Squid Game star Anupam Tripathi takes the stage in Gwangju war opera

Anupam Tripathi, the Indian actor who gained international recognition through Netflix's "Squid Game," returns to the South Korean stage this month as the lead of "The Third War," an experimental opera exploring conflict, migration and identity at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju.

The 120-minute production — part of a three-year artistic collaboration running from 2024 to 2026 — centers on immigration, diversity and representation, themes that resonate with Korean-American communities across Southern California who have followed Tripathi's career since his breakout role.

Written and directed by Bonn Park, a playwright born and raised in Berlin to Korean parents, the production depicts three fictional nations that maintained uneasy peace for more than 100 years before tensions escalate anew, according to The Korea Times. The stage design — inspired by 19th-century painted opera backdrops — blends printed and hand-painted elements created by French-Colombian artist Daniela Zorrozua Cantillo. Music is composed by Ben Roessler, a frequent Park collaborator.

Tripathi, who has lived in South Korea for more than 15 years, plays a father from the "foreigners' world" in the ensemble cast. "In the play, I'm from the foreigners' world, and I play a father character," he told The Korea Times. "Our world talks about happiness and joy. We try to present even the smallest things in a joyful way through music, costumes and operatic performance."

The actor said no single figure dominates the narrative. "Everybody is the main character. The real main character is the show itself. Every character has meaning and importance," Tripathi said, according to The Korea Times.

Director Park told The Korea Times he had envisioned a war opera long before recent conflicts made the subject feel urgent. "For a long time, I had the idea of creating a war opera, even before war started feeling close to home again in Europe," he said. "Opera, to me, is a genre of majesty and catharsis. It deals with huge emotions — life, death, fear, tragedy."

Park also pushed back against perceptions of opera as an elite art form. "I've always felt that opera should belong to ordinary people, not only elites," he said, according to The Korea Times. "Right now, opera can feel distant, old-fashioned, almost like a museum piece. But I believe it still has incredible power to touch people deeply if it's presented in the right way." Performances will be conducted in Korean with subtitle support.

"The Third War" runs May 29 at 7:30 p.m. and May 30 at 2 p.m. at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. For Tripathi, who rose to global fame five years ago through "Squid Game," the role carries personal weight. "For the last five years, people all over the world have known me," he told The Korea Times. "I want to represent foreigners in a beautiful way. I take that responsibility seriously."