She was created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who was inspired to add that sex scene after watching a reality show depicting people on a desert island and women being attracted to male players who are strong and good at hunting.

There was criticism of how the English dub and subtitles depict her, with multiple people arguing that the meaning of her words and characterization was changed as a result.

She later uses the bathroom and smokes cigarettes she smuggled with a lighter in her vagina, and assists player Kang Sae-byeok get into a vent to get more info about what is going on in the facility.

When everyone, including Deok-su, returns, it is revealed that Mi-nyeo was left alive, saying that the guards called her the weakest link and that it would be unfair to punish her for that.

[1] The idea for the sex scene between Mi-nyeo and Deok-su came after Hwang watched a reality show about contestants on a desert island, stating that they were attracted to people who they wouldn't have been prior due to their strength and hunting ability.

[2] She is portrayed by actress Kim Joo-ryoung, who Hwang approached on a set and told her that he was working on a show and would contact her when the project was finalized.

[1] The Hankyoreh writer Kim Kung-kwang considered Mi-nyeo the most memorable character in the show, expressing sympathy with her situation of turning to a person like Deok-su for protection.

Azhar felt that she used her body and sexual prowess to barter with other players, stating that this is a real-world phenomena called survival sex.

[5] Author Sarah Molisso believed that Mi-nyeo was the opposite of the "Wise Mother Good Wife" trope, described as placing "women’s reproductive value highly in the domestic sphere."

She described her as a "vixen," stating that she is the personification of "self-reliance and self-governance," citing how she chooses Deok-su for protection and ultimately kills him when he betrays her.

[6] Inverse writer Lyvie Scott felt that Mi-nyeo "stole each scene" whenever she appeared, adding that she believed that her death, like Sae-byeok's, served the "central male narrative" above all.

He also criticized the English subtitles for how it handled her calling people "Oppa," an "endearing and sometimes flirtatious term for an older male friend," was either ignored or mistranslated as "babe" or "old man.

[9] TheGamer writer Stacey Henley discussed the treatment of women in Squid Game, believing that while she was street smart, she is also portrayed as "naive, foolish, and pathetic," noting that some of the criticisms of her could be directed at the English translations.