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Villain Overview

Player 456. Did you have fun playing the hero? Look closely at the consequences of your little hero game.
~ Front Man to Gi-hun before killing Jung-bae at the end of Season 2.

Hwang In-ho (Korean: 황인호), also known as the Front Man, is the main antagonist of Netflix's K-drama Squid Game. He is the enigmatic leader of the Masked Men and the overseer of the Squid Game, a clandestine competition in which 456 impoverished participants engage in lethal versions of children's games while competing for a large cash reward.

He is responsible for ensuring that the competitive event runs smoothly and eliminating guards or players who break the rules according to his dogma of "fairness" and survival of the fittest. He is also the older half-brother of police detective Hwang Jun-ho and the archenemy of Seong Gi-hun (Player 456), the reluctant winner of the 33rd Squid Game.

Before working for the games, In-ho was invited to compete in Oh Il-nam's 2015 survival competition as Player 132, looking to pay for his pregnant wife's liver transplant. He ultimately won, but it was too late to save her. Later, the now disillusioned In-ho went on to become Il-nam's right-hand man, the Front Man. In 2020, while In-ho worked overseeing the games, his sudden disappearance bewildered Jun-ho, leading him to conduct his own investigation, which resulted in him briefly confronting his brother before the latter was shot non-fatally and fell into the sea; a proper explanation from In-ho was never provided.

While participating in the 2024 Squid Game as Player 001, In-ho went under the alias of Oh Young-il. He did so to subvert Seong Gi-hun's plan to dismantle the games by posing as a teammate and ally while secretly orchestrating the plan's failure, looking to demonstrate the futility of his "hero game." He ultimately succeeded by betraying his allies and capturing Gi-hun, but not before shooting the latter's best friend, Park Jung-bae, dead in front of him.

He is portrayed by Lee Byung-hun, who also played Park Chang-yi in The Good, The Bad and The Weird, Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe live-action film series, and the T-1000 in Terminator: Genisys. In-costume scenes as the Front Man were portrayed by Kwon Yoo-joon. His English dub was voiced by Tom Choi, who also voiced Dark Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat X.

Quick Answers

Who is the Front Man in the Squid Game series? toggle section
Hwang In-ho, better known as the Front Man, is a key character in the 2021 Netflix series Squid Game. He serves as the secondary antagonist in the first season and is set to return in the next season. As the leader of the Masked Men and overseer of the Squid Game, his identity is hidden behind a black mask. He is the brother of detective Hwang Jun-ho and was a participant in Oh Il-nam's survival competition.
Provided by: Fandom
What is the real name of the Frontman in Squid Game? toggle section
In Squid Game, the Front Man is actually Hwang In-ho. He serves as the secondary antagonist in Season 1 and is expected to return in Season 2. In-ho leads the Masked Men and oversees the Squid Game. He is also revealed to be the brother of detective Hwang Jun-ho and was a competitor in Oh Il-nam's survival competition.
Provided by: Fandom
In what year did Hwang In-ho compete in the Squid Game? toggle section
In 2020, Hwang In-ho, recognized as the Front Man, participated in the 33rd Squid Game. After winning the grand prize, he remained an integral part of the games, ascending to the role of the competition's overseer and administrator.
Provided by: Fandom
What is the relationship between the Front Man and detective Hwang Jun-ho in Squid Game? toggle section
In Squid Game, the Front Man, or Hwang In-ho, is revealed to be the brother of detective Hwang Jun-ho. As the leader of the Masked Men, the Front Man supervises the deadly Squid Game. After discovering a Squid Game card in his dormitory, Jun-ho infiltrates the game facility to search for his missing brother. The dynamics between the two siblings are anticipated to be a focal point in the show's second season.
Provided by: Fandom
How did Hwang In-ho become the main antagonist in Squid Game? toggle section
In Squid Game, Hwang In-ho, known as the Front Man, rises as the main antagonist after his invitation to Oh Il-nam's survival competition. He leads the Masked Men and oversees the Squid Game. His identity is later unveiled as the sibling of detective Hwang Jun-ho. His character is anticipated to return in the show's second season.
Provided by: Fandom

Personality[]

Whether you sell off organs from the dead, or devour them, I don't give a damn. However, you ruined the most crucial element of this place: equality. Everyone is equal in these games. Players get to compete in a fair game under the same conditions. These people suffered from inequality and discrimination out in the world, and we offer them one last chance to fight on equal footing and win. But you have broken that principle.
~ The Front Man to a soldier, before executing him for violating the rules of the Squid Game.

As the Front Man, In-ho is very strict and ruthless to keep the order within the games and keep his underlings under control, executing the ones who break the rules and disturb the games. He believes in equality and that the games are actually a last chance in life to the contestants, as they play a fair game under the same conditions after suffering because of the inequality and discrimination in the outside world. Despite this belief, In-ho also views the games as entertainment for the VIPs, he explains to Gi-hun that the contestants are similar to the horses he bets on races.

In-ho does not tolerate anyone disturbing the equality of the games and will kill players and masked workers who violate this rule. He also values the secrecy of the games, as seen when he immediately kills the masked manager that reveals his face to a player. Despite being a firm and stern person, he is polite and always acts in a sophisticated manner. He also respects the one above him, the Host, as well as the funders, the VIPs. He ends the nighttime brawl at Il-nam's pleading, accepts Il-nam's request to receive the VIPs, making preparations for their arrival and then attending and trying to please them while they watch the games. After Il-nam's death, In-ho visits his house to pay his respects to him. In-ho is also respectful towards Seong Gi-hun after the latter wins the games, congratulating Gi-hun and admitting he wasn't expecting him to go so far in the competition. In-ho tells Gi-hun to think of it all like a bad dream, implying he is aware that Gi-hun will be left with trauma which he himself possibly suffers due to having won the Squid Game previously. Later on, the Front Man sincerely tells Gi-hun to get on the plane to see his daughter and move on with his life for his own good.

In-ho seems to be close to his family, especially to his brother, as they noticed his absence just a few days after the games started and Jun-ho infiltrated the Squid Game just to look for him. This is also evidenced by Jun-ho saying that In-ho gave him his own kidney and by In-ho trying to keep his brother alive, as he orders the masked soldiers not to kill him after learning the identity of the intruder. Later, he even breaks the rule of secrecy by revealing his face to Jun-ho in an attempt to ask his brother to come with him so he can ensure his safety. Upon being refused, he simply shoots Jun-ho non-fatally in the shoulder, instead of fatally like he would have done to anyone else. After shooting Jun-ho, In-ho is haunted by his own action, showing that In-ho does care about his brother and feels remorse about what he did. It's even implied he hired a fisherman to save his life and keep an eye on him, making sure Jun-ho never returns to the Squid Game island.

It's later revealed that In-ho had a pregnant wife, whom he deeply loved to the point of joining the game's in an attempt to help her. However, after the games he became disillusioned after her and their unborn child's death. During the 2024 Squid Game, while acting as a player, he showed kindness to Kim Jun-hee upon hearing she was pregnant (even offering her his milk), perhaps because she reminded him of his late pregnant wife. He also protected Jun-hee's baby's father (Lee Myung-gi) from Thanos and Nam-gyu. When Thanos told In-ho to "save the lecture for [his] own kids", In-ho was deeply hurt and snapped, effortlessly attacking him. But In-ho found enough restraint to spare Thanos after defeating him, despite knowing the staff would allow him to get away with killing. Later, during the Mingle game, he saved Jang Geum-ja and Park Jung-bae, even murdering another player to save the latter in the final round. Despite this, In-ho would still go on to kill Jung-bae after the failure of Gi-hun's rebellion.

Biography[]

Background[]

Hwang In-ho was born on February 2nd 1976 in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. He is the older half-brother[1] of Hwang Jun-ho and at some point, donated one of his kidneys to his brother. After graduating from university, In-ho became a police detective with a high sense of duty and justice. He would serve in his position for 14 years, eventually becoming a highly decorated officer within the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. However, after his wife fell ill and in need of a liver transplant while being pregnant with their child, he was forced to take a loan from a criminal to pay for the medical treatment. This was misinterpreted as a bribe by his superiors, meaning In-ho was immediately fired from his job, despite his perfect track records in the police force.

Desperate, he was recruited to participate in the 28th Squid Game in 2015 as Player 132. In-ho ultimately won the games as well as the 45.6 billion won prize money, but it was too late for him to save his wife since during the games, his wife passed away along with their unborn child. Disillusioned and becoming utterly warped with how his life turned out, In-ho decided to join Oh Il-nam and work for the games, eventually becoming the Front Man, the competition's masked overseer and administrator.

In 2020, despite having won the prize money five years prior, In-ho was living in a very small dormitory and had been missing rent payments. Shortly before the 33rd Squid Game, In-ho left his dormitory for more than a week and stopped responding to calls from his family.

Squid Game[]

Season 1[]

During the period of the 33rd Squid Game in 2020, In-ho oversaw the competition at the remote facility on an island southeast of South Korea's mainland. Unbeknownst to In-ho, after a few days of his sudden disappearance, his family was concerned about his whereabouts, particularly his younger brother Jun-ho, who was working as a detective in the Korean National Police Agency. Jun-ho becomes suspicious as to the circumstances of his disappearance when he finds a Squid Game business card in In-ho's dormitory, the same one Seong Gi-hun left at the police department after failing to convince Jun-ho's colleagues that the games really existed. This prompts Jun-ho to infiltrate the Squid Game facility disguised as a masked staff member to look for his brother.

The Front Man is first seen as he walks into the games' control room. When the players enter the area for the first game, the Front Man makes a phone call, telling the person on the other end that the preparations are complete and the game can begin. He then starts watching the game on a big screen in his office, while listening to "Fly Me To The Moon" and drinking whiskey. After the Squid Game was stopped due to players voting for it to end, it restarted later on due to many players choosing to return. A manager informs the Front Man that 93% of the players returned to the games. The Front Man tells him to keep an eye on the fourteen people who didn't return and to keep him posted.

Following the second game, when a player takes a staff member hostage (who later commits suicide realizing the staff member is just a young boy), In-ho executes the boy since he removed his face mask at gunpoint, violating the secrecy of the competition. In-ho later discovers a conspiracy amongst his underlings of a black market organ harvesting operation involving Player 111, a contestant who previously worked as a doctor. The masked staff involved in the conspiracy needed the doctor alive to harvest more organs, so they were giving him information about the games and giving him an unfair advantage. When this revelation came to light, In-ho accuses them of breaking the rules as the players are supposed to have equal chances, especially coming from a world in which many had no opportunities because of inequality and discrimination. In-ho executes the surviving soldier involved and leaves Player 111 to die by one of his masked guards. In-ho later has the bodies strung up and shown to the surviving players to demonstrate the consequences of violating the rules.

Concurrently, In-ho realizes that Worker Number 28 was murdered by a bullet from gun usually carried by the Korean police, leading him to believe Number 29 (Jun-ho) is a spy. In-ho orders a manhunt for Number 29, unaware that he has infiltrated his office and is investigating In-ho's disappearance, presuming that he was one of the contestants. Arriving in his office, In-ho tries to find the intruder when he sees his phone is turned around in the regular direction, which indicates that someone is in his quarters, as In-ho remarks that he always puts the phone in the other direction. In-ho searches his rooms to try and locate the intruder, telling the intruder that he knows he's a cop, asking him to come and have a talk as he can't leave without the Front Man's permission. Before he can catch Jun-ho, the guards inform In-ho that they found a body off the north coast of the island.

The body that they found is the masked worker Jun-ho had killed and thrown into the sea when he stole his uniform to infiltrate the games. With the body, they found Jun-ho's police ID. While In-ho stares at the police ID, he realizes that the intruder is his brother, and orders the guards to incinerate the body, likely because he wants to deal with Jun-ho himself. In-ho then receives a call, informing him of the arrival of the VIPs. In-ho greets the VIPs (wealthy patrons who do organized betting and gambling on the contestants) in the absence of the Host, and arranges for them to watch the fifth game live. In-ho is unaware that Jun-ho has already infiltrated the VIP lounge as a masked servant.

When Jun-ho escapes the island after forcing evidence out of a VIP, In-ho catches a glimpse of him as he flees to the ocean. In-ho notices a diving pack is missing, and leaves the island in a speedboat alongside a team of guards, to capture the escapee. Knowing that it is his brother, In-ho orders the masked staff to bring the intruder to him alive. Jun-ho reaches another nearby island and attempts to send evidence of the competition to his superiors in the KNPA, but it doesn't end up sending to due to poor reception.

Jun-ho is cornered by In-ho and the masked staff on a cliff, and uses his last bullet to shoot the Front Man in the shoulder. In-ho withstands the shot and signs to the masked staff not to fire. He tells Jun-ho to hand over the phone and gun, and come with him if he wants to live. Confused on why the Front Man would say this, Jun-ho questions who he is. In-ho unmasks himself, revealing to Jun-ho that he is his missing brother. He once again offers Jun-ho to come with him, so he can stay alive. However, Jun-ho is in shock and refuses. With no other choice, In-ho shoots Jun-ho in the shoulder, as he falls off the cliff into the sea below. During the night before the last game of the competition, In-ho recovers from the gunshot wound inflicted by Jun-ho, haunted by a vision of his brother, who asks him "why?"

The Front Man later reappears alongside the VIPs in an observation deck, overseeing the final battle between Seong Gi-hun and Cho Sang-woo. When asked about the final game, the Front man explains to the VIPs the rules of Squid Game. Once the final game is concluded and Gi-hun is the champion, The Front Man and the VIPs disappear from the observation deck. Following Seong Gi-hun's victory, In-ho escorts a bound and blindfolded Gi-hun in a limousine back to the mainland. In-ho congratulates Gi-hun on his victory, but a scarred Gi-hun ignores the compliments and instead questions In-ho about why they created the games. In-ho compares the Squid games to that of horse-race gambling, only with human participants as their horses. When Gi-hun questions the identity of who he is talking to, In-ho suggests that Gi-hun should just view the whole game as nothing more than just a dream, and for him, it wasn't a bad one (financially at least). However, Gi-hun is persistent and continues to ask "Who are you?". In-ho simply remains silent as he puts on his mask, the limo is then filled with a sedative gas that renders Gi-hun unconscious. Once on the mainland, Gi-hun is dumped out of the limousine with his prize, a gold debit card with the promised 45.6 billion won.

A year later, In-ho visits Il-nam's death bed after he passed away and pays his respects. Il-nam's death marks the transfer of complete power over the games to In-ho. In the meantime, Gi-hun, while preparing to leave on an airplane trip to see his daughter again, learns about the new game they intend to host after seeing the Recruiter recruit another man for the game by playing Ddakji with him. Not wanting anyone else to experience the traumas of the game that he and the former players had experienced, Gi-hun steals the man's business card and makes a phone call to the guards and In-ho, standing up to them and threatening to stop their games. As such, In-ho threatens him by telling him to not get any absurd ideas before revealing that he's watching him by suggesting he gets on the plane he was going to board, stating that it was for his own good. Gi-hun decides to abandon the airplane trip, to try to find a way to stop the games after hanging up.

Season 2[]

Gi-hun and the Front Man meet again after the Halloween Party, and converse about the games in a limousine. Gi-hun then demands to return to the games, and the Front Man lets him do so. Realizing Gi-hun has the potential to ruin the game since he was a previous winner and therefore has prior knowledge about the games, In-ho goes undercover and joins the Squid Game as Player 001 under the name "Oh Young-il". During the first voting session, he casts the deciding vote to continue the games, all the while keeping a close eye on Gi-hun and waiting for the right moment to manipulate him. He teams up with Gi-hun, Jung-bae, Dae-ho, and Jun-hee for the Six-Legged Pentathlon and gains the team's trust. At one point during the Six-Legged Pentathlon game, he nearly blows his cover when he calls Gi-hun by his name, which Young-il wouldn't know, but covers it up by saying he got it from his friend Jung-bae/Player 390. He is assigned to play the Spinning Top game, but when it is his turn, he purposely fails multiple times to spin the top with his right hand, likely as a move to put pressure on Gi-hun, but eventually succeeds when using his left hand. He and the team eventually win.

Young-il is also applauded when he defends Player 333, Lee Myung-gi, from Thanos and Nam-gyu, effortlessly defeating Thanos (but sparing his life) whilst showing strong hand-to-hand combat skills. This is as Thanos provokes him by telling him to "save the lecture for [his] own kids", which angers Young-il as his unborn child tragically died in 2015.

During the third game, Mingle, he helps all his teammates and survives until the final round. However, Jung-bae becomes increasingly suspicious of him as each round he guesses the exact number of players required for each door, and in the final round Jung-bae witnesses him killing a man, Player 343, in cold blood so that both himself and Jung-bae can survive.

When Gi-hun plans a revolt to reach the control room and attempt to end the Squid Games for good, Young-il joins him in his plan and hides under the bed until the guards come in and stop the Special Game. Gi-hun and his team, including Young-il, begin shooting at and killing all of the masked soldiers present, except for one manager.

Gi-hun and his team go up the stairs to the control room, shown the way by this manager, and during an ambush by soldiers, the manager looks at Young-il, who he knows as the Front Man, recognizing him as his boss, but is shot dead by a soldier for nearly revealing his identity. When Gi-hun and Jung-bae head up to the control room and fight the managers, Young-il stays behind with the rest until they get more ammo from the dormitory. Once they do, Young-il and two other players follow Gi-hun and Jung-bae, and attempt to ambush the guards, but Young-il then betrays and kills both of them and tells Gi-hun over the radio that they have failed, forcing the team to surrender. Young-il then fakes his death over the radio to add guilt to Gi-hun's conscience. With Young-il "dead", he goes and changes into his Front Man attire, later confronting Gi-hun, asking him if he had fun playing the hero. He holds Gi-hun at gunpoint but chooses to kill Jung-bae in front of Gi-hun to destroy his chances and hopes to stop him and his games. Gi-hun is left in anguish and anger as the soldiers restrain him. The Front Man walks back up to the control room, the rebellion successfully quelled.

Powers and Abilities[]

  • Authority: In-ho is the leader of the masked men, the overseer of the Squid Game and has a high authority in the games, being surpassed only by the creator of the Squid Games, Oh Il-nam.
  • Intelligence: Being a former police officer, In-ho holds incredible knowledge of the Korean police's regulations and of their weapons. He is able to instantly recognize the bullet of Hwang Jun-ho's revolver that killed the Worker Number 28 and later knows that his brother has a single bullet left in his gun because of police regulations. Being the overseer of the games, he also demonstrates a perfect knowledge of the rules of the competition.
  • Martial Arts: In-ho demonstrates his hand-to-hand combat mastery by effortlessly overpowering several younger players simultaneously.
  • Weapons Proficiency: In-ho is impressively skilled with firearms, usually killing his victims with a shot in the head. While assuming the role of a player during the rebellion, he guns down several guards and other players.
  • Intimidation: Due to his control over the masked men, and his meticulous and strict supervision over the Squid Game, In-ho is very feared and respected by the members of the staff.
  • Bilingualism: In-ho is capable of fluently speaking Korean and English.
  • High Durability/Pain Tolerance: In-ho no-sells being shot by Hwang Jun-ho in the shoulder while the latter collapsed and fell into the sea and later, into a coma after being shot by In-ho in the same spot.

Relationships[]

Family[]

  • Park Mal-soon - Step-Mother
  • Hwang Jun-ho - Younger Half-Brother[1]
  • Unnamed Wife †
  • Unnamed Unborn Child †

Allies[]

Enemies[]

  • Seong Gi-hun - Archenemy and False Friend as Oh Young-il
  • Park Jung-bae † - Victim and False Friend as Oh Young-il
  • Thanos † - Beat up; protected Myung-gi from
  • Nam-gyu - Beat up; protected Myung-gi from
  • Player 343/Sim Jae-seok † - Victim

Victims[]

  • Thousands of players - Indirectly; killed during the games which the Front Man was overseeing.
  • Unnamed manager - Shot in the head in the 33rd Squid Game for taking his mask off.
  • Unnamed conspiratorial soldier - Shot in the head in the 33rd Squid Game for his conspiracy with Byeong-gi.
  • Byeong-gi - Ordered; shot several times by a soldier for breaking the rules in the 33rd Squid Game.
  • Unnamed conspiratorial manager - Killed off-screen after the Front Man found out about the organ trafficking conspiracy in the 33rd Squid Game.
  • Player 343/Sim Jae-seok - Neck broken so he and Jung-bae could survive Mingle in the 2024 Squid Game.
  • Several Masked Men - Killed by the Front Man during Gi-hun's uprising in the 2024 Squid Game.
  • Players 015 and 047 - Betrayed and shot by the Front Man in the 2024 Squid Game.
  • Park Jung-bae - Shot in the chest after Gi-hun leads an uprising of the players in the 2024 Squid Game.

Quotes[]

Remember, once they find out who you are, you die.
~ The Front Man after executing a masked manager.
It's over. Come with me. Do as I say. That way, you live. (...) Let's go. Come with me.
~ Hwang In-ho revealing himself to his brother, Hwang Jun-ho.
You like horseracing, right? You people are horses. Horses at a racetrack. It was unexpected. I didn't think you'd run this far. (...) Just think of it as a dream. It wasn't a bad dream for you anyway.
~ The Front Man to Seong Gi-hun after the latter's victory in the Squid Game.

Trivia[]

  • In-ho shares many similarities with the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader. Both started off as heroic figure's (a Jedi and a cop) before they got corrupted. Both wanted to save their beloved pregnant wife but failed (although In-ho lost his wife and child). Both have an evil old mentor (Palpatine for Vader and Il-nam for In-ho) that molds them into their successor. Both wear a black mask and have a deep voice. Both are willing to kill their minions for failure. And both also make an effort to recruit their family to their side, with In-ho's attempt to reach Jun-ho even directly mirroring the "No. I am your father" scene.
  • In-ho's Squid Game profile (shown in episode 5) states that his birthday is in February 2, 1976. As one year is added after birth in the Korean age, this makes him 45 in 2020, 46 in 2021, and 49 in 2024.
    • In-ho's 2015 player image was not actually taken for Squid Game; it is an edited image of Lee Byung-hun's another character, Kim Hyun-jun, from the 2010 Korean series Iris.
  • In the Korean version, the Front Man is referred as 'Daejang' by the Pink Soldiers, which roughly translates to 'Captain/Leader'.
  • Lee Byung-hun (the Front Man's actor) is mentioned by Ji-yeong in episode 6, when she is talking with Sae-byeok about mojito and quotes his line from the film Inside Men.
  • The creator of the series said that one of the plotlines he wants to explore in season two is the story of the Front Man and his brother Jun-ho.[2]
    • Wi Ha-jun (Jun-ho's actor) also said he hopes his character will return alive, as he would like to see more about the relationship between the two brothers in season 2.[3] This eventually occurred in season 2.
  • As hinted in the series and confirmed by Lee Byung-hun, the Front Man is left-handed. In the Six-Legged Pentathlon, in while playing the Spinning Top, he uses his right hand in all the attempts he gets it wrong, and uses his left when he gets it right. He also holds and shoots his gun with his left hand.
  • Captain Park, the man who saved Jun-ho from the sea after the Front Man shot him, is revealed to be a person infiltrated in Jun-ho's group who works for the games. He was likely sent by In-ho to rescue Jun-ho and keep an eye on him, to prevent him to find the Squid Games island again. It is confirmed by Lee Byung-hun that In-ho intentionally shot his brother non-fatally as the Front Man "still has some humanity left inside of him".
  • Hwang Dong-hyuk confirmed in "The Making of Squid Game Season 2";
    • In-ho does have some humanity and compassion left inside of him, feeling remorse deep down about his role in the games.
    • In-ho joined the games both to stop Gi-hun and convince him to believe his ideals, but also because of Il-nam telling him it was more fun to play than watch.
  • According to Lee Byung-hun, a part of the Front Man is rooting for Gi-hun to be proven right about humanity and that people are worth saving. It is implied that what caused him to betray Gi-hun was the latter choosing to make a "small sacrifice for the greater good", ultimately seeing Gi-hun as no different than him and the Masked Men.
  • After Season 2, In-ho serves a foil to his master, Oh Il-nam:
    • Il-nam is a billionaire who created the Squid Games, while In-ho was a former police officer who was indebted and became wealthy through the Games.
    • Il-nam looks down on the poor and views the games as entertainment, while In-ho seems to genuinely believe the Games are offering people a chance to make something of themselves.
    • They both join the Squid Game as Player 001, posing as actual players. However, Il-nam grows genuinely fond of Gi-hun, while In-ho seems to be only manipulating him.
    • Both were the decidng vote but Il-nam choose to end the games, while In-ho voted to continue.
    • Il-nam is a non-action player, while In-ho is a player capable of fighting and killing others.
    • Il-nam begged for the special round to end, while In-ho actively encouraged Gi-hun's team to attack first and participate in it.
    • Il-nam faked his death by "sacrificing himself" for Gi-hun, while In-ho fakes his death by betraying and killing the other players on Gi-hun's team.
  • In-ho also serves as a foil to Gi-hun. Both of them were mistreated/desperate individuals who entered the Squid Games to afford treatment for their loved ones, only to fail in the end despite becoming the winners of each of their Squid Games; In-ho lost his wife and unborn child, while Gi-hun lost his mother alongside those he cared about in the Squid Game. However, both diverge in the ways in which they respond to the Squid Games: Gi-hun consistently retains his faith for humanity and is determined to stop those who organize the Squid Games, whereas In-ho adopts a misanthropic attitude regarding humanity's negative qualities and embraces the Squid Games as the Front Man.
  • Due to how iconic Lee Byung-hun is as the Front Man, a meme was made called “Frontman doing anything except his job”, which associate Lee’s cameos and roles in other movies and arts with the Front Man. Some of the prime example include his cameo in PSY’s “I Luv It” MV, and his roles in Rush Hour 4 with P. Diddy.
    • In Iris: The Movie, Lee’s character, Kim Hyun-jun fought against Vick, who’s portrayed by Choi Seung-hyun a.k.a TOP (the portrayer of Thanos). Because of this, people often associate this scene with the battle scene between Young-il and Thanos in Squid Game, calling the former “backstory of Thanos and Frontman”.

References[]

External Links[]

Navigation[]

            Villains

Staff
Leadership
The Host | Front Man | Masked Officer

The VIPs
Owl Mask | Panther Mask | Deer Mask

Masked Men
Masked Managers | Masked Soldiers (Kang No-eul | Soldiers 001 and 002) | Masked Workers (Number 28)

Others
The Recruiter | Captain Park | Organ Trafficking Conspiracy

Players
33rd Squid Game
Deok-su's Gang: Jang Deok-su | Byeong-gi | Player 278 | Player 040 | Player 303
Others: Oh Il-nam | Cho Sang-woo

2024 Squid Game
Team O: Thanos | Nam-gyu | Im Jeong-dae | Kim Yeong-sam
Team X: Oh Young-il

Others
Loan Sharks (Kim Jeong-rae) | Ji-yeong's Father | Gang Member | Factory Owner | Philippine Casino Operators

            Villains

Axis Powers
Nazi Party (Luftwaffe | Waffen-SS) | Empire of Japan (Imperial Japanese Army) | Royal Italian Army

Nazi Party
Adolf Hitler | Erwin Rommel | Heinrich Himmler | Heinrich Amsel | Schmidt | Karl Dönitz | Richter | Friedrich Steiner | Dr. Edward Richtofen | Dr. Ludvig Maxis | Carl Heinrich | Metz | Heinz Richter | Peter Straub | Hermann Freisinger | Jannick Richter | German Base Commander | Baumann | German Tank Commander | German Rifleman | German Commander | Forstadt | Ganeles | Glaser | Edrich | Keller | Huber | Heinrich's Secretary | Sauer | German Officer | Leo Steiner | General Lehmkuhl | Hezel | German Sniper | German Prisoner | Luftwaffe | Waffen-SS

Empire of Japan
Kawashima Kiyoshi | Hideki Tojo | Japanese Officer | Japanese Interrogator | Japanese PFC

Eastern Bloc
Warsaw Pact | Red Army (Spetsnaz) | NVA | Tropas (Fidel Castro) | KGB (Lukas Richter) | Stasi (Stasi Defector)

Project Nova
Nikita Dragovich | Lev Kravchenko | Friedrich Steiner | Daniel Clarke | Yared | Numbers Lady | Adolf Schlussel | Church

Red Army
Commissar Letlev | Nikita Dragovich | Lev Kravchenko | Oscar II Officer | Daniel Clarke | Spetsnaz | Spetsnaz Operative | Anton Charkov | Mikhail Belov | Vorkuta Guard | Pavel Gorki | Nikolai Belinski | Kovics | Vastov | Koslov | Vadim Rudnik | Commander Sobol | Yared

Vietnam People's Army
VC Bookie

OpFor
Khaled Al-Asad

Russian Ultranationalists
Imran Zakhaev | Victor Zakhaev | Viktor | Ivan Petrovitch | Petrov (MW2) | Petrov (MW3) | Vladimir Makarov

Shadow Company
General Shepherd | Winston Harker | Vinson | Oxide | Butcher-5 Actual | Lambert | Excalibur | Butcher 1-5

Inner Circle
Vladimir Makarov | Viktor | Lev | Kiril | Anatoly | Volk | Alexi

Zaragoza Drug Cartel
Manuel Roba | Gilberto | Vernon

Brazilian Militia
Alejandro Rojas | Alberto Vasquez | Hector Ortiz | Rojas' Assistant

African Militia
Waraabe | Mahad | Farhan | Afghan Double-Agent | Afghan Warlord

Cordis Die
Raul Menendez | DeFalco | Javier Salazar | Tian Zhao | Felix Kaplan

United States Armed Forces
General Shepherd (Reboot) | Kevin Sparks | Vernon | Marcus Washington | Gabriel T. Rorke | Barber | Jacob Hendricks | Norris | John Taylor | Dylan Stone | Rook | Russell Adler | Phillip Graves | Smokey | Jackson Caine

Strategic Defense Coalition
Tian Zhao

Mujahideen
Mullah Rahmaan

Inter-Services Intelligence
ISI Leader

Menendez Cartel
Jose Luiz Menendez | Torres | Lev Kravchenko | Mullah Rahmaan | Manuel Noriega | Manuel | Jorge | Raul Menendez

Federation
Gabriel T. Rorke | Diego Almagro | Victor Ramos | Federation Admiral | Federation Foreman | Federation Soldier

KVA
Joseph Chkheidze | Pierre Danois | Hades's Double | Ted Bock | Key-Man

Atlas Corporation
Jonathan Irons | General Shepherd | Dietrich Ansel | Samael | Dark Shepherd | David Greer | Proton | Juarez | Michaels | Hidora Kai | Iron Will | Dr. Edward Richtofen | Lazarus | Spectre | Owethu "Jackal" Mabuza | The Marshal | Nyx | Jun Takeshi | Satsumebachi | Wicht Warden

54 Immortals
Goh Xiulan | Goh Qiang | Hyun Jian | Jae Xiong | Goh Min | He "Seraph" Zhen-Zhen | Danny "Blackjack" Li

Coalescence Corporation
Sebastian Krueger | Yousef Salim | Xavier Hirtzel | Corvus

Common Defense Pact
John Taylor | Dylan Stone | Abasi Hakim

Nile River Coalition
Abasi Hakim

Settlement Defense Front
Salen Kotch | Akeel Min Riah | Bradley Fillion | Caleb Thies | Radoslav Barkov | Negrete | Phantom | Vlad Derhachov | Damien Nichols

Barkov's Forces
General Barkov | J-12 | Vladimir Makarov | Evgeny | Luka | Viktor | Andrei

Al-Qatala
The Wolf | Hadir Karim | The Butcher | Khaled Al-Asad | The Chemist | Christopher Yuter | Jessica Ramirez | Abu Sa'ir | Rasheed | El Traficante | The Banker | Mark Davies | Derek Watson | Ahmed | Alamik | Danny | Pyro | Scavenger | Rhinoceros | Sniper

Ultranationalists
Victor Zakhaev | Imran Zakhaev | Vladimir Makarov | Inner Circle | Konni | Konni Captain | Milena Romanova | Ivan Alexxeve | Nestor Gustev | Andrei Nolan | Rook | Gibson | Rees | Davidson | Raptor One | Charlie One | Charlie Two | Ari "Dokkaebi" Jo| Sona "Keres" Mirzoyan | Rainmaker | Orla "Banshee" Murphy | Bashirr "Hush" Shirwa | Pyro | Scavenger | Bombmaker | Bullfrog

Winslow Accord
John Taylor | Dylan Stone | Javier Ramirez | Alice Conrad | Sarah Hall | Peter Maretti | Sebastian Diaz | Joseph Fierro | Jacob Hendricks

Perseus Spy Network
Perseus | Arash Kadivar | Anton Volkov | Qasim Javadi | Franz Kraus | Robert Aldrich | Vadim Rudnik | Imran Zakhaev | Bell | Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin | Kapono "Naga" Vang | Freya "Wraith" Helvig | Roman "Knight" Gray | Owethu "Jackal" Mabuza | Kaori "Kitsune" Tanaka | Benito "Fuze" Ortega

Warsaw Pact
Benito "Fuze" Ortega | Freya "Wraith" Helvig | Ghostface | Harry Stone | Kaori "Kitsune" Tanaka | Kapono "Naga" Vang | Owethu "Jackal" Mabuza | Roman "Knight" Gray | Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin

Quds Force
General Ghorbrani | Hassan Zyani

Shadow Company
Phillip Graves | Wimbush | Spaulding | Velikan | Scavenger | Bombmaker

Las Almas Cartel
Valeria Garza | Diego Salgado | Mayor Salazar | Núñez

KorTac
Ari "Dokkaebi" Jo | Art the Clown | Black Noir | Cody Rhodes | Feyd-Rautha | Firecracker | Homelander | Ivan Alexxeve | Lilith | Mace | Michael Myers | Nikto | Phillip Graves | Rhea Ripley | Shredder | Sardaukar | Skeletor | Valeria Garza | Velikan

Pantheon
Jane Harrow | Matvey Gusev | Jackson Caine | Saddam Hussein | Springer Greyson | Witman | Arcus One | Nocturne

The Guild
Johannes Essaïdi | Sevati "Sev" Dumas | Witold Bayan | Aminata Sy | Yannik Dufour | Omar Seghir

Rogue Black Ops
Lion Mask VIP

Crimson One
Alejo "Toro" Carasco | Front Man | Harry Stone | Jackson Caine | Klaus | Masked Men (Masked Manager | Masked Soldier | Masked Worker) | Nocturne | Panther Mask VIP | Volta Rossi | Vortex

The Five Knights
Russell Adler | Vladimir Makarov | Raul Menendez | Sebastian Krueger | Gabriel T. Rorke | Mace | Édouard "Templar" Couteau | Cecilia "Dame" Perrin | Hidora Kai | Vagr Modir | Rott

The Dark Covenant
Stansfield | Kryptis | Anna "Artery" Buckler | Witch Doctor | Krystof "Firebreak" Hejek | Dark Shepherd | Édouard "Templar" Couteau | Cecilia "Dame" Perrin | Nyx

Vladimir Makarov's Crew
Vladimir Makarov | Freya "Wraith" Helvig | Kryptis | Nyx | Cecilia "Dame" Perrin | Eldermann | Darling | Garrett

The Tontine
General Shepherd | Dark Shepherd | Gertrude Warnholdt | Fiona "Flamewing" St. George | Lizbeth "Kestrel" Warnholdt | Dr. Edward Richtofen | Owethu "Jackal" Mabuza | Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin | Templar's Shadow | Kryptis | Nyx | Cecilia "Dame" Perrin | Wicht Warden

Ascension Group
Yuri Zavoyski | Harvey Yena | Anton Gersh

Iraq Armed Forces
Saddam Hussein | Saeed Alawi

Luttazzi Crime Family
The Godmother | Don Luttazzi | Francesco | Luttazzi Security

Illuminati
Edward Richtofen

Apothicon
Shadowman | Dr. Monty

Omega Group
Lev Kravchenko | Gorev | Aleksandra Valentina | William Peck | Medvedev | Dimitri Kuhlklay | Hugo Jager

Nightfall Program
Samantha Cross | David Archer | Dr. Kassar | Contact #28

Group 935
Dr. Edward Richtofen | Dr. Ludvig Maxis | Sophia | Groph

Terminus Outcomes
Jack Fletcher | Victor Zakhaev | "Legacy" Baranov | Rainmaker | Ari "Dokkaebi" Jo | Krawvir | Bishop | Rook | Knight | Sona "Keres" Mirzoyan

Project Janus
Edward "Eddie" Richtofen | John Blanchard | Ernst Duffer | Dr. Pericles Panos | Dr. Revati Modi | Owen Guthrie

French Syndicate
Francois "Franco" Moreau | Chloe | Laurent

Zombies
Avogadro | Cosmic Silverback | Demonic Announcer | Yuri Zavoyski | Samantha Maxis | Nathan Aguinaldo | Dr. Edward Richtofen | Dr. Ludvig Maxis | Nikolai Belinski | Deimos | George A. Romero | Oz | Hellhounds | High Priest of Chaos | The Order | Oracle | The Forsaken | The Entity | Crawler Zombies | Space Monkeys | Pavel Lazarev | Zombie Monkeys | Napalm Zombies | Shrieker Zombies | Astronaut Zombie | Denizens | Jumping Jacks | Zhang Wei | Ms. Brown | Panzersoldat | Lebeau | Lukas Kurtz | Kortifex | Godfrey | Zaballa | The Rat-King | The Guardian | Tiberius | Remus | Die Wahrheit | Crog-Zilla | Kevin Smith | Mephistopheles | Salvatore DeLuca | Billy Handsome | Albert Arlington | Michael O'Leary | Orcus | Perseus | Peter Straub | Projekt Endstation | Ordas | Brutus | The God-King | Ulrich Vogel | Willard Wyler | Wolfram Von List

Miscellaneous
A-Train | Ahmad Al-Ghazi | Alex Borsheim | Alucard | Anne Johannsson | Ayala | Castro's Double | Castro's Mistress | Catherine Wilson | Church | Columbian Veterinarian | Commander Helo | Cryptids | Cuban Interrogator | De La Vega | Dr. Vasilyev | Darkwave | Evelyn Cross | Goro | Gunzo | Inarius | Ivan Rudel | Jack McKenna | Johann van Graan | Jonathan Price | Juggernauts | Kastovian Major | Konrad | Prince Farhad | Project Phoenix | Korean People's Army | Krasney Baba | Kristina Raskova | Lee Grisham | Lyra | Mako | The VIPs | Marika Hejek | Maxim Chernakov | Mendoza | Mendoza's Assistant | Mikhail Gorbachev | Mercs | Mexican Army | Militia Captain | Mokrie Baba | Mr. Hejek | Mr. Riley | MPLA | Ortelius | Paul Atreides | PDF Officer | Predator | Reginald Barton | Richard Kain | Russian Forces | Sam | Savannah Mason-Meyer | Sawyer | T-1000 | Task Force Tyrants | The Insurgency | The Kraken | The People's Covenant | Terrorist Leader | Timur Abulayev | Yakuza