With the mask on, I saw things that you didn't. Whatever you're trying to do, I know I can help.
Hwang Jun-ho to Seong Gi-hun in "Halloween Party"
Hwang Jun-ho (황준호 Hwang Jun-ho?) is a former police detective in the Ssangmun-dong Police Department. In 2020, Jun-ho infiltrated the 33rd Squid Game by taking the identity of a worker, later a manager and finally a waiter, to find out what happened to his missing brother, Hwang In-ho, who he believed participated in the Squid Games.
He was proven right after finding out that his brother won the 28th Squid Game in 2015 from files in the Squid Game archive room. He later discovered that In-ho himself was the Front Man of the Squid Games after In-ho unmasked himself in an effort to get Jun-ho to surrender. When this was unsuccessful, In-ho shot him in the shoulder, causing him to fall into the ocean.
Years later, he began assisting Seong Gi-hun and Choi Woo-seok in taking down the games, and led a team of mercenaries to search for them. Unbeknownst to him, the sea captain who saved his life was instructed by In-ho to rescue Jun-ho and to keep an eye on him, confirming that In-ho ensured Jun-ho's survival after their cliffside confrontation.
Personality
Since he is a detective, Jun-ho is and must be attentive to detail, calm under pressure, and meticulous. He demonstrates these traits when he sneaks into the Squid Game and overcomes several life-threatening challenges in his efforts to locate his missing brother. During his infiltration of the games, he is shown to be extremely brave, intelligent, determined and stealthy, succeeding in sneaking into the games and going unnoticed for days, showing he is very talented at his profession. He is driven by an innate sense of justice, risking his own life to end the games that he thought killed his brother, as well as delivering evidence to the police, and attempting to shut the organisation down for good.
It is clear that throughout the series Jun-ho is very caring for his brother and feels like he owes him a debt of gratitude as In-ho gave him a kidney when he was younger. Jun-ho also likely looked up to his older brother as a source of inspiration and a role model - he was probably the main reason why Jun-ho became a police detective in the first place. Despite his caring nature, he does not hesitate to shoot Number 028, a guard working in the organ trafficking system who he initially thought murdered In-ho, which he knows will eventually lead to his own cover being blown. He is also capable of intimidating others, such as the bouncer at the Halloween Party club, as well as individuals involved in the Squid Game such as the Panther Mask VIP who he forced information out of.
Even after discovering that his brother is the Front Man, he still remains determined to put an end to the games which changed his brother into somebody completely different. He also keeps In-ho's identity secret from his police chief as well as Gi-hun, lying that he never saw the Front Man's face, as deep down he still wishes to protect his brother.
History
Backstory
Jun-ho was born in South Korea on September 13 1992, to Park Mal-soon and an unnamed father. He is the younger half-brother of In-ho, the two share a father. Both brothers became police officers, and it is likely that Jun-ho was inspired to become a police officer because of his brother. At some point before 2015, In-ho donated one of his kidneys to Jun-ho, suggesting that Jun-ho suffered from a kidney condition some time prior to In-ho's entering of the 2015 games.[4] In 2015 In-ho participated in, and won, the 28th Squid Game, subsequently becoming less close with his younger brother and stepmother, only occasionally contacting them. In 2021, In-ho went missing, causing his stepmother to worry and send Jun-ho to check on him. After investigating In-ho's apartment and encountering Gi-hun at the police station, Jun-ho grows increasingly worried and begins his search for 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 later finds the same card in his brother's apartment. 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, killing a guard (Number 029) and changing into his uniform. 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 for removing his mask, 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 029, 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. Disgusted and angered by his crimes, Jun-ho shoots him in the head.
Jun-ho succeeds in breaking into the Front Man's office. Meanwhile, there's a staff roll call and it's discovered that he's missing. Whilst in the office, Jun-ho finds records of the Squid Game dating all the way back to the ’80s, including a list of all the winners. He is shocked to discover that his brother won the game back in 2015.
The Front Man send the workers to find Jun-ho, unaware of his identity but knowing that he 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. The Front-Man finds Jun-ho's police badge on the body and realizes the intruder is his younger brother. Knowing that the body is not Jun-ho's, the Front-Man tells the workers to incinerate the body, likely in an effort to protect Jun-ho and manage the situation himself. Jun-ho 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 tells the VIP that he will be killed if he removes his mask, as the workers in Squid Game are not allowed to, but the VIP does not care. 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. Jun-ho takes out his gun and forces the VIP to tell him everything he knows about the game.
Jun-ho, satisfied that he has all the evidence he needs for the case on his phone, then escapes from the facility using one of the dive packs. The Front Man and several workers go after him in a speedboat. He eventually reaches an unknown island. Here he calls his chief, who he asks to send backup. He also tries to send the evidence, but there is not enough signal. The Front Man and workers reach the island soon after Jun-ho, and he runs higher up the island in an attempt to escape.
Unfortunately, he ends up at a cliff edge and get surrounded by guards. He takes out his gun and warns them that the police and coast guard are on the way. The Front Man arrives and tells him to give his phone, or he will die. He explains that he knows Jun-ho only has one bullet remaining in his gun due to police regulations. He comes closer to Jun-ho, causing Jun-ho - unaware of the Front-Man's true identity - to fire 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 so that he can live. 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. Aware that it has to appear that he kills Jun-ho, In-ho shoots his brother non-fatally in the shoulder, and Jun-ho falls into the ocean below. In-ho walks to the edge of the cliff and looks for his brother in the water, showing clear guilt at his actions. It is revealed in Season 2 that he hired a fisherman, albeit a double-agent, to rescue Jun-ho from the water.
2022/2024
Jun-ho survived the fall, after being saved by Sea Captain Park (unbeknownst to Jun-ho, the Captain was hired by his brother to save him and keep an eye on him). However, he is left in a coma for over one year, and awakens to his relieved mother who yells for a doctor. Jun-ho's first words are 'In-ho'.
In the two 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. He subsequently has a conversation with his police chief who believes Jun-ho's story about the Squid Games but cannot help him as there is a lack of evidence. The chief then tries to convince Jun-ho to come back to the major crimes unit, but he declines.
On his mother's request, he visits and delivers flowers to the grave of In-ho's wife on the anniversary of her death, and is saddened by the picture of his brother and her smiling. Later, Jun-ho has 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, immediately noticing the Recruiter's body. Jun-ho initially suspects Gi-hun of killing the man, and attempts to arrest him on suspicion of murder, before being knocked unconscious by Choi Woo-seok with a fire extinguisher.
He later wakes up, handcuffed to the shower, and Gi-hun remembers the detective upon seeing his police ID, 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 was one of the staff, before Jun-ho clarifies that he was only there to look for his missing brother. Jun-ho then asks who the man that he thought Gi-hun killed was, but Gi-hun informs him that he simply lost the game.
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 if he knows who he is. Jun-ho lies, saying that it's the one the workers call "captain", but he denies seeing his face to protect his brother. Gi-hun unhandcuffs Jun-ho and agrees to let him help him take down the games, and while initially skeptical of working with the police, his associate Woo-seok (whose friend and fellow associate Kim Jeong-rae was killed by the Recruiter) supports Jun-ho helping them out. Jun-ho resigns from his job in order to help the team take down the Squid Games, as his superiors in the police office continue to not believe him.
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. 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 are prevented from doing so when their cars get disabled by soldiers. Right before Red Light, Green Light begins, Gi-hun realizes that his plan is already compromised and the tracker is missing - Jun-ho and the team later find it in a tin of fishing bait, meaning the Squid Game organisers had discovered it as Captain Park presumably tipped them off. The team continued to try and locate the island, but to no avail, and also at the cost of one of the mercenary's lives when they reached a decoy island rigged with explosives. Jun-ho fails to suspect that Park is associated with the Games until Woo-seok warns him over the phone. Shortly after, Park proceeds to kill almost everyone on the boat before being shot with a speargun by Jun-ho.
Jun-ho later finds the island, abeit too late, as the island's 30-minute explosives are set to detonate. Jun-ho then quickly goes to look for his brother in the lounge. He finds the room that was used to spectate the Sky Squid Game, as he watches his brother escalate on a platform to retrieve a newborn. Jun-ho shoots the glass for In-ho to look back at him. Jun-ho asks In-ho why he is doing this, only for him to be ignored by his brother. He then escapes the island before it could explode.
In-ho! Why? Why did you do it? In-ho!
Hwang Jun-ho's last words to his brother.
2025
After bailing out Woo-seok from prison, he takes him and his friend Kim Mu-dong on a ride along in a car. As Jun-ho arrived after Gi-hun's death, he still holds hope that he is alive, especially since all of his money disappeared from the Motel. He reveals he has officially left the police force, and is unsure of what to do now. Jun-ho then drops off Woo-seok and Mu-dong at the Pink Motel, as the pair intend to refurbish it and start a business.
Jun-ho returns to his apartment where he finds Kim Jun-hee's baby and an envelope from the games. He opens it to find a card revealing her to be Player 222 and the winner of the games, as well as a golden credit card. Jun-ho goes to the bank and enters the pin code 0222 to find the entire winnings of the game, confirming Gi-hun's fate, as In-ho left the daughter and all her money to his brother.
Kill count
| Character | Information | Image/GIF |
|---|---|---|
| "The Man with the Umbrella" | ||
| Number 029 | Strangled to death. | 
|
| "A Fair World" | ||
| Number 028 | Shot in the head with a revolver. | 
|
| "222" | ||
| Park Yeong-gil | Shot in the heart with a harpoon gun. | 
|
| "⭘△☐" | ||
| Manager 004 | Shot in the chest with a rifle; shared kill with Kim. | 
|
| Oh Su-kyung (Soldier 018) |
Shot repeatedly in the chest with a rifle; shared kill with Kim. | 
|
Trivia
- 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.
- Hwang Jun-ho was 16 years younger than his half brother, Hwang In-ho.
- The actor who portrayed Player 122 in Season 1 also acted as a stand in for Jun-ho.
- Jun-ho is the only non-player who received the golden credit card in his name.
- He is probably the only character in the entire series whose life was saved by another character (Park Yeong-gil) and that same character was his victim later on.
- After the release of Season 3 people think Jun-ho was completely useless, however, if it wasn't for him, the Korean Squid Games wouldn't have ended, since he called the coastal guard, wich made the organizers explode the island.
Behind the scenes
Hwang Jun-ho is portrayed by 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"
- "Six Legs"
- "One More Game"
- "O X"
- Season Three
- "Keys and Knives"
- "It's Not Your Fault"
- "222"
- "⭘△☐"
- "Humans Are..."
Gallery
Season One
Season Two
Season Three
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 As briefly shown on documents for the 28th Squid Game in "Gganbu".
- ↑ Looking Back at Squid Game Season 1 | Netflix
- ↑ Under the traditional Korean age system, which was changed in June 2023, a year is added to a person's age after birth, meaning he would be 33 in 2024. His age, as stated, is given in international years.
- ↑ "Halloween Party"