This article contains spoilers regarding the games introduced in Squid Game season 2 (but no major spoilers about their results). Netflix survival drama Squid Game is back for a second season and with it comes a new batch of deadly childrens’ games. Season 1 covered many of the classics like Red Light, Green Light and […]
The post Squid Game Season 2: All The New and Returning Games appeared first on Den of Geek.
This article contains spoilers for Squid Game season 2 character details through episode 3.
One of the biggest questions facing a second season of Squid Game is “who is even gonna be in this thing?” Thanks to its bloody premise, the first season of the Netflix global hit killed off roughly 99% of its characters by the time credits rolled on the finale. That’s just the name of the game when there’s only one surviving winner of a competition that features 456 contestants.
While season 2 includes more returning characters than you might expect, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was also able to find some fresh casting grit for his terrible machine. From Wi Ha-joon to Park Gyu-young and beyond, here are the new and returning actors of Squid Game season 2 and the characters they play.
Lee Jung-jae as Player 456: Seong Gi-hun
OK here’s the easy one. Seong Gi-hun a.k.a. Player 456 is the most important character on Squid Game. As the audience’s eyes and ears into the world of these violent contests, Gi-hun is the only figure on the show who has any semblance of plot armor. Still, season 2 will put that protection to the test as Gi-hun enters into the games for a second time in a desperate effort to end them once and for all.
While a successful actor in his native South Korea prior to Squid Game, Lee Jung-jae’s international appeal has skyrocketed since season 1 premiered. The Seoul native won the Emmy award for his work as Seong Gi-hun in 2022 and then joined a galaxy far, far away as Jedi Master Sol in Star Wars: The Acolyte.
Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
Hwang Jun-ho is another season 1 returnee. This police investigator infiltrated the squid game island only to discover that his missing brother Hwang In-ho a.k.a. The Front Man was the operator of the grisly games. He was then shot in the shoulder by said brother and fell off a cliff into the water below. In season 2, Jun-ho has survived his injuries and is working as a traffic cop before getting swept up in all this nonsense once again.
Playing Jun-ho is Wi Ha-joon, a Korean actor who grew up on his family’s abalone farm and played major roles in the films Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum and Midnight.
Jeon Seok-ho as Choi Woo-seok
Choi Woo-seok is a new addition to the Squid Game season 2 roster who helps Seong Gi-hun investigate the games from the outside. Initially an indifferent contractor, Woo-seok takes a personal interest in the games when someone close to him is killed.
This is Jeon Seok-ho’s biggest role to date. The actor has previously had supporting work in Korean TV series The Good Wife, Jirisan, and Kingdom.
Gong Yoo as The Recruiter
The mysterious unnamed man who first recruited Seong Gi-hun to the games is back in season 2 and he’s more unhinged than ever. “The Recruiter” has a larger role to play in episode two of this season as we get a better sense of what kind of person takes such a violent job.
Playing the recruiter is Gong Yoo, one of the more famous and prolific actors in Squid Game‘s cast. Gong is best known for his lead role in the 2016 hit horror film Train to Busan and has also appeared in the film The Age of Shadows and TV series The Silent Sea.
Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho a.k.a. The Front Man
The final major returning player for Squid Game season 2 is Hwang In-ho a.k.a. The Front Man. With game creator Oh Il-nam dispatched, Hwang In-ho can safely be considered the series’ new big bad. A former game champion and Jun-ho’s brother, In-ho has a bigger role in this story than ever.
Lee Byung-hun has had a major film career in both South Korea and the U.S., starring in Korean films like I Saw the Devil and Inside Man; and American films like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Red 2, and Terminator Genisys.
EPISODE 3 SPOILER BELOW
Of course, Hwang In-ho isn’t just the Front Man this time around. He enters into the games undercover as Player 001 Oh Young-il. This marks the second time that someone involved with the games has participated in them as a very conspicuous 001. And both times, our poor Gi-hun has appeared to be none the wiser.
Park Gyu-young as Guard 011: Kang No-eul
The character of Kang No-eul provides for one of Squid Game season 2’s first big twists. A North Korean defector with debts to pay working as an amusement park mascot, she’s exactly the kind of desperate person that the games seek to exploit. So a recruiter for the games does exploit her – not as a contestant, however, but as a guard. Yes, No-eul is Guard #011 as the show offers us a closer work at the inner-workings of the games.
Park Gyu-young is best known for playing Yoon Ji-soo in Netflix’s Sweet Home. The South Korean actress has also appeared in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Dali & Cocky Prince, and Celebrity.
Lee Seo-hwan as Player 390: Park Jung-bae
It’s a small world and Seoul is even smaller. For the second squid games in a row, Seong Gi-hun has bumped into an old friend as a contestant. Player 390 Park Jung-bae used to work with Gi-hun back in the day before both fell on hard(er) times and was seen in season 1 with his friend at the race track. He is sure to be a close ally for our hero throughout the season. But then again…Cho Sang-woo was supposed to be a close ally as well.
Lee Seo-hwan has previously been seen in the TV series Gangnam B-Side and The Devil Judge.
Park Sung-hoon as Player 120: Cho Hyun-ju
Player 120, Cho Hyun-ju, is a formidable contestant in this edition of the games. A trans woman with some apparent military experience, Hyun-ju seems bound and determined to make it out on top.
Hyun-ju is played by cis male performer Park Sung-hoon, who is best known for his work in the TV series Memorials and his recent villain roles in The Glory and Queen of Tears.
Yang Dong-geun as Player 007: Park Yong-sik
Borrowing a bit from Netflix’s real life competition series Squid Game: The Challenge, Park Yong-sik enters into the games alongside his mother Jang Geum-ja. That should prove to be a challenge later on as we know the two most recent iterations of the games had only one winner (Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho).
In addition to acting in projects like Grand Prix and Moving, Yang Dong-geun is a rapper and breakdancer under the moniker YDG.
Kang Ae-shim as Player 149: Jang Geum-ja
Jang Geum-ja is Park Yong-sik’s mom who is devastated to see that her son made a rash decision as well. Only by winning together can they pay off each other’s massive debts.
Kang Ae-shim has a history of playing motherly roles in projects like A Virtuous Business and Frankly Speaking.
Choi Seung-hyun as Player 230: Choi Su-bong a.k.a. Thanos
This freaking guy. Similar to season 1’s Jang Deok-su, Choi Su-bong is the de facto bully of the games this time around. A stringy and excitable rapper under the name…*sigh* Thanos, Su-bong builds up a formidable cult of personality early on. He also has a necklace full of secret drugs and likes to pepper his language with English phrases.
Better known by his stage name T.O.P, Choi Seung-hyun is a popular rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a major part of the boy band BingBag since 2006 but exited the group in 2023 to pursue other projects. He’s appeared in several films and TV shows since 2007 – most notably Nineteen and Commitment.
Im Si-wan as Player 333: Lee Myung-gi
The character of Lee Myung-gi represents how many new grifts and schemes to take unfortunate people’s money have popped up since Squid Game first premiered in 2021. Myung-gi is a cryptocurrency influencer who operated the “MG Coin” YouTube channel. Many of this years’ game contestants followed his financial advice (which he maintains was not financial advice) and lost everything.
Like Choi Seung-hyun, Im Si-wan is another K-pop performer joining the cast of Squid Game. Im is a member of the South Korean boy band ZE:A and its sub-group ZE:A Five. He’s also acted with some regularity since 2010, with his best known roles coming in 2013 film The Attorney and TV series Misaeng: Incomplete Life.
Jo Yu-ri as Player 222: Kim Jun-hee
Kim Jun-hee is crypto bro Lee Myung-gi’s ex-girlfriend who also just happens to be pregnant with his child, contributing to the interpersonal viper’s nest of this year’s games. She’s joining the contest for a better life for her unborn child.
Jo Yu-ri is a singer who has enjoyed some success in the Korean and Japanese music industries through her solo work and her time in the girl group Iz*One. She first began acting in 2022 with roles in the TV series Mimicus and Work Now, Drink Later. Squid Game marks her third scripted television effort.
Chae Kook-hee as Player 044: Seon-nyeo
Seon-nyeo (surname unknown as of press time) is another familiar Squid Game archetype: the spacey lady. Like season 1’s Han Mi-nyeo, Seon-nyeo is a bit of an odd duck. Unlike the former player 212, however, this player 044 appears to be quite superstitious, having once been a shaman.
Kang Ha-neul as Player 388: Kang Dae-ho
Get a load of solider boy over here in that screengrab. Player 388 was a military man* and he’s happy to let everyone know it. He also appears to be a strong ally for Gi-hun and Jung-bae.
*South Korea has a mandatory military conscription requirement for all males above the age of 18. But the diversity of military experience for the characters in Squid Game season 2 make it clear that some take it more seriously than others.
Kang Ha-neul has appeared in many Korean TV dramas including Misaeng: Incomplete Life, When the Camellia Blooms, and Insider. He’s been highlighted by Forbes and Gallup as one of South Korea’s most recognizable and beloved TV actors.
Lee Jin-wook as Player 246: Gyeong-seok
As seen in the first two episodes of the season, Gyeong-seok (surname unknown) is the beleaguered father of sick little girl Na-yeon. He entered the games and became Player 246 to pay for her expensive medical treatments. Unbeknownst to him, Guard 011 Kang No-eul wants to save Na-yeon as well.
Lee Jin-wook is a successful South Korean actor who has appeared in a whole host of projects. Western TV fans may recognize him as Pyeon Sang-wook from Sweet Home. He’s also had major roles in the series Glass Castle, Nine, and The Time We Were Not in Love.
Lee David as Player 125: Min-su
Player 125 Min-su is a young contestant in this year’s games. He is afraid, impressionable, and liable to fall under the wrong influence.
Born Lee Da-wit, Lee David is a South Korean actor who has starred in The Terror Live and Law School.
Won Ji-an as Player 380: Se-mi
Se-mi is an independent, headstrong player who is not above alliances of convenience. Won Ji-an has previously appeared in military action series D.P. and vampire romance Heartbeat.
Kim Si-eun as Player 095: Kim Young-mi
Kim Young-mi is another one of many tragically young players involved in this iteration of the games. Thankfully, vets like Gi-hun seem willing to show her the ropes. Kim Si-eun played Yook-jo in 2019’s Love Alarm, which was the first Korean drama series to be picked up by Netflix.
cnx({
playerId: “106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530”,
}).render(“0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796”);
});
All seven episodes of Squid Game season 2 are available to stream on Netflix now.
The post Squid Game Season 2 Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Gyu-young, Choi Seung-hyun, and More appeared first on Den of Geek.
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