Hwang Jun-ho

Satisfied? If you can satisfy me in 5 minutes, I might let you live.

Hwang Jun-ho to one of the VIPs in VIPS

Hwang Jun-ho (황준호 Hwang Jun-ho^?) is a former police detective who infiltrated the 33rd Squid Game by taking the identity of one of the workers, and later as a manager and waiter, to find out what happened to his missing brother, who he believed participated in the Squid Games.

He was proven right after seeing that his brother won the game in 2015, and became the Front Man. He later began assisting Seong Gi-hun and Choi Woo-seok in taking down the games. Unbeknowst to him, the sea captain who saved his life was either instructed or hired by In-ho to rescue Jun-ho and to keep an eye on him.

Personality

Since he is a detective, Jun-ho is and must be attentive to detail, calm under pressure, and meticulous.

History

Backstory

Jun-ho is the younger brother of In-ho. Both brothers became police officers until In-ho participated in, and won, the 28th Squid Game. In-ho donated one of his kidneys to Jun-ho, so it is possible that Jun-ho suffered from a kidney condition some time prior to In-ho’s disappearance.^[4] By 2020, In-ho had gone missing, and Jun-ho began his search to find his brother.

2020

Jun-ho overhears Seong Gi-hun at the police station telling the desk police officer about the Squid Game. The police doesn't take him seriously, so Gi-hun angrily exits the police station and leaves the Squid Game's business card behind. Jun-ho recognizes the card as the same card his brother had in his room, who went missing a few days ago. Afterwards he approaches Gi-hun, asking him about the story he told at the police station. Gi-hun, however, claims he made it up.

Jun-ho follows the cars that take the players to the Squid Game island, and gets on the ship. He sneaks into one of the cars and pretends to be one of the players. He attacks the worker driving the car, steals his uniform, and throws his unconscious body off the ship. After he throws the body overboard, he's approached by a few workers, and to avoid suspicion he tells them he felt seasick. He's told off for speaking without being allowed to by a superior.

During the second game, he follows the other workers to the room where it takes place, there, he's told by a superior that he isn't supposed to be there as his job is to carry out the eliminated players. The superior tells him that they'll have a talk about his mistake later.

That superior was later executed by the Front Man, and Jun-ho steals his mask to masquerade as a manager.

Jun-ho continues to search for his brother, struggling to keep his real identity secret. He finds himself amid a secret plot; some workers are trafficking organs from the deceased players and selling them with the help of player 111, Byeong-gi, a doctor, who conducts surgery in exchange of info regarding the next games.

The other workers involved become suspicious of Jun-ho as he asks questions about their last delivery, which he should know the answers to since worker Number 29, whose identity Jun-ho has taken, was present for it. Later, one of the workers forces him to remove his mask, exposing himself as an imposter. Jun-ho pulls out a gun and forces him to remove his own mask. He brings up the guy they kept talking about, a man with one kidney who they beat to death. He thinks this was his brother, who also had one kidney, as he gave the other to Jun-ho. The worker tells him the participant was a woman, and that he could prove it with a list of the players and their medical records kept in the Front Man's room. The worker tells him he'll help find his brother and give him the money he made from selling his organs. Enraged, Jun-ho shoots him.

Jun-ho goes through the medical records. Meanwhile, there's a staff roll call and it's discovered that he's missing. Jun-ho finds records of the Squid Game dating all the way back to the ’80s, including a list of all the winners. He finds out that his brother won the game back in 2015.

The Front Man and the workers try to find Jun-ho, who they realized is an intruder and a cop. The Front Man nearly finds him, but he's interrupted by a phone call about a body being found. Jun-ho then pretends to be one of the waiters for the VIPs, who also wear masks. One of the VIPs tells him to sit with him as he doesn't want to keep calling him for a drink. The VIP starts flirting with him and demands him to take his mask off, which he can't do as the Front Man could recognize him as the intruder. Jun-ho asks him to come with him so they can be alone. In another room, the VIP takes off his clothes and promises to change Jun-ho's life if he can satisfy him within five minutes. Suddenly, Jun-ho takes out his gun and forces the VIP to tell him everything he knows about the game.

Jun-ho then escapes from the facility using one of the dive packs. The Front Man and several workers go after him in a speedboat. He reaches the mainland with evidence of the games on his phone. Here he calls his chief, who he asks to send backup. He also tries to send the evidence, but they fail to send. The Front Man and workers reach the mainland soon after Jun-ho, so he runs away.

Unfortunately, he ends up at a cliff and get surrounded by workers. He takes out his gun and warns them that police is on the way. The Front Man arrives and tells him to give his phone, and he might let him live. He comes closer to Jun-ho, to which Jun-ho responds by firing his last bullet at him, hitting the Front Man's shoulder. The Front Man withstands the gunshot and tells Jun-ho to come with him and do as he says, or the detective will die. Jun-ho asks him who he is; to which the Front Man takes off his mask. The Front Man is revealed to be In-ho, Jun-ho's missing brother, shocking Jun-ho. In-ho asks him again to come with him, but Jun-ho shakes his head. In-ho shoots his brother in the shoulder, and falls into the ocean below.

2022/2024

Jun-ho survived the fall, and retreated from the island after being saved by Sea Captain Park. In the years that followed, he gave up his job investigating major crimes and became a traffic cop. One day at work, the girlfriend of someone Jun-ho pulled over flirts with him, angering the man who drove off on his bike. A friend of Jun-ho's suggests returning to the major crime devision, which Jun-ho turns down. Later, Jun-ho had dinner with his mother, who blamed herself for In-ho's disappearance, though Jun-ho made clear neither of them were at fault for what happened to him.

While trying to track down The Recruiter, Gi-hun speeds in his car which results in Jun-ho forcing him to pull over. He remembers Gi-hun upon checking his records on the computer, and goes to the Pink Motel for a meeting with him. He then hears a gunshot (the Recruiter killing himself) and goes to the room Gi-hun is in, and immediately notices the Recruiter's body. Jun-ho initially suspects Gi-hun of killing the man until being informed that he simply lost the game. Gi-hun remembers Jun-ho upon seeing his police badge, remembering when they met outside Gi-hun's house. Jun-ho corrects him by informing him they'd met twice, the other time being on the island the games take place on. Gi-hun asks Jun-ho if he's one of the staff, before Jun-ho clarifies that he was only there to look for his missing brother. Gi-hun then tells Jun-ho about his plan to try to stop the game. When asked by Jun-ho how he'll do it, Gi-hun reveals he'll meet with the overseer of the games, asking Jun-ho who he is. Jun-ho replies that it's the one the workers call "captain", but denies seeing his face to protect his brother. Gi-hun agrees to let Jun-ho help him take down the games, and while initially skeptical of working with the police, his associate Choi Woo-seok (whose friend and fellow associate Kim Jeong-rae was killed by the Recruiter) supports Jun-ho helping them out.

They come up with a strategy of Gi-hun installing a tracker in a tooth so Jun-ho can monitor Gi-hun's whereabouts on the island, but this plan fails after the tracker ended up in a tin of fishing worms on one of the islands. While Gi-hun is in a meeting with the Front Man in a car, Jun-ho and his men attempt to follow the Front Man's car, but stop doing so when a soldier shoots towards Jun-ho's car. Right before Red Light, Green Light begins, Gi-hun realized that his plan is already compromised and the tracker is missing. Jun-ho believed that Sea Captain Park had saved his life after falling from the cliff into the sea. However, Park was either instructed or hired by the Front Man to rescue Jun-ho and to keep an eye on him, though Jun-ho is not yet aware of Park's true intentions.

Trivia

• According to Hwang In-ho's 28th Squid Game player file, Jun-ho was in university during 2015.
• Hwang Jun-ho and the subplot with Hwang In-ho were not in the original script. They were only added after the decision for Squid Game to be a series instead of a movie.

Behind the scenes

Hwang Jun-ho is portrayed by actor Wi Ha-joon.

Appearances

• Season One
  • "Hell"
  • "The Man with the Umbrella"
  • "Stick to the Team"
  • "A Fair World"
  • "Gganbu"
  • "VIPS"
  • "Front Man"
• Season Two
  • "Bread and Lottery"
  • "Halloween Party"
  • "001"
  • "O X"

Gallery

References