“Squid Game”‘s Jung Ho Yeon And Lee Yoo Mi Almost Didn’t Make It Into The Series For A Surprising Reason
As the actors from Squid Game continue to experience popularity like never before, it was recently revealed that two fan favorites almost didn’t make it into the Netflix series.
Following the premiere of the show, actresses Jung Ho Yeon and Lee Yoo Mi have become two of the most talked about characters in the dystopian thriller series. Jung Ho Yeon played Kang Sae Byeok (No. 67), the North Korean defector and Lee Yoo Mi played Ji Yeong (No. 240). And while the two weren’t the focal story by any means, they quickly gained a massive following for their soulmate-like storyline.
In a recent interview, however, the director of Squid Game Hwang Dong Hyuk shared a shocking fact about the two actresses and how they almost didn’t make it into the final lineup of the series — all because of their gender.
When I first wrote this 10 years ago, they were originally male characters. Ji Yeong (Lee Yoo Mi) was originally called Ji Yong.
— Hwang Dong Hyuk
The director shared the thought process behind his decision to change the characters from male to female.
Anyone who gets driven to the end of their life finds themself in some type of quarrel. However, if there were going to be people who didn’t engage in that type of negativity, I wanted it to be Sae Byeok and Ji Yeong.
I felt that if anyone could find friendship, solidarity, empathy, and understanding in this situation — despite not knowing each other at all — it would be them two.
— Hwang Dong Hyuk
Hwang Dong Hyuk then revealed the final deciding factor behind his decision to officially change the two into female characters — which would eventually go on to create the soulmate relationship between Kang Sae Byeok and Ji Yeong.
After writing it, I realized that there is something about women and their solidarity that have more persuasion.
— Hwang Dong Hyuk
Wow, thank goodness the director changed the characters from males to females because we cannot imagine a Squid Game without these incredible actresses!