Im Si-wan, Jo Yu-ri reflect on the harrowing dynamics of their on-screen relationship and the brutal truths of human nature
One of the emotional high points in “Squid Game” Season 3 unfolds with the birth of a baby amid the deadly competition, as contestants find themselves torn between protecting the child or exploiting the situation for their own survival.
At the center of this harrowing storyline is the tragic couple Myung-gi, portrayed by Im Si-wan, and Jun-hee, played by Jo Yu-ri.
Set against the brutal backdrop where participants risk everything for the 45.6 billion won ($33 million) prize, the couple faces a tragic choice: whether to sacrifice their infant child, born unexpectedly during the games, or protect her until the end.
Im Si-wan delivers a gut-wrenching performance as Myung-gi — a man caught between his desire to survive and his instincts as a father — is pitted against his former lover and their child in a contest where only one can survive.
Reflecting on his role as a character driven by greed and fear, Im said he found portraying Myung-gi both challenging and strangely gratifying.
“Until the very end of filming, I was confused about what kind of person this character really was,” Im said during an interview in Seoul’s Samcheong-dong on July 2.
“I kept exploring and analyzing whether his actions came from a good heart or a bad one. In that process, I experienced a kind of stress that actually felt good. Expressing clear extremes is easy, but finding that line somewhere in the middle isn’t something just anyone can do. Since I felt that the director and I were touching on that delicate point together, it was a meaningful kind of stress,” he added.
Im noted that the director emphasized the character’s human side over painting him as a simple villain.
“I felt like the keyword ‘coward’ was in the director’s mind,” said Im.
“When I first received the script and met the director, he told me, ‘I didn’t intend to portray him as a villain. I wrote it while thinking about a more human side.’ When I thought of the character’s actions as something done out of fear, as a way to break through the situation, everything started to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle,” said Im.
“Because I kept questioning it until the very end, I was able to create a more three-dimensional character,” he added.
Alongside Im, Jo Yu-ri makes her acting debut in “Squid Game” Season 3, playing Jun-hee, a pregnant woman navigating the death games. At the age of 23, Jo — formerly of the K-pop group IZ*ONE — takes on the role without any personal experience of pregnancy, something she says caused considerable anxiety.
“I was most worried that viewers might find those parts awkward or unnatural because of my lack of experience,” she shared.
“So I asked Ae-shim a lot on set, as well as my mom. I also have an acquaintance who recently gave birth, and I asked her many questions, too. I even sought advice separately from an obstetrician-gynecologist. That’s how I prepared for the childbirth scenes and everything related to them, including breastfeeding and such,” said Jo, speaking at an interview in Samcheong-dong on Tuesday.
Jo explored Jun-hee’s conflicted feelings toward her ex-boyfriend, Myung-gi, noting how the character’s trust in Myung-gi evolved over time.
“At first, I don’t think Jun-hee really trusted Myung-gi. But I think there was still a lingering attachment, a small sliver of hope. So even though Jun-hee tried to push Myung-gi away, deep down, I felt like there was still this desire for him to hold onto her — and I acted with that thought in mind.”
Jo added that key moments shifted Jun-hee’s feelings, including Myung-gi’s apparent acts of kindness and protection. “However, during the hide-and-seek game, when Jun-hee saw Myung-gi act in such an inhuman way — killing Hyun-joo, someone incredibly precious and important to her — and not even for survival, but just for prize money, I think from Jun-hee’s perspective, he no longer looked like a human being.”
“From that point on, everything collapsed. And I think that’s when she slowly started to lean on Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae),” she said.
For Jo, the baby at the heart of the season symbolizes hope amid despair. “The baby seemed to represent even the tiniest sliver of hope, and it felt like the drama and reality were deeply connected in that way, which made me feel good.”
“Even though reality can seem completely hopeless at times, there are still people with humanity. Kind and caring people do definitely exist. And in the end, it feels like the story shows that warmth — that humanity — ultimately prevails,” she said.
yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com
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