Squid Game actor forced to apologise after sharing NSFW version of show to social media

The actor is one of the standout stars of this season.

Park Sung-hoon, who plays Hyun-ju in the second season of the dystopian drama, caused an uproar in South Korea this week after he posted the explicit cover art to his public Instagram page.

The pornographic parody film, titled Squirt Game, is an X-rated parody of the hit show from China, and it contains multiple explicit sex scenes - including simulated rape.

According to the Daily Mail, although Park quickly deleted the post, the damage was already done.

Screenshots began cropping up on social media and spread across online communities, sparking outrage among fans.

The timing of the post only worsened the situation.

It came shortly after the tragic Jeju Air crash, which claimed the lives of 179 passengers on 29 December, some of whom were K-pop fans returning from the 2024 Asia Artist Awards in Bangkok.

The country entered a period of national mourning in light of the disaster, making Park’s post particularly insensitive.

In South Korea, distribution of pornographic material is a felony and can result in a one-year prison sentence and a fine.

While many fans believed that Sung-hoon's account might have been hacked, the actor's management agency issued a public statement addressing the incident shortly after the post had been taken down.

"Actor Park accidentally posted the image, which he received in a direct message, by mistakenly pressing the wrong button," BH Entertainment said in a statement, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

"The actor himself was also very shocked. He is deeply sorry for making such a mistake in these circumstances and promises to be especially careful to ensure it doesn’t happen again."

The second season of the much-loved Netflix show arrived on the streaming platform on Boxing Day.

It became Netflix's most-watched debut ever with 68 million views, setting a new global viewership record in the process.