports.

In standard English, the word “fight” with the suffix “-ing” means “fighting” or “combat,” making it awkward and inappropriate in its original form. This is because “Fighting” as a standalone cheer is a Konglish (Korean-English) neologism, which non-Korean speakers may confuse or misunderstand.

However, as of 2021, “Fighting” has been officially included in the Oxford English Dictionary, noting that in Korean contexts, it means “encouragement, stimulation, or support.” This recognition has helped solidify “Fighting” as an understood cheer internationally, particularly when tied to Korean culture.

 

강하늘: 여러분 안녕하세요. ‘대호역할의 강하늘입니다. 반갑습니다. 많이 기대해주세요. , 기대, 뿜뿜

*Kang Ha-neul is a South Korean actor.

Kang Ha-neul: "Hello everyone. I'm Kang Ha-neul, playing the role of 'Daeho'. Nice to meet you all. Please look forward to it a lot. Awesome, anticipation, boom, boom."

 

I translated , 기대, 뿜뿜 as “Awesome, anticipation, boom, boom.”

l  : This slang term means “the best” or “the top” and is often used to express admiration or excellence. It functions as a noun.

l  기대: This noun refers to waiting in hope or anticipation for something to turn out as desired.

l  뿜뿜: An adverb used to describe an intense display of energy, emotion, or atmosphere, often in a lively or dynamic way.

Taking these meanings into account, the phrase could also be translated as:

“The best, full of anticipation, bursting with energy!”

 

위하준: , 안녕하세요. 저는 시즌1에서 죽지 않고 시즌2로 돌아온 준호역할의 위하준입니다. 반갑습니다. 많이 기대해 주시고, 사랑해 주세요. 감사합니다.”

*Wi Ha-joon is a South Korean actor and model.

Wi Ha-joon: "Hello! I’m Wi Ha-joon, returning as 'Jun-ho,' who didn’t die in Season 1 and made it to Season 2. Nice to meet you. Please look forward to it and show lots of love. Thank you!"

 

The initial is used here as an exclamation and does not carry any specific meaning, so it has not been translated.

The phrase 많이 기대해 주시고, 사랑해 주세요.” can be fully written out as 많이 기대해 주세요. 그리고, 많이 사랑해 주세요.” This means the adverb 많이 (a lot) modifies both 기대해 주세요 (please look forward to it) and 사랑해 주세요 (please show love).

 

박규영: 안녕하세요. 오징어게임2에서 노을을 연기한 박규영입니다. 저는 지금 포스터 활영을 하고 있습니다. 오징어게임2 기대 많이 해 주세요.”

*Park Gyu-young is a South Korean actor.

Park Gyu-young: "Hi, I’m Park Gyu-young, playing the role of 'No-eul' in Squid Game 2. I’m currently shooting the poster. Please look forward to it!"

 

The phrases mentioned earlier by the actors, such as 많은 기대 부탁드립니다,” “많이 기대해 주세요,” and 기대 많이 해 주세요,” all share the same meaning. A detailed explanation of this characteristic of the Korean language is provided in the appendix.

 

이진욱: 안녕하세요. 오징어게임2, 안녕하세요. 오징어게임 시즌2 ‘경석역할을 맡은 이진욱입니다. 반갑습니다. 많이 기대들 하고 계시죠? 저도 기대가 많이 됩니다. 진짜 재밌을 겁니다. 기대해 주세요.”

*Lee Jin-wook is a South Korean actor.

Lee Jin-wook: "Hello! Squid Game 2, Hello! I’m Lee Jin-wook, playing the role of 'Kyung-seok' in Squid Game Season 2. Nice to meet you all. You’re looking forward to it? So am I! It’s going to be amazing. Please stay tuned!"

The opening phrase 안녕하세요. 오징어게임2” is a bit jumbled, as you all probably noticed.

 

양동근: 안녕하세요. ‘용식역할을 맡은 Y.D.G. 럭키 넘버 7, 화면에서 만나시죠.”

*Yang Dong-geun is a South Korean actor, rapper, and singer.

Yang Dong-geun: "Hello, I’m Y.D.G.(Yang Dong-geun), playing 'Yong-sik.' Lucky number 7! See you on screen."



원지안: 안녕하십니까, 저는 세미역할을 맡은 원지안이라고 합니다. 인사드리게 돼서 너무 반갑고, 감사한 마음이고, 시즌2를 기다려 주셔서 정말 감사합니다. 그러면 오징어게임 시즌2에서 만나 뵙도록 하겠습니다. 안녕히 가세요.”

*Won Ji-an is a rising South Korean actor.

Won Ji-an: "Hello, I’m Won Ji-an, playing 'Semi.' I’m so happy and grateful to greet you all. Thank you so much for waiting for Season 2. See you soon in Squid Game Season 2. Goodbye!"

 

The use of 안녕히 가세요 at the end is a bit awkward. It would be more natural to repeat 감사합니다,” as mentioned earlier.

안녕히 가세요 is a farewell expression used when parting ways with someone. For instance, when a guest leaves your home or shop, you would say, 안녕히 가세요,” and the guest would respond with 안녕히 계세요.”

Alternatively, it can be used among friends or acquaintances at the end of a gathering or event, with everyone saying 안녕히 가세요 to one another as they leave.

 

조유리: 안녕, ‘김준희역을 맡은 조유리입니다. 여러분들도 오늘 하루 파이팅하시고, 맛있는 식사하시고, 내일도 파이팅입니다. 제가 응원하겠습니다. 저희 모두 파이팅입니다! 파이팅! 안녕!”

*Jo Yu-ri is a South Korean singer and actor who became famous as a member of the project girl group IZ*ONE, formed through the survival show Produce 48.

Jo Yu-ri: "Hi, I’m Jo Yu-ri, playing the role of 'Kim Joon-hee.' Have a great day, eat something delicious, and enjoy the good vibes tomorrow. I’ll be cheering you on. Let’s all do our best! Fighting! Bye!"

 

Among Jo Yu-ri's remarks is the phrase "맛있게 식사하시고" (Enjoy your meal). In Korean, greetings like "식사하셨어요?" (Have you eaten?) are a unique cultural feature. These expressions inquire about someone’s health and well-being and imply an invitation to share a meal together.

Sharing meals with family, friends, or colleagues is a significant social value in Korean culture. Asking whether someone has eaten reflects a sense of closeness, helping to strengthen relationships and share daily experiences. Jo Yu-ri's "맛있게 식사하시고" can be understood in the same context.

 

🎥 Wrap-up

For their opening greetings, everyone started with 안녕하세요!” (Hello!). Jo Yu-ri opted for the more casual 안녕!” (Hi), while Won Ji-an chose the more formal 안녕하십니까!” (Hello!). The rest of the cast used the most common greeting, 안녕하세요!”

In Korean, two of the most common greetings are 안녕하세요!” (Hello!) and 반갑습니다 (Nice to meet you). Notably, Kang Ha-neul and Won Ji-an included both 안녕하세요 and 반갑습니다 in their introductions.

Most of the cast also took the opportunity to promote the show, encouraging viewers to “look forward to Squid Game Season 2.”

It was such a delight to see these familiar faces. Let’s wrap up today’s post here.


※ Below is the audio file of the example sentences above.


[Appendix] Understanding Korean Sentence Structure: Flexibility and Grammar Explained

Korean is an agglutinative language that uses particles (조사) and verb endings (어미) to indicate grammatical relationships. Thanks to this structure, word order in Korean is relatively flexible, allowing changes in the position of subjects, objects, predicates, and modifiers without significantly altering the sentence's meaning.

For example, the following sentences have different word orders but convey the same meaning:

l  나는 학교에 간다. (subject + adverbial phrase + predicate)

   I go to school.

l  학교에 나는 간다. (adverbial phrase + subject + predicate)

   To school, I go.

l  간다 나는 학교에. (predicate + subject + adverbial phrase)

   Go, I do, to school.

 

Additionally, Korean can express tense, honorifics, and negation by changing verb endings (어미). For instance, altering the verb endings in the following sentences changes the tense:

l  나는 어제 학교에 갔다. (past tense)

   I went to school yesterday.

l  나는 내일 학교에 갈 것이다. (future tense)

   I will go to school tomorrow.


Thus, when learning Korean, it’s essential to understand the types and combinations of particles and verb endings. This knowledge is key to accurately interpreting and expressing sentence meanings.


※ Below is the audio file of the example sentences above.