Squid Game: 8 Fun Facts About The Cast, From Lee Jung-Jae To Jung Ho-Yeon

Jung-jae, 48, plays a gambler in the Game, but he started out his career in South Korea as a fashion model. In 1999 he won the Best Actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for City of the Rising Sun and starred in films such as An Affair and Housemaid. In recent years, however, he has also been known for becoming a restauranteur and owns an Italian restaurant in Daehangno, Seoul named after his film Il Mare. A former student of interior design, it's believe he often designs the interiors of his eateries and works alongside his friend and partner Jung Woo-sun (who is a fellow City of the Rising Sun actor) in several business ventures.

Indian-born Tripathi, 32, plays a Pakistani migrant worker in the show and moved to Korea in 2010 to attend the Korea National University of Arts. He has featured in several Korean films and made his film debut in 2014 in Ode to My Father before voicing the voice of a preacher in Netflix’s The 8th Night (2021).

The star entered the TV and film industry in 2011 after coming fifth in the SBS talent show Miraculous Audition, which he signed up to one night after watching an advert for the competition. The actor – who plays a gangster in Squid Game - has also starred in Beyond Evil (2021) and The Outlaws (2017), and even learnt the Manchu language for his role in The Fortress (2017).

Since the TV series aired on Netflix, the star has become the most followed Korean actress on Instagram, with a total of 13 million followers at the time of writing. The 27-year-old made her acting debut in Squid Game, but previously worked as a model and has appeared in magazines such as ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar and on catwalks for Jean-Paul Gaultier, Lanvin and Louis Vuitton.

Ho-yeon started out her career in show business after competing as a contestant on Korea’s Next Top Model (a slightly different competition to Squid Game...).

Yoo-mi’s character takes part in the Game after being released from prison for killing her abusive father. However, according to Squid Game’s director Hwang Dong Hyuk, the actor almost didn’t make it into the series.

‘When I first wrote this 10 years ago, they were originally male characters. Ji Yeong (Lee Yoo Mi) was originally called Ji Yong,’ he recently explained, according to KoreaBoo.com.

However, when creating the characters the director thought that the pair needed to be women, noting: ‘I realised that there is something about women and their solidarity that have more persuasion.’

The actor’s film credits date back to the early 2000s, with roles in films like Memories of Murder (2003) and Plum Blossom (2000). In the TV series Joo-ryoung plays one of the most divisive and manipulative characters, but in recent weeks has become known on social media for sharing countless behind-the-scenes pictures from Squid Game on her Instagram account, making her our favourite actor at the moment. Keep bringing us that content, Joo-ryoung!