Category - News
‘Squid Game’ Actor Dead at 88
Veteran South Korean actor Lee Joo-Shil, best known for her role on Squid Game, has died. She was 88. Joo-Shil’s death comes just three months after she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, the Korea Herald reported.
In Squid Game, Joo-Shil played the mother of game-infiltrating former detective Hwang Jun-Ho (Wi Ha Joon) and stepmother to Hwang In Ho (Lee Byang Hun), better known as the nefarious Front Man. The hit Netflix series marked Joo-Shil’s final role.
Joo-Shil began her acting career in 1964 with stage productions of Death of a Salesman and Macbeth, among many other works. Over her 45-year career in film and television, Joo-Shil amassed 46 credits while continuing to appear in theatrical productions. Her debut role was Mrs. Kim on the long-running South Korean soap opera Jeonwonilgi, which she starred in from 1980 until 2002. Other notable credits include the thriller The Uninvited (2003); the TV series Lady President (2009); and the blockbuster horror film Train to Busan (2016).
Related: ‘Squid Game’ Actor Sentenced After Conviciton for Indecent Assault
In her 50s, Joo-Shil was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she had one year to live. She spent 13 years in treatment, ultimately going into remission. “I found out at the end of stage 3 and it soon became stage 4. I overcame it well because I have children,” she told The Chosun Ilbo in 2023. “Everyone becomes stronger when faced with a crisis,” she continued. “If you let everything go, you become helpless. When I was contacted by a film company to work with them, I said, ‘I’m sick,’ and they said, ‘That’s an illness, and we’re working.’ I was grateful for that kind of thinking.”
Funeral services for Joo-Shil will be held in Seoul on Wednesday.