Park Gyu-young
With over 185 million total views, Squid Game season 2 is the third most-watched TV season on Netflix ever, behind only its predecessor Squid Game season 1 (265 million views) and Wednesday (252 million views). Now, two months after its release, the second season is still going strong, ranking in the streamer’s weekly Top 10 list of the most-watched non-English shows as of this writing.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Last month Forbes caught up with one of the stars of Squid Game season 2, Park Gyu-young, who’s previously portrayed a wide variety of characters in other hit K-dramas like Sweet Home, Celebrity, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, The Devil Judge and more.
In season 2 of Squid Game, Park plays North Korean ex-soldier Kang No-eul, whose sole purpose in life is to find her daughter that she was forced to leave behind when she defected to South Korea. To save up enough money for her search, she works as a mascot at an amusement park and sleeps in her car. One fateful night, she receives an invitation to join the games—not as a contestant, as it turns out, but as one of the pink guards.
Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul in ‘Squid Game’ season 2
Unlike her Squid Game character, Park naturally speaks in a brighter and more feminine voice. She also says that she would never participate in a real-life Squid Game. “I personally wouldn’t throw myself into such a risky situation. I don’t know if I’d have the courage to do that,” she remarks with a laugh.
Park sparked some controversy last month when she accidentally revealed a possible spoiler for Squid Game season 3 by posting an Instagram pic of herself in her pink guard costume. Eagle-eyed netizens noticed that the actor sitting behind her was also wearing a pink guard outfit and looked a lot like Lee Jin-uk, whose character was believed to have been shot dead in the last episode of season 2.
Though the actress quickly deleted the photo, it was enough to send fans into a frenzy speculating about whether Lee’s character Gyeong-seok (aka Player 246 and Na-yeon’s father) might return in season 3. Considering the fact that Netflix has recently stated that it hasn’t discussed charging Park with any penalties for the potential spoiler, one can’t help but wonder if the incident was truly unintentional, or part of a planned effort to keep people talking about the show. (Remember when the streamer also “accidentally” leaked the release date of season 3?)
Lee Jin-uk as Park Gyeong-seok in ‘Squid Game’ S2
Audiences will have to wait till the June 27th premiere of Squid Game’s third and final season to get all their questions about the show definitively answered, but in the meantime, Park shares below some additional insights into her Squid Game character, how she prepared for her role and an important link between Kang No-eul and Kang Sae-byeok that many viewers might have missed.
Regina Kim: I’m curious about how you were cast for Squid Game season 2. Could you also explain why you chose the role of No-eul?
Park Gyu-young: Actually, this time I wasn’t the one choosing the role or the project. When I heard that Squid Game season 2 was in the works and that they were casting for it, I thought to myself, “Wow, I really want to be a part of this!” And while I was thinking that, I got a request asking me to send in an audition tape. I thought I had to grab this opportunity, so I recorded my audition video and sent it.
Then they asked me to come in for an in-person audition, so I auditioned in front of the director and the production team. And then I found out what role I’d be playing when I received the script. So honestly I didn’t know exactly what the role would be when I auditioned.
I think after they saw my audition, they maybe felt that I was similar to No-eul in some ways, and so perhaps that’s why the director offered me the role.
Kim: Ah, I see. So then how did you prepare for this role? Were there any special things you did to prepare for it?
Park: Well, for starters, I wanted to externally show the toughness and strength of a soldier, so I lowered my voice and worked on making my gait and my movements more firm and steady. And since there were action scenes and guns being used, I trained for those both beforehand and on set. I received gun training, too.
Internally, since No-eul is a character with a very dark backstory and emotions, I focused as much as possible on those emotions and tried to express them well.
Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul in Squid Game S2
Kim: I think Kang No-eul is a very interesting character. Could you explain a bit more about what kind of person No-eul is? Because when you see her being sweet to Na-yeon, for example, she seems like a really kind person. But then once she enters the games as a pink soldier, she kills a lot of people. At the same time, however, she makes sure that the participants die instantly so they don’t suffer from the pain. So she seems to be a very complex and ambiguous character.
Park: Yes, that’s right. No-eul has lost the thing that’s most precious to her, so it’s possible that she doesn’t have a purpose in life or the will to live [anymore]. The only thing she has left is the hope of finding her daughter, and apart from that, she has no desire to live.
In the midst of all this, she interacts with Na-yeon and bonds with her, and that makes her want to continue searching for her daughter and even want to save Na-yeon as well. It’s like she’s been given a final chance at life, a reason to live.
So she puts everything else behind her and decides to participate in the games. And I think because No-eul doesn’t have any desire to live other than finding her daughter, she also saw the game’s participants as being similar to her in a way—people who have no hope in life. And for her, the best choice she has to send them away peacefully is to kill them instantly.
I think in that regard, she felt that what the other soldiers were doing with organ trafficking violated the basic respect and courtesy these people deserved, so she tried to stop them.
It’s complicated, for sure.
A sneak peek at Kang No-eul (Park Gyu-young) in ‘Squid Game’ season 3
Kim: Yeah. Also, why did No-eul kill her superior when she was in North Korea? I feel like the reason for that wasn’t fully explained in this season.
Park: I’m confident that a lot of the details that people are curious about will be explained in season 3. Please look forward to it!
Kim: Could you maybe give us a hint about season 3? Especially about No-eul, if possible.
Park: I think…everyone will manage to get through the various difficult situations they’re in. (Smiles then laughs)
Kim: Haha, okay, got it. Also, when I was watching season 2, I noticed that Kang No-eul doesn’t speak with a North Korean accent at all. Was it a conscious choice on No-eul’s part to deliberately hide her North Korean accent so that she wouldn’t stick out in South Korean society?
Park: I’m sure she doesn’t want to stick out, but more than that, it’s been a while since she’s moved to South Korea, and I think they wanted to show that she’s able to speak Korean [like a South Korean] as part of her character.
Kim: Oh wait, No-eul has been living in South Korea for about seven years, right?
Park: Right.
Kim: Oh, well, I guess in that case that’s enough time for her accent to have disappeared, haha.
Park: (Laughs)
Park Gyu-young
Kim: I think you did a great job portraying No-eul. She’s a very complicated character, but whenever she came onscreen, I found myself focusing on her. I felt fully engaged with her character throughout season 2.
Park: Oh, thank you!
Kim: Also, I couldn’t help but wonder—is Kang No-eul related to Kang Sae-byeok at all, by any chance?
Park: There are a lot of people who’ve been speculating the same thing. I think it’s because of their names (in addition to their last names being the same, note that “no-eul” is also a Korean word that’s often used to refer to the glow of a sunset, while “sae-byeok” means “dawn” in Korean), and since there’ve been so many speculations around this, I’ve been having fun reading all these theories.
Actually, the name “Sae-byeok” represents searching for light and vitality from within the darkness, whereas “No-eul” signifies losing even the slightest trace of life in the deepest darkness. The director said that the name “No-eul” was chosen with that meaning in mind.
Kim: Oh really? I didn’t know that, but that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. I just thought that Sae-byeok and No-eul might be related because they both have the same last name and they’re both North Korean defectors, but I guess they’re not related by blood?
Park: If you wouldn’t mind focusing more on the meaning behind their names, I think I’d be very grateful. (Laughs) Dawn and sunset. (Raises one hand while lowering the other to mimic a sunrise and a sunset)
Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok in ‘Squid Game’ season 1
Kim: Haha, okay, got it. Sounds good. What was the hardest part about your role? Or was there a particular scene that was especially difficult?
Park: I wouldn’t say there was one specific scene or moment that was particularly difficult. Actually, No-eul’s emotional state is very dark, and on top of that, she has a certain inner strength that keeps her centered, so I really wanted to express that energy.
It wasn’t just about lowering my voice or having a blank expression—I didn’t think those alone could fully convey the depth of my character, so I tried to really concentrate all of that energy and keep it inside of me as much as possible. That was something that required a lot of focus and something that I carried with me even in my daily life.
Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul in ‘Squid Game’ S2
Kim: What was it like acting in that pink guard costume? Was it hard? I imagine it must have been tough to breathe in it!
Park: (Laughs) First of all, the pink soldier costume is such a popular and iconic costume, so I felt a great sense of gratitude and pride in being able to wear it and act as a pink guard. Physically though, my visibility was slightly blocked and my breathing was somewhat restricted as well, so it did definitely limit my senses to some extent.
Kim: Could you see through the mask? Could you see in front of you?
Park: Yes, there were holes in the mask, so I could see in front of me. But I couldn’t really see off to the side. (Laughs)
Kim: I see! And were there any funny or interesting behind-the-scenes moments from the shoot that you could share with us?
Park: As for behind-the-scenes stories, all the scenes I was involved in were quite serious and heavy, so I can’t really think of anything that was particularly funny. But I do remember having a lot of fun filming with Na-yeon (portrayed by Park Ye-bom). When we weren’t shooting, we would play together, eat ice cream together and just have a good time. So I have really fun memories of hanging out with Na-yeon. She’s just so adorable.
Kim: She really was so adorable in the show! And every time she appeared in a scene, I teared up.
Park: Yeah, it’s really heartbreaking to see [her situation].
(L to R): Park Gyu-young as Kang No-eul, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk in ‘Squid Game’ S2
Kim: Since season 2 has been released and filming for season 3 has wrapped up, how have you been spending your time these days?
Park: These days, I’m just resting. Thankfully, Squid Game 2 has been released, and I’m really grateful to be able to talk about it. Other than that, I’m just resting—doing things like working out, but overall, I’m taking a real break. I think this is the first time I’ve had such a break since my debut.
This interview was conducted in Korean and has been edited for clarity. Many thanks to Park Gyu-young for taking the time to chat with me about Squid Game!
