Seong Gi-hun
Seong Gi-hun, also known as Player 456, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the South Korean dystopian survival thriller television series Squid Game, made for Netflix. He was created by series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, who was cast out of a desire to affect his reputation as a cool actor and show the humanity behind his role. Gi-hun took multiple aspects from Hwang's life, including his neighborhood, his childhood friend's name, aspects of his uncle, and his own struggles with gambling and failure. When designing his character for season 2, Hwang aimed to make him a Don Quixote–like character, revolting recklessly against the system. Lee found him to be the most "heartbreaking" character he has portrayed. He is voiced in the English dub by Greg Chun.
Gi-hun was a divorced former chauffeur and gambling addict who joined in a secret life-or-death contest consisting of six children's games where he competes with 455 other players for a cash prize of up to 45.6 billion won after incurring significant debts from gambling and unemployment. During participation, he makes allies with various other participants, including Ali Abdul, Cho Sang-woo, Kang Sae-byeok, and Oh Il-nam. Following his regretful victory in season 1, he returned as a participant in the games of the second and third in an attempt to end them.
Gi-hun was well received as a character in season 1, with Lee winning multiple awards for his performance, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy. Critics discussed the parallels between his life and real-world problems in South Korea, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis. His season 2 and 3 portrayals were more mixed, with critics feeling his character's actions were frustrating and made little sense. Despite these criticisms, Lee has been praised for his ability to shift from a lighthearted character to a darker one in the second and third seasons.
Appearances
''Squid Game'' season 1
Seong Gi-hun first appeared in the first season as the protagonist, introduced stealing money from his mother to gamble on horses with Park Jung-bae for a gift for his daughter's birthday. He ends up losing the winnings however after being pickpocketed by a woman while fleeing loan sharks, led by Kim Jeong-rae. Later, at a train station, he was approached by a man in a suit, who offered Gi-hun 100,000 won if he could beat him in a game of ddakji. He eventually wins, getting the won and an invitation to participate in Squid Game. He joined as player 456 of 456, meeting various people, including an old man, the pickpocket, and his childhood friend, Cho Sang-woo. The players participate in a game of Red Light, Green Light, learning that losing results in death. He nearly falls, only to be caught by Ali Abdul, who crosses the finish line with Gi-hun. It is then revealed that the winner of all six games will receive a cash prize of up to 45.6 billion won, but a slim majority of players vote to leave the game, Gi-hun included. Back home, he returns with Il-nam in a convenience store and later Jung-bae for money. He then reports the game to the police, but they are not convinced; police detective Hwang Jun-ho asks him about the games as his brother had a card similar to the one given to Gi-hun when he was told about the games and has disappeared. Gi-hun declines to help Jun-ho with the matter. He discovers his mother in the hospital, unable to get treatment; he attempts to get a loan from his ex-wife, learning she and their daughter are moving to the United States. Desperate for money, with no other options, he rejoins the Squid Game.The second game prompts players to choose a shape; Gi-hun chose umbrella, only learning afterward they had to remove the shape from a dalgona cookie, Gi-hun having picked the hardest one. He eventually wins by licking it out. During the interim, it is discovered that killing during breaks is permissible, prompting a gangster named Jang Deok-su to go on a massacre with his allies on other players. He rescues the pickpocket, and learns her name to be Kang Sae-byeok. The lights turn back on, and the killing is made to stop. They then participate in a game of tug-of-war, Gi-hun allying with Sae-byeok, the old man, Ali, Sang-woo, and five others. After winning thanks to the old man's advice, they barricade themselves for the night, taking shifts keeping watch and dissuading Deok-su from attacking by making him feel paranoid. During the night, he experiences PTSD and remembers his co-worker being killed by police during a strike.
In the fourth game, they are told to pair up with another player to play with, Gi-hun choosing to partner with the old man. They then learn that the objective is to win your opponent's marbles. Gi-hun struggles with bad luck, but starts to lie during the game in order to win. He learns that the old man knew he was lying, but let him win anyway, giving his name as Oh Il-nam and thanking him for helping him have fun before his apparent execution. During the next game, which is glass stepping stones, Gi-hun is shocked to see Sang-woo kill a man to ensure that he survives, and learns that Sae-byeok was injured during this game. The three are the only remaining survivors, with Gi-hun stopped from killing Sang-woo by Sae-byeok, each of them promising to take care of the other's family if the other dies. She is ultimately killed by Sang-woo to keep her and Gi-hun from voting to leave the game, and the two are sent to fight to the death in the final game. Sang-woo is defeated, but Gi-hun asks to vote to leave, not wanting to kill him, prompting Sang-woo to take his own life so Gi-hun would win the money by default.
Gi-hun is sent back by the Front Man and returns home then discovering his mother has died, and is unable to spend the money due to guilt. He later receives an invitation card from Il-nam, who reveals that he is the mastermind of Squid Game, wanting to relieve his boredom from being so rich. Il-nam challenges Gi-hun to a wager over whether a drunk in the snow would be rescued, only for Gi-hun to win as Il-nam passes away. Some time later, Gi-hun changes his appearance by having red hair. He then takes Sae-byeok's brother out of an orphanage and brings him to Sang-woo's mother, along with a portion of the prize money. On his way to his flight to see his daughter, he sees the same man in a suit from the train station with another man and gives chase. The man in the suit is gone, but he takes the card from the person who received it and calls the number. He states his intent to rejoin the games and end them once and for all and finding the Front Man, opting to not board the plane.
''Squid Game'' season 2
In the second season, set three years later, Gi-hun was paying his former loan sharks, with Choi Woo-seok and Kim Jeong-rae to hunt down the recruiter of the games, eventually tracking him down to a run-down hotel room. The recruiter challenges Gi-hun to a game of Russian roulette, both casting aspersions at the other. The recruiter challenges him to pull the trigger twice on him, saying that he would prove to be "trash"; Gi-hun pulls the trigger on himself, making the same challenge to the recruiter, who ultimately shoots himself. Gi-hun then joins forces with Hwang Jun-ho and the mercenaries. He plans with others to track down the Front Man, having a false tooth with a tracker in it. He was invited into a limo, where he asks to be put into the game so he could take it down, with the Front Man accepting this, becoming Player 456 again. He learns of a new rule that players vote to stay or leave after every game now and that his friend, Park Jung-bae, had joined the game, telling him to stick close to him. During Red Light, Green Light, he discovers that the tracker was removed, preventing his allies from locating him. He explains the consequences of losing to the other players, taking care to instruct them when to freeze. The other players only realize the consequences once the first player dies. Gi-hun then instructs the players to form a line with the taller players in front. Thanos pushes players off and Gi-hun and the players are forced to run instead towards the finish line as the time almost runs out. He crosses the finish line, but notices a player who had been shot asking for help. He, alongside Cho Hyun-ju, help him cross, though he is killed anyway by Kang No-eul, a North Korean defector and Squid Game guard.This time around, everyone participates in a vote to stay or leave after every game, receiving an X for those leaving and an O for those staying. During the vote, Gi-hun loudly declares that he has participated in the games before, inviting skepticism. Gi-hun is then approached by Im Jeong-dae and Thanos about him being in the games and wanting advice to win. By a slim majority, the players are made to remain, after Player 001 – Hwang In-ho, the true identity of the Front Man infiltrating the games as a mole to sabotage Gi-hun's plans – votes to stay. Numerous players seek out his input for the next game, though Gi-hun is unsure about whether it will be the same game. When the O team, Im Jeong-dae and In-ho confronts Gi-hun, he earns In-ho's trust after fighting Thanos and Nam-gyu, saving Lee Myung-gi's life. In the next game, they are told to form a group of five, with Gi-hun's group consisting of himself, Jung-bae, a former Marine named Kang Dae-ho, a pregnant woman named Kim Jun-hee, and In-ho. They are made to have their legs tied side-by-side, each tasked with playing one of five games, each completing their game and crossing the finish line. Another vote is held, with a noticeable majority of players voting to remain, including Jung-bae, who previously voted to leave. They participate in the third game, Mingle, before holding another vote. The vote ends up a tie, forcing them to hold a vote the next day. After the bathroom fight resulting Thanos's death, Gi-hun realizes that the game intends for the players to kill each other, warning his group to hide during this until the soldiers enter so they can steal their guns and take over the facility.
After the riot is ended, the guards, sent by the Masked Officer to conclude the killing and the group members pretend to be dead, allowing them to take the guards off guard and steal their weapons, killing them. They collect the guns and ammo, leaving the dorm room with a hostage to tell them where to go. He and Jung-bae go to the command room and the Masked Officer while the others deal with the soldiers, fighting soldiers of their own along the way. In-ho eventually takes two people with him to help ambush the soldiers from behind and assist Gi-hun and Jung-bae, only to kill the two he brought and fake "Young-il"'s death while radioing Gi-hun. Gi-hun and Jung-bae surrender, and In-ho, now dressed as the Front Man, comes with several other guards and the Masked Officer, executes Jung-bae. The soldiers hold down a horrified Gi-hun and the fight is over.