List of Squid Game characters
For the second season, a new ensemble cast is introduced including Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Lee Jin-wook, Park Sung-hoon, Choi Seung-hyun (T.O.P.
The New York Times named him their breakout star of 2021; stating: "As the protagonist Seong Gi-hun, a gambling addict who is deeply in debt, he gives a wrenching and surprisingly subtle performance as he battles his way through unspeakable horrors.
10 years after losing his job at an automobile manufacturing plant run by Dragon Motors, he is a divorced father, who besides working as a chauffeur, continuously gambles for the purpose of earning money.
Due to his excessive gambling and other different factors, Gi-hun is millions of won in debt, and constantly evades paying back the money he owes to the bank and loan sharks.
Following this, Gi-hun dyes his hair red, puts Sae-byeok's brother in the care of Sang-woo's mother and gives her a suitcase containing a large portion of the prize money.
Gi-hun then decides to board a flight to Los Angeles to see his daughter but notices the same salesman he originally encountered at the subway playing ddakji with another player.
Despite initial success, the plan fails and he is captured and confronted by the Front Man, who asks him if it was worth it and kills Jung-bae, leaving Gi-hun devastated once again.
Jun-ho manages to sneak into the Front Man (played by Lee Byung-hun)'s office room on the island, where he discovers a vast archive of past players and winners and is surprised to find out that his brother won the games in 2015.
The Front Man responds with skepticism, since the island is out of reach of cell phone towers, and offers to spare Jun-ho's life if he surrenders and deletes the evidence.
He fabricates a story, based in truth, about his reason for being in the games--his pregnant wife is desperately ill, and they are deeply in debt due to her medical bills.
He illegally siphoned money from his client's balances, then invested it in derivatives and future options which failed, resulting in the loss of 6 billion won.
Sae-byeok agrees to participate in the Squid Game to raise enough money to help reunite her family and get her younger brother Kang Cheol out of the orphanage.
Initially entering the game as a lone wolf, she later allies herself with Seong Gi-hun, who welcomes her on his team despite Sae-byeok pickpocketing him in the past, and his other teammates.
Il-nam is initially presented as an elderly man with a brain tumor and dementia, who prefers playing the game than to await death in the outside world.
[25] Ali is a Pakistani migrant worker who moved to South Korea with his wife and child, joining the games to win prize money for his family, especially after being cheated out of his earnings by his corrupt boss.
[25] Deok-su is a ruthless gangster who entered the game to settle massive gambling debts, having an acrimonious past with Kang Sae-byeok and fallen out of favor with his crime boss.
Mi-nyeo quickly adapts to the games' dynamics, initially playing selfishly like Jang Deok-su, and allies with those who offer her protection or benefits.
However, he expels her in favor of physically stronger male players for the tug of war game, prompting her to vow revenge and join Gi-hun's team.
Having raised Yong-sik as a single mother, she is a survivor of the Korean War and despite her crass dialog, is deeply caring, even welcoming the ostracized Cho Hyun-ju into her group.
Hyun-ju's military background plays a crucial role in Gi-hun's rebellion, as she trains the fighters to use submachine guns stolen from the pink guards.
In response, some pointed out that South Korea's conservative stance on LGBT rights made it difficult to find a transgender actress willing to take on such a high-profile role.
[3] A former YouTuber known as "MG Coin" who lost money as a result of a failed crypto investment he made and recommended to his followers, and is Jun-hee's ex-boyfriend and the father of her child.
Jun-hee is vengeful of Myung-gi at first for his apparent scam and for deserting her when she became pregnant, but after he saves her life in several instances and stands up for her, begins to forgive him despite keeping her guard up.
Despite his gung-ho demeanor, Dae-ho gets a panic attack while supporting Gi-hun's rebellion and freezes up when retrieving ammunition for the rebels, which in part causes it to fail.
[39] Prior to her joining the games, Ji-young was an ex-convict who was recently released from jail for the murder of her abusive father, who was an alcoholic pastor and the killer of her mother.
He is a disgraced doctor who conspires with some of the Masked Men to harvest the organs of deceased or nearly dead players in exchange for extra food and leaked information on the upcoming games.
As a result, he is killed alongside the guards he worked with by the Front Man, and their bodies are hung for display prior to the Marbles game to make an example out of them for cheating.
[3] A shy, timid young man, Min-su is initially allied with Se-mi, and the two later join forces with Thanos and his crew despite the latter's disgust at them, believing she can manipulate them.
[3] Jeong-dae is a brash, greedy, middle-aged man who is revealed to owe 10 billion won in debt, nearly a quarter of the promised prize money.
[43] A warm-hearted and caring mother, Mal-soon was concerned for the well-being of both her son and stepson, and felt sad and guilty for not being able to help In-ho to save his pregnant wife, who died of liver failure before she could find a suitable donor.
