“Squid Game” Actress Jung Ho Yeon Was Easily Able To Relate To Her Character Kang Sae Byeok—Here's Why

Jung Ho Yeon recently participated in a stunning pictorial for W Korea, and also an accompanying interview! In her interview, Jung Ho Yeon discussed how she prepared for the role of Kang Sae Byeok in the wildly popular Squid Game.

Since its release, the Netflix K-Drama, as well as its cast members, have been all anyone can take about these days! One member from the drama that fans have fallen hard for is Jung Ho Yeon! In the drama, Jung Ho Yeon plays Kang Sae Byeok, a North Korean defector who participates in the deadly games in order to help bring the rest of her family out of North Korea.

Within her interview, Jung Ho Yeon revealed that she prepared a lot for the role and was a bit timid as Squid Game is her debut as an actress. It all started when she entered her new acting management.

Right off the bat, Jung Ho Yeon received the script for the drama and was asked to make an audition tape as soon as possible. Once she was cast, Jung Ho Yeon shared she had lots of fears.

Starting with why the director chose me, I had all kinds of thoughts. The moment when my fear reached its peak was during the first script reading. More than 20 actors attended, and the seniors in the minor roles were also very good at acting. Besides, in front of me was senior Lee Jung Jae and next to me was Park Hae Soo. After I finished reading the script, the director grabbed me and said, ‘Are you very scared?

— Jung Ho Yeon

Despite her curiosity as to why she was cast and her fears of acting in her first drama, Jung Ho Yeon knew that, since she was chosen for the role and people had faith in her, she needed to give it her all!

I seem to have gotten my mind right. I’ve been thinking since then. ‘Okay, my acting is still lacking. Then let’s do what we can do now.’ It was so much fun and I was happy to be acting because it was organized like this.

— Jung Ho Yeon

Once getting reassurance from the director and finally getting her confidence up, Jung Ho Yeon realized she just needed to try her best. In the end, Jung Ho Yeon was able to enjoy the processes more after relaxing.

I only had one question: Am I going the right direction? And the director told me, ‘You’re doing great. You’re enough. You’ve been no one else but Sae Byeok since the beginning.’ And as simple as that response sounds, it made me feel so much better. I felt at ease. That was a really cool experience.

— Jung Ho Yeon

To prepare for the role, Jung Ho Yeon explained how she prepared for the role as a North Korean defector and also shared how she trained with a dialect coach as well.

I watched a lot of documentaries about North Korean defectors. I also talked with a North Korean defector’s dialect teacher and studied their lives. Above all, I was able to accept Sae Byeok without any major difficulties because Sae Byeok and I resemble each other. I left Korea in 2016 and worked as a model abroad until early last year, spending a lot of time alone. The emotion I felt the most at that time was ‘loneliness’. Sae Byeok also leaves her hometown and lives in Korea with her younger brother without parents. The friend was a pickpocket and I was just a model, but living alone and feeling lonely in a foreign country wasn’t much different.

— Jung Ho Yeon