Who doesn’t love cameo appearances? Short, sweet and designed for maximum impact, here are our fave unforgettable A-lister cameos from recent Korean dramas, starting with Squid Game
What’s a top-rated K-drama without a famous cameo or two, and sometimes three?
Oftentimes, the A-list actors and actresses who make brief appearances in a Korean drama are good friends with the stars of that show, or they may have headlined another drama together. In other instances, the directors or producers of the show may have worked with these stars in other programmes and pulled in a favour, asking them to pop in to create excitement, hype and additional stardust. Sometimes, these famous folks even cameo as themselves, and other times, they take on roles so fleeting but unforgettable, we have to replay that scene about 50 times.
Here are 12 memorable cameos from our fave K-dramas.
Read more: 11 Korean Dramas With the Highest Ratings in 2021: Which Haven’t You Watched?
1. Gong Yoo in Squid Game
Who else was floored by the sudden appearance of the Train to Busan and Guardian: The Lonely and Great God luminary in the most viral K-drama of the year, Squid Game? And who else wants Gong Yoo to play ddakji with them and slap them silly? The actor plays the mysterious Salesman, who recruits main character Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) at a subway station into entering the high-stakes Squid Game. They play a game of ddakji, a traditional Korean kids’ game where you throw a folded paper tile to try and flip your opponent’s tile over.
Gong Yoo is, as always, handsome and enigmatic, and the Internet exploded with imaginative theories about the Salesman and the red and blue ddakji tiles. But Squid Game writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk has said that the character is simply a former staff member who earned the trust of the game’s creator and got a chance to work outside the game in the ‘real world’. And the red and blue tiles are inspired by a Korean ghost legend, and don’t hold additional meaning, unlike The Matrix’s red pill and blue pill.
We have another wild Squid Game cameo in the last spot of this story, which is a bit of a spoiler if you haven’t watched the show, so scroll away before you get there if you hate spoilers.
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