Will Hoyeon Jung Return in Squid Game Season 2?

Few streaming TV series have been as widely successful as Squid Game, the South Korean survival thriller that dropped on Netflix in 2021 to critical acclaim and became the most-watched series on the platform. It also broke boundaries for ratings for a foreign-language series as well as several of the actors becoming the first Asian actors to win Primetime Emmy Awards. 

One of the breakout stars from Squid Game was Hoyeon Jung, who often goes by just one name as Hoyeon as she is a model-turned-actress. Incredibly, Squid Game was Hoyeon’s acting debut as Kang Sae-byeok (AKA Player 067). She won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

The highly anticipated Season 2 of Squid Game is set to release on Netflix on December 26, 2024. Could we see Hoyeon return in some capacity to the show that made her an acting star? Here is everything we know about Hoyeon.

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Who Is Hoyeon Jung?

Hoyeon Jung, sometimes stylized as HoYeon, is 30 years old and from South Korea. She got her start in modeling at 16 years old in 2010, walking in Seoul fashion shows for a couple of years. In 2013, she was a contestant on the 4th season of Korea’s Next Top Model where she was a runner-up.

i was wondering why i kept seeing hoyeon jung on my tl and it turns out she debuted as an actress on the now popular squid game.

imagine debuting on the louis vuitton runway as a model and debuting as an actress on a widely-acclaimed show.

she will never run out of jobs. pic.twitter.com/WKGH5wg1ZP

— vlada (@vladasdoll) September 22, 2021

Hoyeon’s fiery red hair made her a standout in the modeling world when she made her international debut on the runway during New York Fashion Week. She had an exclusive with Louis Vuitton in 2016, becoming a global ambassador for that brand in 2021. She also was the first-ever solo Korean cover model for the February 2022 issue of Vogue magazine.

She turned her attention to acting, soon landing a big role in Squid Game in 2021 that launched her acting career and raised her profile even more globally. She soon after appeared in The Weeknd’s 2022 music video for “Out of Time” and made a cameo in the 2024 South Korean comedy series Chicken Nugget.

She is currently acting in the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett, a mystery series that just premiered this week. You also soon could see Hoyeon make her feature film debut in the A24 film The Governesses.

Hoyeon has been reportedly in a relationship with South Korean actor Lee Dong-hwi (Reply 1988) since 2015. She has over 18 million followers on Instagram, making her one of the most famous South Korean celebrities in the world.

In fact, Hoyeon made some celebrity gossip headlines this year when Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker allegedly attempted to shoot his shot at her on Instagram by replying to one of her photos with a “check your dm shawty” message. She replied with a simple ‘No’ to the NBA star.

However, it was later confirmed that the screenshot was fake, and Booker did in fact not shoot his shot at her. Still, Hoyeon added that she doesn’t follow the NBA and doesn’t know who he is anyway.

Who Did Hoyeon Jung Play in Squid Game Season 1?

Warning: Spoilers for Season 1 of Squid Game listed here.

Hoyeon rose to fame for her portrayal as Kang Sae-byeok in Season 1 of Squid Game in 2021. Sae-byeok is a North Korean defector and pickpocket who has fallen on hard times with her family. She joins the Squid Games to try to win money to reunite her family.

Starting out as a lone wolf, she soon makes an alliance with Seong Gi-hun, but she is impaled by a piece of glass during the Glass Bridge game. With her injury worsening, Sae-byeok is stabbed to death in the neck by Sang-woo. Gi-hun is able to help get her little brother out of his orphanage.

With her character’s emotional death as one of the 3 finalists in Season 1, it may seem unlikely that Hoyeon will be back for Season 2 of Squid Game. However, rumors have persisted for years that she may return in some fashion.

Will Hoyeon Jung Return in Squid Game Season 2?

It was 3 years ago when Squid Game’s debut season was spreading like wildfire through word of mouth on social media with people tuning in to see what the hype was all about. But even back in October 2021, Hoyeon was hoping to see the show return for Season 2 even if she didn’t believe she could return for it given what happened to Player 067.

“To be honest, I have never thought about [participating in] the next season, because I am dead,” Hoyeon joked to The Korea Herald. “We should all wait for brilliant imagination and ideas from the director and Netflix. Let’s wait together.”

We didn’t have to wait very long for confirmation from Netflix of Season 2. Squid Game creator Hwang Don-hyuk also said jokingly in an interview with Deadline back in March 2022 that Hoyeon could return as a twin in Season 2.

“Most of them are dead,” Hwang said of the characters. “I’ll try something to bring them back to season 2.” He then pointed to Hoyeon, who was next to him. “Let’s say maybe she has a twin sister, you’ll see,” Hwang said.

Hoyeon jokingly added: “I could change my hair color. Let’s do a little like plastic surgery.”

We know the only confirmed returning characters for Season 2 are Squid Game winner Seong Gi-hun, the Frontman, the Salesman, and police officer Hwang Jun-ho. We’ll just have to see if there’s any follow-up or truth to the twin rumor for Hoyeon when Squid Game Season 2 comes out on December 26.

But with her acting career taking off, you can expect to see Hoyeon in more projects in the near future.