Who Is Jung Ho-yeon? All About the Squid Game Star and Supermodel

Author:
Jessica Sager
Feb 27, 2022

MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: Model Hoyeon Jung is seen backstage ahead of the Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019 on September 22, 2018 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images)

Squid Game breakout star Jung Ho-yeonwas already a major celebrity in Korea before her new Netflix series turned her into a worldwide icon.

The actress, who became a fan favorite as Squid Game's Kang Sae-byeok, was a supermodel before she became an actress; in fact, Squid Game marks her very first acting role! She says her downtime during her modeling career inspired her to pursue acting.

“When I’d travel by myself on airplanes and stay at hotels, I spent most of my days just watching movies,” she told Vogue. “[Afterward] I thought more and more about myself and my position in humanity at large. Who was I? What does it mean to be human? The need to answer those questions was what brought me to acting.”

That said, she wasn't necessarily confident in her abilities (even though the rest of us can plainly see that she's incredibly talented).

"I think I wanted to feel certain about why he chose me," she told Herald Pop of director Hwang Dong-hyuk (via PEOPLE). "Then the director said to me, 'I picked you because you're already perfect as Sae Byeok.' That one phrase made me think that even if I'm not that great at acting, it would be problematic if I'm not able to do what I normally can do because of my nervousness and uneasiness, and I was able to overcome it. I also spoke to my seniors a lot while filming. From a certain point on, I didn't feel uneasy, and I could focus and do my best."

As it turns out, her best is one of the best! Who is HoYeon Jung from Squid Game? Find out all about the starlet!

What is Jung Ho-yeon's real name?

Jung Ho-yeon's real name is HoYeon Jung. Jung is her surname; in many Korean families, their surname is written first. There are several accepted spellings and formations of her name, which you'll see throughout this story and others. It's worth noting, however, that in an interview with TIME, she specifically referred to herself as "Jung Ho-yeon."

What is Jung Ho-yeon's age?

Jung's birthday is June 23, 1994. At the time of this writing, she is 27 years old.

Who does Jung Ho-yeon play in Squid Game?

Jung plays Sae-byeok in Squid Game. Not only does the part mark her acting debut, but she told Voguethat the series was also her very first audition. That's a pretty great success rate!

“I only received three parts of the script before the audition. They contained the scenes with Sae-byeok’s younger brother, the broker dealing with North Korea, and the conversation with Gi-Hun in the second-to-last episode. I didn’t have much context; I had to use my imagination to fill in the blanks,” she said. “I was just so happy that I got a role and could give a performance. I still feel nervous at the thought of meeting an audience through the screen. I never dreamed that the show would become such a global sensation.”

She added, “Squid Game is a story about human nature that most people can already relate to, yet everything is communicated through easy-to-follow childhood games. The stories created by the various characters resonated with me. Their personalities fueled the choices that they made and their consequences.”

Who is Sae-byeok in Squid Game?

Jung stars as Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game. The character is a North Korean defector and pickpocket. She and her brother, who was living in an orphanage, were her only family members to survive leaving the notoriously totalitarian country, and she wanted the prize money to provide a better life for herself and her sibling.

Jung saw some similarities between herself and her character, and some differences as well. "I think that Sae-byeok and I are similar in that we have experience living somewhere far from home, which means that even when you feel very happy or sad, you can’t share those emotions with friends and family but have to keep it to yourself," she told TIME. "I experienced this loneliness when I was modeling overseas so in this regard I could really relate to her. I always traveled by myself on the airplane, stayed at hotels by myself. Even though I got some big campaign, I couldn’t celebrate with someone else. I just stayed at the hotel, had a glass of wine and congratulated myself. That kind of loneliness makes me stronger, and I can feel [Saebyeok’s] strength came from that loneliness."

As for their differences, she explained, "What was different was, I think I was a person that lived a life relatively centered on my personal interests, whereas Sae-byeok puts other people before herself to the point where she’s willing to sacrifice her life for her family. So it was a little difficult to relate to her in this aspect at first, but after playing the role of Sae-byeok I think I came to view the meaning of friends and family a little differently.

Who is Jung Ho-yeon's boyfriend?

Jung has reportedly dated South Korean actor Lee Dong-hwi since around 2016. She told Herald Pop(via Elle Australia) that Lee is "very proud of the success of Squid Game" and described him as a "good friend, and a good person." She added, "He cheers me on a lot, and he worries for me as well. He's sort of like a dad."

Is Jung Ho-yeon married?

Jung isn't currently married, but she has been in a committed relationship with Dong-hwi since 2016.

Does Jung Ho-yeon have siblings?

Jung has two siblings, a sister and a brother, but little is known about them. She shared a photo with her sister on Instagram in November 2018.

What is HoYeon Jung's height?

Jung is five feet, nine and a half inches tall, which likely contributed to her being one of the most in-demand models on the planet.

“I thought to myself, What should I do for a living so that I can keep feeding myself?’” she recalled to Voguein 2015. “And I thought, Oh, I’m tall, so why not give modeling a try?”

Since placing as a runner-up on Korea's Next Top Model, Jung has posed and catwalked for brands including Chanel and Bottega Veneta; earlier this week Louis Vuitton named her as their newest (and likely most talked about) ambassador.

As for which line of work she plans on prioritizing, Jung would rather take things as they come.

"At the moment, I don’t exactly have plans. We’re receiving so much love and support and there are many offers but I just wish that I would be able to work with people who I trust and feel comfortable around," she told TIME. "I always try to take it one step at a time and I’m not the kind of person that works toward a big goal. So my plan at the moment is to process what’s going on and to do my best every step of the way. With time, I believe, a day would come when people have their own definitions of Jung Ho-yeon as an actor. Maybe two years later, people can define me as this kind of person, that kind of actor, that kind of model. I’m very open to being defined."