Jo Yuri, the Cinderella of 'Squid Game 3', showed her carefree attitude towards mixed reviews of her acting and did not hold back on praising her co-star Yim Siwan.
On the afternoon of the 8th, an interview with Jo Yuri, the lead actress in the Netflix series 'Squid Game' Season 3, took place at a café in Seoul's Sogyeok-dong.
'Squid Game 3' portrays Gi-hun, who loses his best friend while re-entering the game with his own motives, the Front Man, who sneaks into the game while hiding his identity, and the final fates of the participants who survived the brutal game. Season 1 was first released in September 2021, creating a global phenomenon and breaking all-time viewership records, capturing the world. Season 2 was released in December 2024, and it finally concludes as the last series.
'Squid Game 3' recorded 60,100,000 views just three days after its release, maintaining first place in Netflix's TOP 10 across all 93 countries, including Korea, the United States, Japan, France, and Brazil. This marks Netflix's first work to achieve first place in all countries during the first week of release, proving an unprecedented box office success. Additionally, it entered the Netflix all-time series (non-English) chart at 9th place in the first week, with Seasons 1, 2, and 3 all listed in the top 10 of Netflix's all-time popular series (non-English). Furthermore, Season 2 ranked 3rd and Season 1 6th in the global TOP 10, reflecting the strong interest and attention from fans worldwide. Currently, on the OTT ranking site Flix Patrol, it is maintaining 1st place for 11 consecutive days.
Jo Yuri, who is from the girl group IZ*ONE, plays the role of Jun-hee, who participates in the game after losing a fortune believing in false investment information from her ex-boyfriend Myung-ki (played by Yim Siwan). She first joined in Season 2, and in this Season 3, she gives birth to her daughter in the middle of the game, becoming a pivotal character with a major twist. She debuted as a member of IZ*ONE, formed through the Mnet audition program 'Produce 48' in 2018, and took her first step as an actress through the 'Squid Game' series. Despite having little acting experience, she secured the lead role in a global production from the start.
Jo Yuri expressed her gratitude, saying, "I was really happy while filming, and I can't believe it's over. I thought I wasn't ready to let Jun-hee go, but now that we've reached Season 3, I feel like I'm ready to send her off. I appreciate the responses (from viewers). It feels like they were given with affection, and I feel grateful for that. I feel that I should use this as nourishment to show a more grown-up version of myself."
Born in 2001, Jo Yuri acted as a heavily pregnant woman at the age of 24. Naturally, it was bound to be difficult.
He said, "As an actor, I felt that playing a pregnant woman was a good challenge. I approached the project with the mindset of taking on a good burden. There were some stressful parts, worrying whether I would do well, whether it would look awkward since I hadn't experienced it before. Other than that, it wasn't hard," adding, "I am grateful that senior actress Kang Ae-sim (who plays Geum-ja) detailed which positions are possible and which are not. I received a lot of help from her while shooting. I also watched birthing vlogs on YouTube. I have a friend who gave birth recently, so I asked that person, and I also asked my mom."
He continued, "I had never held a baby before, so I had to learn how to do it again before filming. I had no idea which side to support the head. As I studied and went in, I thought, 'There’s more to do than I expected.'" He added, "I acted holding a doll made to resemble a baby, and the production team did CGI work on top of that. But even the doll looked just like a baby, which helped with immersion."
No matter how much I received help from those around me and tried to evoke maternal love with my imagination, playing a pregnant woman was not easy. "I had never felt or thought of maternal love in my life. I wasn't very old, and I just whined to my mom before entering society, but while acting as Jun-hee, I realized how great a mother's love is, and that there is a love that exists only for giving. I thought this is true love."
However, there were also reviews that Jo Yuri, being a rookie, was insufficient to carry out Jun-hee's dramatic setting.
Regarding acting critiques, she said, "I felt that the emotions Juhee might feel were limited. I thought it would be difficult to express various emotions like joy or those that are noticeably outward when acting. Nonetheless, I felt that I need to accept various feedback for my next acting project. I wasn't upset or distressed about these critiques; it was my first time doing this, and I thought, 'So this is how it can be perceived and shown.'"
Jo Yuri paired up with senior actor Yim Siwan for her first co-starring experience, but they had a tumultuous relationship. In the middle of the drama, the heavily pregnant Jun-hee gives birth to a daughter, who is the child of Myung-ki. While Myung-ki is present in the game, Jun-hee increasingly deepens her conflict with Gi-hun as she entrusts her daughter to him.
"A man like Myung-ki is the worst. (laughs) The setting of him disappearing when we break up was also the worst. But I think I felt a little compassion at first because I heard that Myung-ki was also in a position of being chased by creditors," she said. "At first, there was a little affection left. Although Myung-ki had disappeared, I wasn't entirely out of love. I kept saying, 'I hate it, I hate it,' but deep down, I had some lingering feelings. It started that way, and seeing Myung-ki taking care of Jun-hee well opened my heart a bit. I thought, 'Should I trust him?' but everything collapsed due to his actions during the hide-and-seek game. Since trust was broken, I ended up not choosing Myung-ki but Gi-hun to entrust the baby."
Jo Yuri stated, "This scene made sense to me. While the biological father is Myung-ki, he didn’t seem to fulfill that role. I felt more humanity from Gi-hun, and as a mother who has to entrust her child, I thought Gi-hun, being the winner of the previous season, might do better in the game. I thought he would protect my child."
When asked, "Have you ever met a man like Myung-ki in your life?" she replied, "No. I haven’t met any bad men. I never want to meet them until I die," drawing laughter.
In particular, Jo Yuri stated that she did not receive the scripts for the latter part and finale, expressing that she learned of the story surrounding Myung-ki, Gi-hun, and the baby only on the day of the announcement.
He said, "It was really shocking. I was unable to know the drama script for various reasons, and I learned properly while confirming the live broadcast. While interviewing with Siwan oppa until now, he kept apologizing, saying 'I'm sorry, I’m sorry,' and I thought, 'Why is he saying that?' But after watching the last episode, I was shocked. 'So this is how it goes,' I was shocked, and at the same time, I felt that Siwan oppa performed brilliantly in his final act. I found him to be a character that is both very unlikable yet amazing. Right after watching the last episode, I texted him saying, 'Your acting was so great.'"
With the release of 'Squid Game 3', Jo Yuri returned to music by releasing her mini album. "My original goal was to release the album before the project premiered, but it got delayed. I think it’s actually a good thing that I could release it at a moment when I’m receiving attention. It feels like I’m making a comeback as a singer after two years, and I’m grateful that the fans waited for two years. I worked hard to repay them."
As an actress, she has decided on her next project, a new drama titled 'Variety'. "I want to keep challenging and showing new sides of myself. Although there aren't many acting offers yet, I will do my best to show a good performance in the new project," she added.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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