Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; No Ju-han/Netflix Park Sung-hoon opened up exclusively to PEOPLE about being a cisgender actor playing the transgender character Cho Hyun-ju onSquid Game The South Korean actor said he "really did not want to offend anyone" by taking on the role and shared what he learned from the experience Squid Gameseason 3 drops June 27 on Netflix Park Sung-hoonis reflecting on his time playing a transgender character onSquid Game. The South Korean actor spoke exclusively to PEOPLE during the show's season 3 premiere in New York City on Wednesday, June 18, about the public perception of him playing Cho Hyun-ju in the dystopian survival thriller series, and what he has learned from the role. InSquid Gameseason 2, Hyun-ju is introduced as a former soldier who was discharged after coming out as a trans woman. She is competing to win money to support her gender-affirming surgery and move to Thailand. And Park, 40, tells PEOPLE he "really did not want to offend anyone" as a cisgender actor playing a transgender character. "I knew that there were worries," he admits. "But when season 2 dropped, the LGBTQ+ community gave me lots of love and support, which I am eternally grateful for." Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. No Ju-han/Netflix Park adds that he's "really looking forward" to fans getting to watch the third and final season, but that the moment is "a little bittersweet" because he doesn't want to "say goodbye to"Squid Game. Hyun-ju — player No. 120 — is returning for season 3, with the story picking up after she and a handful of her fellow competitors attempted an ill-fated revolt, started byLee Jung-jae's Seong Gi-hun, against those running the Squid Game competition. And Park tells PEOPLE he has learned "so much" playing Hyun-ju onSquid Game. "While Hyun-ju is a transgender character, that's just one of her qualities — and she has many, many redeeming qualities," he says. "She's selfless, she cares for others, she has leadership, she's brave," Park continues. "So just as a person playing this character, I learned so much from her." Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty The official trailer for the third and final season ofSquid Gamedebuted during Netflix's live Tudum 2025 event in May. The2-minute clipteased what fate awaits Hyun-ju, Gi-hun and the rest of the players as they finish the game they started — all under the watchful eye of The Front Man/Hwang In-ho (Lee Byung-hun). The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! "The third and final season ofSquid Gamefollows Gi-hun after losing his best friend in the game and being driven to utter despair by The Front Man, who was hiding his true identity to infiltrate the game," reads a logline for the season. It adds, "Gi-hun persists with his goal to put an end to the game, while the Front Man continues onto his next move and the surviving players' choices will lead to graver consequences with each round." Squid Gameseason 3 drops June 27 on Netflix. Read the original article onPeople