Meet Squid Game’s Jung Ho-yeon, Blackpink member Jennie’s bestie and model-turned-Netflix-star who’s walked for Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs
South Korean psychological thriller Squid Game is a nine-episode hit that gets your heart racing as it pits 456 players against each other in life-or-death childhood games. It also stars veteran actors and fresh faces alike, including a newcomer on the small screen: Jung Ho-yeon.
Jung plays a North Korean defector named Sae-byeok. She gets by as a pickpocket and enters the bloody contest out of desperation like the other players, as she needs a huge sum of money to reunite with her brother who’s staying in an orphanage, and her mum who’s still stuck in their home country.
Here are six things to know about Jung …
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She’s a world-class model
Then Jung went global. She signed with Elite Model Management (The Society Management in New York) and took part in several catwalks. The first one was for Louis Vuitton in 2016. She then went on to walk for Marc Jacobs, Burberry and Chanel.
Her role in Squid Game marks her acting debut
In an interview with Models.com, Jung revealed that she wanted to be known as an actor, saying, “I learned more English because I wanted to actually learn acting.” She also said she was interested in the action genre and could see herself in works like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
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She signed with Saram Entertainment in early 2020 and received an invitation to audition while preparing for New York Fashion Week. “All I did during that time other than eat was read the script,” Jung shared at a press conference. “Later, the director wanted to meet me in person, so I flew back to Korea.”
She worked hard to prepare for her role
Like other passionate Korean actors, she prepared intensively for her role. “I watched a lot of documentaries about North Korean defectors. I also practised speaking in a North Korean accent with a teacher, and studied a lot,” Jung told W Korea.
She shared in the same interview: “More than anything, I think I was able to accept Sae-byeok without any big difficulties because I am similar to her. In 2016, I left Korea to further my modelling career overseas, and I spent a lot of time alone. At the time, the emotion that I felt the most was loneliness. That feeling of loneliness while trying to persevere and live isn’t all that different.”
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She’s dating Reply 1988 actor Lee Dong-hwi
They’ve been described in the media as “free personalities [who] don’t hide their affection”, reports Soompi. And in case you’re curious, they are following each other on Instagram.
She’s besties with Blackpink’s Jennie
The two aren’t shy in expressing their bond online. They support each other’s projects and greet each other during their birthdays. They also post plenty of wacky selfies together. Recently, Jung shared a fun snap with Jennie on the set of Squid Game.
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She has gained millions of followers since Squid Game premiered
Jung’s follower count on Instagram was reportedly at around 400,000 before the series aired. But as the days went by, she got hundreds of thousands more followers – now, she has a whopping 5.5 million.
As the success of Squid Game is just the start of Jung’s exciting acting journey, we’re watching out for her future projects on the small screen and beyond.
- Jung made her acting debut playing the North Korean defector Sae-byeok in the psychological thriller K-drama, amassing millions of Instagram followers since
- She kick-started her career on Korea’s Next Top Model then switched to acting, saying she could see herself in action flicks like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill