Squid Game takes you on a wild ride with desperate folks battling it out in kids’ games for big bucks. It dives into inequality, greed and survival. Players face serious risks with each round. Stakes are high and so are the consequences. It’s intense, thrilling and a bit twisted.

Meet the characters from Squid Game

Seong Gi-hun

Gi-hun is that messy, impossible-to-ignore main character who somehow trips through chaos with a goofy grin and a broken heart. He’s impulsive and kind in a way that makes you want to shake him and hug him at the same time — compulsive gambler, sloppy dresser (the tracksuit is iconic), but he’s got real instincts when it counts. He loves fried chicken? Maybe that’s a burn in my brain from a scene — either way he’s got little comforts that make him human, like a kid who still wants someone to tell him he did okay. Also, he cries a lot but then turns into this stubborn, scrappy survivor who surprises literally everyone.

Cho Sang-woo

Sang-woo is brilliant and cold in the best/worst way — top of his class, Wall Street brainpower turned into something much messier. He makes ruthlessly logical choices and then gets eaten up by guilt and pride; it’s like watching a ticking moral implosion. He’s tidy, likes control (maybe alphabetizes his snacks? probably), and has this steady, calculating stare that’s a little terrifying. Also sometimes he acts so soft and genuinely worried that you forget he can snap and do something brutal, which is the worst kind of complicated.

Hwang Jun-ho

Jun-ho is the super-stubborn cop with a detective’s soul — low-key deliciously obsessed with finding the truth, and a total workaholic who will not, cannot sleep until there’s answers. He’s quiet but intense, undercover skills on point, and you can tell he’s got a notebook full of tiny notes and bad coffee stains. He cares about people in this honest, inconvenient way, which makes his investigations feel like personal missions, not just work. Also, he probably eats instant noodles in the rain and forgets to shave sometimes — classic exhausted-hero vibe.

Kang Sae-byeok

Sae-byeok is ice and fire; stoic, razor-smart, and fiercely protective of the family she left behind, but with tiny cracks that let you see how lonely she is. She’s got survival skills like a fox and basically hates small talk, yet will quietly trade you a candy when she’s in a trusting mood (seriously, she has a secret sweet tooth — or maybe I made that up). She’s suspicious of everyone but somehow draws loyalty from the strangest people, which says a lot about her real charisma. Also, she’s awkward about affection and scowls at puppies but will totally melt if someone mentions her brother, so double standard? Yep, human.

Oh Il-nam

Il-nam is the adorable old man who feels like a walking paradox — playful and childlike one second, fragile and poetic the next, with this twinkle in his eye that makes you want to believe him. He loves games and sweets and has this soft, grandfatherly air that makes everyone let their guard down (dangerous, right?). He seems forgetful and charmingly innocent, and yet there’s a depth there that sticks with you, like someone humming an old song that means something else entirely. Also, tiny habit of feeding birds? Maybe. It’s either that or always smiling at his teacup.

Jang Deok-su

Deok-su is the loud, scary guy who makes you check the door twice — all bravado, knives, and impulsive violence, basically a human red flag with a knack for chaos. He’s selfish and hates losing, loves power plays and snacks that are too salty (I’m picturing instant noodles or like, kimchi he eats cold), and has zero patience for anyone he thinks is weak. But weirdly, he’s also insecure in a classic overcompensation way, so sometimes his anger feels like a mask for being terrified of being humiliated. Also he probably chews toothpicks when plotting and hates spiders? No wait, might be mixing him up with someone else — either way, dangerous.

Abdul Ali

Ali is the big-hearted gentle giant who will share the last bit of bread even if he’s starving — kind, loyal, and quietly proud of his family back home (deeply tragic in the best possible way). He’s physically strong but emotionally open, which makes him one of the most sympathetic people, and he gets wounded by betrayal more than anything. He loves to laugh when he can, and will defend his friends like a bear, but he’s also naïve sometimes and that costs him. Also he probably keeps a tiny photograph in his wallet and hums a little song when he eats — I’m sure of it, or I made it up and it fits anyway.

Han Mi-nyeo

Mi-nyeo is theatrical, unpredictable, and absolutely untrustworthy in the most entertaining way — a shapeshifter who will flirt, sob, scream, and scheme depending on which mood gets the job done. She hoards secrets and perfume and has this chaotic energy that both repels and magnetizes people; you can’t look away. She’s funny and manipulative and somehow heartbreakingly lonely underneath her dramatic masks, and also she has an obsession with snacks and tiny trinkets? Maybe she hoards candies in her pocket, or maybe it’s buttons — same chaotic vibe.