Hyun-ju is Player 120 in Squid Game Season 2, a trans woman and former Republic of Korea Special Forces soldier. Park Sung-hoon plays the role. The character and the performer are credited separately, and this article keeps them apart.
Who Hyun-ju is in Season 2
Netflix’s official Season 2 cast guide introduces Hyun-ju as Player 120, a new player who is willing to risk anything to obtain essential medical treatment (Netflix Tudum, Squid Game Season 2 cast guide).
Netflix identifies Hyun-ju as a trans woman and describes her as a Republic of Korea Special Forces sergeant first class (Netflix Tudum, Season 2 ending explained). That military background is the detail the show returns to most often, and it shapes how the character behaves under pressure.
Her role in the story
Netflix’s ending explainer places Hyun-ju in the Episode 7 rebellion, where she demonstrates military skill. Later in the same stretch of the season, she has to stay in the dorm when the guards arrive (Netflix Tudum, Season 2 ending explained).
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Spoiler note: the paragraph above describes a plot point from Episode 7 onward. Season 2 has seven episodes in total, according to Netflix’s season overview (Netflix Tudum, Squid Game Season 2 release date, trailer, plot, cast and news).
Who plays Hyun-ju
Park Sung-hoon is credited as Hyun-ju. Netflix’s cast listing pairs Park with both the Hyun-ju name and the Player 120 number (Netflix Tudum, cast guide; Netflix Tudum, season overview). The table below separates the character details from the performer credit.
Rank #2
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| Item | As credited or described | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Character name | Hyun-ju | Netflix Tudum cast guide |
| Player number | Player 120 | Netflix Tudum cast guide |
| Identity as written | Trans woman | Netflix Tudum ending explainer |
| Military background | Republic of Korea Special Forces sergeant first class | Netflix Tudum ending explainer |
| Performer | Park Sung-hoon | Netflix Tudum cast guide |
Why the casting drew attention
Park has said the military side of the character was intentional. Netflix quotes her telling Tudum: “Those aspects of the character were very important in order to get rid of — or at least contribute to getting rid of — certain biases and prejudices that people may have toward transgender individuals” (Netflix Tudum, Season 2 ending explained).
The casting question itself came up in the Associated Press’s December 2024 preview of the season. AP reported that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk understood why hiring a trans actor would have been ideal, but said the production could not find a suitable actor from the available pool in Korea. AP quotes him: “We don’t have a very large pool of actors that allow for authentic casting when it comes to transgender characters. We did our research. We tried to find someone who we thought could be the best fit. However, we weren’t able to.” (Associated Press, “‘Squid Game’ returns looking for win with season 2,” December 2024).
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That explanation is Hwang’s, as reported by AP. It describes one production’s search for a Season 2 lead, not an independent account of the casting process or a general assessment of Korean acting talent.
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What is and is not established
- Established by Netflix: Hyun-ju’s name, Player 120 number, identity as a trans woman, military rank and her Episode 7 role.
- Established by AP: Hwang’s explanation for the casting search, quoted above.
- Not established in these sources: any broader statistic about trans representation in film or television, or about how many suitable actors exist in Korea.
- Timing: Netflix’s Season 2 publications date from the run-up to the December 26, 2024 premiere (About Netflix, December 4, 2024). Details here reflect those materials.
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