Within one month of publication, "Squid Game"became Netflix's most-watched series, breaking records as the first Korean-language and foreign-language series to receive a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nomination.

Riding the wave of its unprecedented success, Netflix has expanded the franchise by launching a reality competition series inspired by the drama, which premieres in November 2023.

Now, the "Squid Game" franchise is gearing up for its much-anticipated second season release.

Season 2 teasers have confirmed that Gi-hun will re-enter the deadly competition, and the latest trailer hints at his new role. This time it seems to be focused on guiding the contestants to survive and eventually rise up against the game's organizers. However, his success will depend on his ability to help them overcome their innate greed.

Gi-hun's return marks the beginning of a bigger battle, as his fight against those who control the competition is expected to continue in the third and final season.

While promoting the highly anticipated second season, director Hwang spoke PEOPLE Magazine about the success of the show. He even revealed that he would probably be great at the honeycomb challenge. Thinking back to his childhood, he recalled using the same life-saving trick as Seong in the first season – licking the honeycomb to weaken the outline of the shape, making it easier to remove.

The Honeycomb Challenge (or Dalgona Challenge) is one of the most memorable and intense moments of "Squid Game" Season 1, appearing in Episode 3: "Umbrella Man".

Based on a popular South Korean childhood game called ppopgi or dalgona candy, the challenge challenges contestants to carefully cut a shape – such as a circle, triangle, star or umbrella – out of a flat honeycomb candy using a small needle. The goal is to remove the shape without cracking or breaking the breakable candies, as failure results in elimination, which in the show means death.

The difficulty of the task depends on the shape chosen, with simpler designs such as triangles being easier to cut out compared to an intricate umbrella, presenting an almost impossible challenge. In one of the show's standout moments, Seong Gi-hun (player 456) cleverly realizes that licking the back of a candy softens it, making it easier to cut out shapes without breaking, a quick-thinking strategy that saves his life.

Rooted in South Korean street snack culture, the dalgona candy was a nostalgic treat for many children, who would win another snack or free candy if they successfully removed the shape. This cultural reference resonated deeply with Korean audiences, while the suspenseful gameplay enthralled international viewers.

After the show aired, the honeycomb challenge went viral on social media platforms like TikTok, with fans around the world trying to recreate the game using homemade dalgona candies.

Hwang revealed to the publication that the "pressure" on write a second season he was "really huge", especially since he had never thought of doing anything before the first one.

“I thought to myself: am I really going to be able to pull this off? Am I going to be able to create or write something that surpasses the first season?” he said IndieWire. "But when I started writing, and when I got into the story of Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returning to the games with his motives, it actually went a lot better than I thought."

He added, "I was able to create a story that I thought was more intriguing, come up with more interesting characters, and come up with more original and intriguing gameplay."

Netflix renewed “Squid Game” in June 2022 and later announced that the series would continue with a third season, cementing its place as one of the platform's flagship franchises.

"Along the way, I think that feeling of burden or pressure actually changed into a source of joy, and I gradually gained confidence that we were creating something that the fans of the first season would not be disappointed with," Hwang told the agency. “Having said that, it was obviously no easy feat. However, I think with that confidence I could have gone into it with a better approach.”

“Squid Game 2” premieres December 26 on Netflix.