Jung Ho-yeon

Jung Ho-yeon plays Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game. Her watchful, guarded performance stands apart from the more talkative players. She gives Sae-byeok a clear presence without turning every silence into a conspicuous acting moment.

Known internationally for modelling before the series, she made her screen acting debut in Squid Game and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the performance. Her subsequent television work includes Disclaimer.

Sae-byeok's reluctance to trust people is important to how Jung plays her. The character is not simply cold; she is attentive to what an exchange might cost. That distinction makes the quieter scenes involving her particularly effective. The performance lets the audience become interested without offering immediate access to everything the character is thinking.