Seong Gi-hun

Seong Gi-hun (Korean: 성기훈; [sʌŋ.ɡi.hun] ^ⓘ), also known as Player 456, is the main protagonist of the South Korean dystopian survival thriller television series Squid Game, made for Netflix. He was created by series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, who was cast out of a desire to affect his reputation as a cool actor and show the humanity behind his role. Gi-hun takes multiple aspects from Hwang's life, including his neighborhood, his childhood friend's name, aspects of his uncle, and his own struggles with gambling and failure. When designing his character for season 2, Hwang aimed to make him a Don Quixote–like character, revolting recklessly against the system. Lee found him to be the most "heartbreaking" character he has portrayed. He is voiced in the English dub by Greg Chun.

Gi-hun is a divorced former chauffeur and gambling addict who joins in a secret life-or-death contest consisting of six children's games where he competes with 455 other players for a cash prize of up to 45.6 billion won after incurring significant debts from gambling and unemployment. During participation, he makes allies with various other participants, including Ali Abdul, Cho Sang-woo, Kang Sae-byeok, and Oh Il-nam. Following his regretful victory in season 1, he returns as a participant in the games of the second season in an attempt to end them.

Gi-hun was well received as a character, with Lee winning multiple awards for his performance, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy. Critics discussed the parallels between his life and real-world problems in South Korea, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis. His season 2 portrayal was more mixed, with critics feeling his character's actions were frustrating and made little sense. Despite these criticisms however, Lee has been praised for shifting from a lighthearted character to a darker one in the second season.