Listen. I get it, you're scared. I know, because I'm scared too. I don't wanna risk my life again. But I really don't think we're gonna get another chance to leave this place alive. And if they won't let us go, I say we fight our way out. Together.
Park Jung-bae to the other players in "Friend or Foe"
Park Jung-bae (박정배 Bag Jeong-bae?), also known as Player 390, was a contestant of the 37th Squid Game.
Jung-bae asking Myung-gi about Thanos, Nam-gyu, and Gyeong-su are still harassing him in the bathroom.
Jung-bae had been a marine in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps and he often spent time with Seong Gi-hun betting on horse racing. In 2020, Gi-hun was struggling financially because he couldn't find a good job to support himself and his mother, he had Kim Jeong-rae (a loan shark) and his organization, Sunshine Capital, after him for debt and his daughter, Seong Ga-yeong, was set to move to the United States of America with her mother and stepfather in 2020. Gi-hun was invited to join the Squid Games to earn money and joined the 33rd Squid Game as Player 456.
After discovering that the games were deadly and voting to end the games, Gi-hun was sent back home and discovered that his mother had type 2 diabetes. Gi-hun asked Jung-bae for money to pay for his mother's treatment, but Jung-bae had no money and Gi-hun decided to return to the games. Gi-hun managed to win the Squid Games, being the sole winner and returned home, but tragically, his mother was dead by the time that he returned home with the Prize money, Jung-bae was informed of Gi-hun's mother's death by his wife.
In 2021, Gi-hun was depressed over the deaths of his mother and friends, but in 2022, Gi-hun set out to end the Squid Games for good and avenge all those who died in those hellish games. From 2022 to 2024, Gi-hun dedicated himself to searching for the Recruiter to find Hwang In-ho (the Front Man who ran the games; whose identity he didn't know) and The VIPs (the financiers of the games) and stop the games. Jung-bae didn't know anything about Gi-hun for 3 years and during that time, he had gone into significant debt after borrowing money from creditors that he was unable to pay back. Jung-bae and his wife divorced, his daughter stayed with her mother and they were being harassed by Jung-bae's creditors. Jung-bae decided to join the 37th Squid Game being the 389th player to be recruited (001 is a false player) to collect the money for his debts and to protect his ex-wife and daughter.
Jung-bae met up with Gi-hun and they teamed up with several players, including fellow fake-marine named Kang Dae-ho (Player 388). Jung-bae survived the first three games before assisting Gi-hun in a rebellion against the guards, which ultimately failed resulting in his death at the hands of Hwang In-ho, who had infiltrated the games as Player 001.
Personality[]
You kiss your mama with that mouth? Huh!?
Park Jung-bae retaliating back to Kim Yeong-sam's words during the first round of voting in "001"
Jung-bae was described by Gi-hun in 2020 as a carefree individual. Jung-bae spent his life gambling which he got addicted to and because of that, he frequently bounced between jobs. At his core, Jung-bae had a strong sense of justice, as he joined the Marines and was one of the first people to join Gi-hun's revolt. Jung-bae cared about others, allowing Jun-hee to join their team upon hearing she was pregnant and teasing Gi-hun so he would let his walls down and smile.
He was also someone who held onto the past for years at a time, as he reminded people he was a Marine and constantly pestered Gi-hun about the passing of Gi-hun's mother.
History[]
Backstory[]
Park Jung-bae was a proficient baseball player in his youth. Jung-bae joined the Republic of Korea Marine Corps as an adult, where he was a part of Cohort 746th.
Later in his life, he took a job at Dragon Motors, the same company where Seong Gi-hun, his best friend, worked. Jung-bae also became very attached to Oh Mal-soon, Gi-hun's mother. Jung-bae, Gi-hun and their coworkers wer involved in a strike after they threatened to fire all the workers. This made it in the national news when someone (a man who was their coworker) was beaten to death by the police.
Upon losing their jobs, Jung-bae and Gi-hun founded Ga-yeong's Chicken Shop, named after Gi-hun's daughter, Seong Ga-yeong. After 2 years, the chicken shop went under, which Jung-bae would blame entirely on Gi-hun.
2020[]
In 2020, Jung-bae operated a pub with his wife. Outside of this, he spent time with his friend Gi-hun betting on horse races. On June 8, 2020, Gi-hun won the bet which Jung-bae lost and he was frustrated on not choosing the same number. Outside the facility, they noticed four loan sharks walking towards them. Gi-hun sprinted away, leaving Jung-bae looking confused.
After his betting money was stolen, Gi-hun was invited to join the Squid Games, which would allow him to earn money to pay off his debts and financially support his mother and daughter, so he participated in the 33rd Squid Game as Player 456. After it was revealed that losers would be eliminated and the majority of players voted to end the games, Gi-hun was sent back home. Upon returning home, Gi-hun discovered that his mother had been taken to the hospital for type 2 diabetes, so Gi-hun asked Jung-bae for ₩3,000,000 to pay for his mother's treatment, but Jung-bae didn't have money, besides, Jung-bae didn't want to talk about money among friends, when Gi-hun offered to become a deliveryman, he stated he could barely cover the rent for his store. In the middle of the conversation, Jung-bae's wife told him to come back inside and chastises Gi-hun for smoking in front of their pub. With no other choice, Gi-hun decided to return to the games.
After Gi-hun won the Squid Games and returned home with the Prize money, he tragically discovered that his mother was dead. After Gi-hun won the Squid Game, Jung-bae was later informed by his wife of Mal-soon's death. In 2022, Gi-hun set out to end the Squid Games for good and avenge his friends and everyone who died in those hellish games. From 2022 to 2024, Gi-hun searched for the Squid Games and Jung-bae didn't hear from him for 3 years.
2024[]
By 2024, Jung-bae had gone into significant debt after borrowing money from creditors that he was unable to pay back. Jung-bae and his wife divorced, his daughter stayed with her mother and they were being harassed by Jung-bae's creditors. Jung-bae was invited by The Recruiter to participate in the 37th Squid Game and he decided to join as Player 390 to get money for his debts and protect his ex-wife and daughter. So Jung-bae was picked up by a van during the night of October 31, 2024 and taken along with 455 other people by the Workers to The Island where the games were held.
Squid Games[]
On November 1, 2024, Jung-bae woke up in the Dormitory with the other players, signed a consent form and took his player photo. During that time, Jung-bae recognized Gi-hun (who managed to return to the games to finish them for good) and while players were led up the Stairs to the first game, Jung-bae approached Gi-hun. Gi-hun got surprised to see that Jung-bae was in the games and Jung-bae got glad to see that Gi-hun was alive, Gi-hun asked Jung-bae what he did in the games and Jung-bae asked him the same question, Jung-bae told Gi-hun that he hadn't heard from him for 3 years and his mother died, adding that it was his wife who told him, Jung-bae questioned Gi-hun as a friend and asked if he stopped talking to him because he didn't lend him money, but then Kim Yeong-sam (Player 226) told Jung-bae and Gi-hun to keep moving, so Gi-hun grabbed Jung-bae and they kept moving.
Gi-hun told Jung-bae that that wasn't what happened and that it was a long story, Jung-bae saw the point because Gi-hun was at the games, but he stated that Gi-hun should have told him about his mother's death and told him that he knew how much she liked him, Gi-hun asked Jung-bae what he was doing in the games and asked him about his wife, to which he told him that they got divorced, Gi-hun got surprised to hear that and asked Jung-bae about his daughter, to which he told him that she was with her mother, Gi-hun asks Jung-bae why he and his wife got divorced since he thought they were okay and he asks him if he was unfaithful to her, to which Jung-bae declared that he would never do that, Jung-bae told Gi-hun that he didn't want to talk about that there and that he would tell him over that with a drink when they got out. Gi-hun worried about his friend's life, so he grabbed Jung-bae, put him against the wall and told him to stay close to him, Jung-bae asked him why and Gi-hun told him to just do what he was told and stay with him, Jung-bae thought Gi-hun was being melodramatic and listened to him (without knowing that his friend was trying to save his life).
In the first game, "Red Light, Green Light", Jung-bae got surprised to hear what the game was and thought it was just a kids' game, then Gi-hun took out a fake tooth (which had a tracker for his Mercenaries) and Jung-bae got surprised to see that. Upon discovering that he no longer had the tracker, Gi-hun changed his plan and tried to save the greatest number of players possible. Gi-hun walked to the front and told all the players that they had to follow the rules of the game or they would die, but several players thought Gi-hun was crazy, even Jung-bae doubted him.
When the game started, players had 5 minutes to complete the game, Gi-hun told the players what to do to survive and shouted when to stay still, Jung-bae wondered what Gi-hun was doing and Yeong-sam asked him if he knew him, to which Jung-bae said he didn't, Gi-hun told everyone to stay calm, Jung-bae told him that he was scaring him and Gi-hun told him to cover his mouth when speaking since it was dangerous, Gi-hun stayed behind to guide the players, Jung-bae stayed behind with him and covered his mouth. With Gi-hun's help, all 456 players managed to stay alive for 7 rounds, but then Kang Mi-na (Player 196) panicked and moved because a bee had climbed onto her neck, causing her to be detected moving and shot in the head, being eliminated and killed. Gi-hun noticed Mi-na's death and told everyone to stay still, then Gi-hun told Jung-bae that no matter what happened, he shouldn't move. Gi-hun told the players not to move, but Lee Eun-ju (Player 283) got horrified to see Mi-na's corpse and started screaming and moving, causing her to be shot, the players noticed Eun-ju's death and some of them started running towards the doors, causing them to be shot dead.
Having realized that Gi-hun was telling the truth, the players stood still for fear of dying. Gi-hun ran to the front and said they should reach the finish line, so he arranged everyone into lines, with the biggest ones in front and the smallest ones in back, to prevent Young-hee from detecting them moving. Players formed lines, Jung-bae stood behind Gi-hun and told him that he would stay with him from here on out. Jung-bae managed to reach the finish line along with many players, winning the first game and saving himself from dying. Near the end, Gi-hun saw Kim Nam-du (Player 444) ask for help after being shot in the right leg, with 30 seconds left, Gi-hun ran to save Nam-du and Jung-bae asked him where he was going, Gi-hun and Cho Hyun-ju (Player 120) carried Nam-du, Jung-bae told them to run and the 3 players managed to reach the finish line before time ran out. When Gi-hun asked Nam-du if he was okay, he thanked him and Hyun-ju for saving his life until Kang No-eul (Guard 11) shot him in the head.
Back in the dorm, Jung-bae asked Gi-hun what happened with Young-hee and if she was shooting at the players with her eyes, to which Gi-hun told him that Young-hee wasn't the one shooting at them, and that a team of Soldiers in the walls did it, Jung-bae asked Gi-hun how he knew so much and asked him if he had been to the games before. When the Pink Guards arrived, the Manager congratulated all the players for winning the first game and he revealed that out of 456 players, 91 were eliminated and 365 completed the first game. The players began pleading with the guards not to kill them and promised to pay their debts, so Gi-hun resorted to the third clause of the consent form to hold a Voting and that players could leave. Before the voting began, it was revealed that the prize pool was ₩9,100,000,000, so it would be ₩24,931,500 for each player, which caused that some greedy players to complain about that amount of money.
When the voting began, started, the Manager told the players to vote "O" if they wanted to continue the games and to vote "X" if they wanted to end the games, after voting, players would receive a patch to indicate whether they voted "O" or "X". The voting was carried out from the largest number to the smallest number, so Gi-hun was the first because he was Player 456 and he voted for "X". The players quickly split into Team X (who wanted to leave) and Team O (who wanted to stay), when it was Player 390's turn, Jung-bae thought about his decision for a moment... but he decided to be a good person and voted for "X", Jung-bae put on his "X" patch, stood next to Gi-hun and they saw that Team X had the advantage.
When Team O started to take the advantage, Gi-hun tried to convince players that they should leave or they would die, but Im Jeong-dae (Player 100), Player 254 and Yeong-sam accused him of harming them, Yeong-sam asked Gi-hun if he is an "infiltrator" for knowing that they would die and Jeong-dae asked the guards if they put Gi-hun in the games to cause mess. Outraged by that, Jung-bae told Jeong-dae to shut up and put it in the face of 254 and Team O that thanks to Gi-hun they survived the first game and Team X agreed, Jung-bae told Yeong-sam that he saw his legs were shaking and that he was so scared he was going to pee himself, so he should thank Gi-hun, instead of calling him a fraud. Humiliated, Yeong-sam asked Jung-bae who he thought he was and if he was conspiring with Gi-hun, Jung-bae told the idiot of Yeong-sam he was rude and asked his age, to which Yeong-sam stated that he was older than Jung-bae (which was clearly a lie) and asked him what he would do, then Jang Geum-ja (Player 149) stopped the discussion, she told the players that they were all alive thanks to Gi-hun and begged them to vote "X". Both teams started arguing and then Gi-hun revealed that he had been in the games in 2020 and that he was the only winner, so everyone who was with him died. Then Gi-hun told the other players that if they keep playing until the end, he'll guarantee everyone will end up like everyone who was with him back then. But Jeong-dae called bullshit on that, and asked Gi-hun why would he come back since he won the 45.6 billion won. Choi Su-bong/Thanos (Player 230) decided to take advantage of that and told Gi-hun that he could help them all win and get to the end like he did, causing greed to rise. Gi-hun tried to reason with the players, but he was stopped by the guards since his methods could be violent and the voting continued.
Near the end of the voting, a 182-182 tie occurred and it was all down to Player 001, Team X and Team O tried to convince him to join them and Player 001 passed to vote. Player 001 thought about his decision... and he voted for "O", making the vote end 182-183 and the games continued, what nobody knew was that Player 001 was Hwang In-ho (The Front Man who ran the games; who had entered the games as "Oh Young-il" to keep an eye on Gi-hun).
At mealtime, the players received dosirak (Traditional Korean lunchbox) and a bottle of water, Jung-bae offered Gi-hun some of his food to cheer him up after losing the vote and told him that at least he could get more money if they played 1 more game, to which Gi-hun told him that the last time he was in that place, someone said the exact same thing and that person died. Then In-ho came over along with a group of players (among whom were Jeong-dae, Yeong-sam and Park Yong-sik and he asked Gi-hun if he could help them since he had said he had won before, In-ho told him that he only voted "O" for him, saying that he was scared and thought about leaving there, but after listening to Gi-hun, he thought that maybe he could play 1 more game, to which the others said that they too. In-ho asked Gi-hun if he knew what the second game was, to which Jung-bae said of course, because if Gi-hun won, he had to move on to the second game and he told Gi-hun to tell them what it was, to which Gi-hun said that the game was "Sugar Honeycombs", also known as "Dalgona". Kang Dae-ho (Player 388) asked Gi-hun if he meant to carve off the sugar figure with a needle, to which Gi-hun said yes and at first they had to choose 1 of 4 shapes (⭘, △, ☆, ☂), Jung-bae asked which was the easiest shape, which was △ and which was the hardest shape, which was the ☂. Dae-ho suggested that all 365 players choose the △ so that everyone would get out alive, but Jeong-dae thought it would be better to keep that information to themselves so that the money would increase, but Gi-hun said that they should tell everyone to get out alive. In-ho stayed with Gi-hun and Jung-bae while the others left and Jung-bae asked Gi-hun which figure he chose.
In-ho sat with Gi-hun and Jung-bae and asked Gi-hun why he went back to playing the game, thinking that maybe he spent it all and Jung-bae asked him if he went back to betting on horse races, Gi-hun said the 2020 money wasn't his and was blood money from those who died there, just like the 2024 money. Gi-hun and In-ho started to disagree, so Jung-bae decided to keep things quiet and he said that they had the advantage of having Gi-hun, a previous winner, so if they stuck together, they wouldn't have to worry about anything, Dae-ho agreed with Jung-bae and said that they should work as a team, so he wanted to join, Jung-bae asked him his name and Dae-ho introduced himself, Jung-bae asked him if he knew them, to which Dae-ho said only Gi-hun for helping the others in the first game. Then Jung-bae saw something on Dae-ho's left arm, which turned out to be a ROKMC tattoo and asked him if he had been in the Marines, to which Dae-ho said yes and Jung-bae asked him what class he was, Dae-ho laughed and Jung-bae showed him a ROKMC tattoo on his right arm, revealing that he had been a Marine. Dae-ho said "Victory at all costs, sir!", he saluted Jung-bae like a Marine and told him he was from Cohort 1140th, Jung-bae returned the salute and told him that he knew there was something familiar about him, that he was from Cohort 746th and that they would make a good team. Dae-ho assured him that he wouldn't let him down and Jung-bae liked his spirit, which pleased Gi-hun too (even though he felt a bit uncomfortable).
When a fight broke out between Lee Myung-gi (Player 333), Thanos and Nam-gyu (Player 124), Jung-bae felt sorry for Myung-gi and believed that someone should stop Thanos and Nam-gyu, then In-ho stood up and scolded the scoundrel aggressors for what they were doing. In-ho faced Thanos and Nam-gyu and he easily defeated both idiots with a few hits and kicks (thanks to the fact that he had been a policeman), the players were impressed to see In-ho teach the duo of imbeciles a lesson and started to clap and congratulate him, Jung-bae wondered what In-ho was and Dae-ho wondered if he had been a Marine too. At bedtime that night, Jung-bae dreamed of his ex-wife, apologizing to her and crying until he falls asleep.
Gi-hun had a nightmare where the players were in Sugar Honeycombs and they all chose the △, but it turned out to be an impossible version to make, causing the others to question his claim that it was the easiest shape and accuse him of dooming them, with Jung-bae adding that not even a Marine could do that. Upon waking up from that hellish nightmare, Jung-bae told Gi-hun that he was counting on him and made a △ with his hands, to which Gi-hun (still altered by the nightmare) said yes.
On the stairs, Jung-bae repeated that he would choose the △, upon arriving at the game hall, players were given 10 minutes to form teams of 5. Gi-hun realized the game wasn't Sugar Honeycombs and that upset Jeong-dae, but In-ho stood up for Gi-hun. Gi-hun apologized to Jung-bae, In-ho, and Dae-ho for being wrong about the second game, but In-ho told him that he still believed him and asked if he could join his team. Jung-bae agreed with In-ho and said to face the game like men, adding that it was a kids' game and they used to play games all the time growing up, Dae-ho agreed with Jung-bae and asked to join too, since they could achieve anything together, Jung-bae liked Dae-ho's spirit and thought it would be better to play a game where they risked their lives (and it would have been embarrassing for a few former Marines to play Sugar Honeycombs), like Buck Buck or the Squid Game, to which Dae-ho told Jung-bae that he could risk his life to win. The team needed 1 more player and Dae-ho offered to look for someone, Jung-bae told him to look for someone who was willing to risk their life to win and Dae-ho went to look for someone. With 2 minutes left, Dae-ho returned with Player 096 and he told Jung-bae that 096 was willing to risk his life to win, 096 told Jung-bae that he was ready and greeted Jung-bae with a salute, Jung-bae asked 096 if he had been a Marine and 096 told him that he had been in Cohort 946th. Jung-bae said that with 3 ex-Marines they would be invincible and thought that 096 was a great choice, but then Kim Jun-hee (Player 222) appeared and she asked to join to their team, Jung-bae apologized to her and told her that there were already 5 players, Jun-hee begged them to help her and told them that she was pregnant, the team saw her belly and realized that she was telling the truth, so they finally decided to accept her on the team.
When time was up, the second game was announced as "Six-Legged Pentathlon". The team would have their legs tied together and advance around the circular rainbow racetrack, each member would play a minigame at each 10-meter mark, and if the member won, the team would advance to the next. The minigames were Ddakji, Flying Stone, Gonggi, Spinning Top and Jegi, to win, the team had to complete all 5 minigames and cross the finish line within 5 minutes. The teams were asked to choose which member would play each minigame and players chose. On Seong Gi-hun's team, Jung-bae thought it was a good idea to get a woman and he asked Jun-hee if she played Gonggi, but she shook her head, Jung-bae asked if young women didn't play Gonggi anymore and Jun-hee said that she had never played it once. Fortunately, Dae-ho revealed that he did know how to play Gonggi, Jung-bae asked him if he played Gonggi being a Marine and Dae-ho explained that he grew up with 4 older sisters, so he used to play with them from time to time, Jung-bae liked that and he said there was a Marine that can do anything. Gi-hun said everyone should choose the minigame they were best at, Jun-hee chose Ddakji since when she played against the Recruiter, she won more times than he did, Jung-bae told Jun-hee that she could play Ddakji and he said that he would play Flying Stone, since he was the pitcher of his baseball team at Dragon Motors and was good at throwing. Remaining Spinning Top and Jegi, Gi-hun asked In-ho what game he was good at, to which In-ho told him to choose (calling Gi-hun by his name without him having told him), Gi-hun asked In-ho if he knew his name and In-ho covered his mistake by saying that he heard Jung-bae call him by his name, Gi-hun didn't suspect anything and he chose Jegi, leaving In-ho with Spinning Top. Jung-bae told the team to put their hands together and said "Victory".
When Jang Do-yeong's team (Team 1) and Player 254's team (Team 2) started playing, players watched the teams advance along the tracks. Jang Do-yeong (Player 198) failed to throw the stone in Flying Stone and the team had to go for the stone, In-ho told Jung-bae that a mistake would cost them a lot of time to recover. When 254 failed to make the flip in Gonggi, Jung-bae told Dae-ho to practice the flip. When Player 395 failed to spin the top, Jung-bae told In-ho that failing would cost them even more time to recover. When the teams ran out of time and were shot dead, players got scared by the gunfire and Jung-bae felt sorry for the eliminated players. When it was the turn of Team 3 and Cho Hyun-ju's team (Team 4), Jung-bae became very anxious from the pressure and he couldn't see after Kim Young-mi (Player 095) managed to pass Ddakji. When Yong-sik failed to throw the stone in Flying Stone and the team went for it, they walked backwards on the way back, In-ho suggested doing that and Jung-bae noticed that they were faster walking backwards, when Yong-sik tried again and managed to hit the tombstone by picturing a scammer who robbed him of his money, Jung-bae got impressed that the team managed to do it. Jung-bae watched intently while Geum-ja played Gonggi, who eventually passed. He also became worried when Seon-nyeo (Player 044) took too long in Spinning Top and told the team to hurry up when they managed to pass. When Hyun-ju managed to pass Jegi, the players cheered on the team and celebrated when they managed to reach the finish line, Gi-hun and In-ho were enjoying the fun, and Jung-bae was happy to see that they made it and hugged Dae-ho and Jun-hee.
When it was the turn of Player 135's team (Team 72) and Gi-hun's team (Team 73), they were the last teams and Jung-bae felt it was a little sad that they didn't have an audience, Jung-bae asked Dae-ho if he was scared, to which Dae-ho said no and that it was easy to concentrate when it was quiet and without anyone watching. Jung-bae told Team 72 that they would meet again at the finish line and that they would win, Team 72 was sure that everyone would make it and told Team 73 that they would see each other again at the finish line, Team 72 and Team 73 encouraged each other and got prepared. In-ho said he trusted the team and added that they had Gi-hun, a previous winner with them, to which Gi-hun smiles at.
When the game started, Team 73 quickly reached the first mark and Jun-hee passed Ddakji on the first try. Upon reaching the second mark, Dae-ho told Jung-bae that he could do it on the first try and Jung-bae said that when he played baseball, his pitches might had been slow, but he had excellent control over the ball, then Jung-bae threw the stone and hit the tombstone, passing Flying Stone on the first try, the team continued and Dae-ho told him that he knew he could do it. Upon reaching the third mark, Jung-bae told Dae-ho to stay calm and Dae-ho asked him to be quiet so he could concentrate, Dae-ho started playing Gonggi and he managed to do it on the first try (very fast), Jung-bae congratulated Dae-ho and the team continued. Jung-bae saw that there were 3 minutes and 30 seconds left and he told the team that they had plenty of time, Jung-bae also told Jun-hee to be careful since she was pregnant and the team reached the fourth mark quickly.
In-ho started winding the thread onto the top and Jung-bae told Player 001 to take his time, but In-ho failed (using his right hand), so the team had to go for the top, Jung-bae said it would be boring to win everything too quickly, and Dae-ho responds, if you're gonna grow, you gotta fail first. After failing several times, In-ho became frustrated and started insulting and slapping himself, but Gi-hun calmed him down and told him to try again. In-ho tried again (using his left hand) and he finally made it, passing Spinning Top. Upon reaching the fifth mark, with 26 seconds left, Gi-hun started playing Jegi and he dominated the game well, but the Jegi flew out after kicking it for the fourth time and it seemed like Gi-hun wouldn't make it, which scared Jung-bae, but fortunately, In-ho acted quickly and moved his right foot, which also moved Gi-hun's left foot and Jugi fell on Gi-hun's foot, kicking it for the fifth time. Jung-bae indicated to the Worker that Gi-hun made it, the Worker indicated that he passed the minigame and the team moved advanced. Team 73 ran at full speed and managed to reach the finish line with 1 second left, winning the second game and saving themselves from dying. Team 73 started celebrating and they were happy that they were alive, but then they heard gunshots and saw that Team 72 had run out of time and they were shot down, leaving Team 73 impacted.
When Team 73 returned to the dorm, Jeong-dae complained about the fact that there were more survivors and Yeong-sam noticed that it was Gi-hun's team, which meant that more players would survive and therefore less money would accumulate. Nobody seemed to show any emotion upon seeing Gi-hun's team and In-ho said that the players didn't look so happy to see them, but that wasn't true, since Geum-ja and Yong-sik were happy that Jun-hee survived and they waved, Jung-bae noticed them waving and said that the mother and son were happy, so Jung-bae waved back and mentioned that he admires the old lady and missed his mother while Jun-hee showed appreciation. Myung-gi was also happy that Jun-hee had survived (since he was her ex-boyfriend and the man who got her pregnant; but he still appreciated her and cared for her from afar).
As Gi-hun's team sat down to talk and started getting to know each other, In-ho apologized for his behavior while he was playing Spinning Top, but the team told him it was fine and Gi-hun told him it was thanks to him that he managed to land the fifth kick in Jegi. In-ho asked Jun-hee if she was okay, to which Jun-hee said yes and thanked the team for letting her join, Jung-bae mentioned that it was impressive how Jun-hee managed to pass Ddakji on the first attempt and also keep up the pace despite her pregnancy, so they were lucky that she joined the team. Dae-ho told Jung-bae that it was impressive how he managed to complete Flying Stone on the first try and that he was like Kim Byung-hyun. Jung-bae told Dae-ho that it was impressive how he managed to complete Gonggi on the first try and that he moved his hand like in a martial arts movie. Dae-ho said that he was the only son in his family and his mother only let him play at home with his sisters, Jung-bae asked Dae-ho if his family let him join the Marines and Dae-ho said that it was his father's idea since he wanted him to become a man and he fought in the Vietnam War, Jung-bae said that Dae-ho's father sounded like a great man, to which Dae-ho said yes and Jung-bae asked him if his father had been a Marine too. But then Dae-ho decided to change the subject, so he asked to speak for a moment and suggested that everyone said their names, so everyone would know each other's names. Dae-ho said that his name was "Kang Dae-ho", which meant "Huge Tiger" and Jung-bae thought it was a cool name, Jung-bae said that his name was "Park Jung-bae", which meant "Righteous and double" and he said that his parents wanted him to live "twice as righteously", Jun-hee said that her name was "Kim Jun-hee", but she didn't know what it meant. In-ho told Jun-hee that when she left, she should go see a doctor since she had been under a lot of stress and needed to be checked out, to which Jun-hee said that she would do it. In-ho introduced himself as "Oh Young-il", which meant "0 1" in Korean, like his number "001", so it was easy to remember and the team realized that In-ho's name was his number. Then In-ho asked Gi-hun his last name and Gi-hun said that "Seong Gi-hun" was his full name, In-ho pointed out that "Seong" was literally "Last name" in Korean and he laughed.
Then the guards arrived and the Manager congratulated all the players for winning the second game, it was revealed that out of 365 players, 110 were eliminated and 255 completed the second game, so the prize pool increased to ₩20,100,000,000, so it would be ₩78,823,530 for each player. Some greedy players got upset about that amount of money and started declaring that more players had to die and the guards counted wrong, showing a disgusting greed. The manager told the greedy players that he completely understood their frustration and that they would always keep the door open to give them new opportunities. Then the voting started and the Manager reminded the players that the decision of whether to continue or end the games was entirely up to them. Jung-bae stared at the money (which Gi-hun noticed) and In-ho and Dae-ho told Gi-hun that they would vote "X" to leave, Dae-ho regretted voting "O" and said that a Marine had to think strategically and know when to retreat, Dae-ho asked Jung-bae if it wasn't true and Jung-bae said yes, that Marines only have one life and they should leave while they can. Gi-hun said that they should finish the games immediately, he promised the team that he would help them when they left and asked them to trust him and fully support him during the vote, Dae-ho suggested to the team that they put their hands together again and said "Victory!".
When the voting started, the Manager said that it would be from the smallest number to the largest number, so In-ho was the first because he was Player 001, In-ho passed to vote and he voted for "X", keeping his word. The voting progressed and several players changed teams, after an argument over whether to end or continue the games, the vote ended 116-139 and Jung-bae voted for "O", which caught Dae-ho's attention.
At mealtime, the players received a soboro ppang and a carton of milk. Jung-bae felt embarrassed about what he did and he sat in a corner away from the team, Dae-ho went to find him and took him with the team. Jung-bae apologized to the team for voting for "O" and he explained that he borrowed some emergency cash and that his creditors were harassing his ex-wife and daughter, he believed if he played 1 more game he would have enough money to settle his debt. In-ho told Jung-bae that he of all people shouldn't have done that because it didn't represent the meaning of his name, but In-ho acknowledged that even if Jung-bae had voted "X," it would have been the same. Jung-bae said that it wasn't entirely his fault and Dae-ho told him that he understood why he did it either, since the accumulated money wasn't enough for him and he hesitated to play one more game, Jung-bae thanked In-ho and Dae-ho for understanding and not kicking him out, and said he voted "O" because he was sure, since they worked very well as a team and if they stayed together in the next game, everyone would be okay. Then Jung-bae told Jun-hee that he would make sure everyone survived the next game... but then Gi-hun said that what if in the next game they might have to kill each other to win, In-ho told him not to be so pessimistic and that they should stay positive to survive the next game. In-ho offered Jun-hee his milk (since he didn't drink plain milk) and Jung-bae offered him his bread (since he thought that he didn't deserve it), Dae-ho told him that he would drink his milk then and Jung-bae looked at him as if he was playing a bad joke.
In the men's restroom, Myung-gi started to be harassed by Thanos, Nam-gyu and Gyeong-su (Player 256) for changing his vote from "O" to "X" (to get Jun-hee out of that place after that he discovered that she was in the games), Myung-gi mocked Thanos by saying that he forgot his lyrics during a finale at a rap contest, which enraged Thanos and he grabbed him to hit him, but luckily, Jung-bae, In-ho and Dae-ho arrived, so Thanos left Myung-gi alone (knowing that In-ho could beat him up again), told him he'd be watching him, and left with Nam-gyu and Gyeong-su. Jung-bae asked Myung-gi if the aggressors were still bullying him and Dae-ho told him that he could ask them for help if he needed it, but Myung-gi said that he was fine, and he can take care of himself (which left In-ho concerned about him). At bedtime, Gi-hun's team moved their mattresses under their beds to sleep, Jung-bae asked if it was necessary to do that and said that he didn't like sleeping on the floor, so Gi-hun explained that when the lights went out, someone could start a riot (to which Dae-ho asks since that's allowed), that the prize money in the piggy bank increased if players killed each other and that it was all part of the game. In-ho told Gi-hun that he thought he was exaggerating and that he didn't think the players would do that, to which Gi-hun said that in the 33rd Squid Game, 27 players died fighting each other during the night, in the dormitory, he told In-ho that he had no idea how much that place could change people, In-ho told him that he believed him and apologized. Gi-hun told the team that they should take turns keeping watch when the lights went out, he took the first turn and told the team to decide each other's turn.
When the lights went out, the players went to sleep and Gi-hun started to keep watch. Jun-hee urgently tells him that she needs to use the restroom, but Gi-hun tells her not to go by herself since it's not safe, until Guem-ja tells them, that she can accompany her. Jung-bae woke up after a while, he told Gi-hun that he woke up and that he go to sleep while he kept watch, but Gi-hun said that he was not sleepy yet and that Jung-bae could sleep a little longer. Then Jung-bae apologized to Gi-hun, to which Gi-hun told him to forget about the voting and that he knew that it wasn't his fault, but Jung-bae told him that he wasn't talking about that, but about when he didn't lend him money for his mom's surgery. Jung-bae believed that if he found a way to help Gi-hun that night, maybe his mother would still be alive, but Jung-bae didn't have any extra money at the time, to which Gi-hun said that he knew and never blamed him for it. Jung-bae asked Gi-hun if he entered the games in 2020 to pay for his mother's treatment and Gi-hun nodded, then Jung-bae asked Gi-hun why he returned to the games in 2024 and told him that if it was him, he would have forgotten everything and started a new life with the money. Then Gi-hun asked Jung-bae if Gi-hun died in front of his eyes and Jung-bae won all the money, what he would feel, Jung-bae told him not to say that and that they would win the game, and get out together (without knowing that Gi-hun saw Sang-woo die as he held him in his arms when he won all the money back in 2020), Gi-hun told him that's why he returned to the games in 2024, to survive along with everyone and end the games, but he didn't know anymore what more he could do if he made a difference, Jung-bae said that he ruined Gi-hun's plan by voting for "O" and complained about what he did, but Gi-hun told him that he had already told him that it wasn't his fault.
Jung-bae asked Gi-hun if he remembered when they went on strike, the company told them to vacate the factory and leave, having told them that if they left voluntarily, they wouldn't blame them and would give them more severance pay, Gi-hun asked how he could forget it. Jung-bae said that when he was keeping watch at night, he wanted to leave, but he didn't because Gi-hun was sleeping beside him and he was talking in his dream, saying "I'm so hungry, Mom. Give me some food. Please help, Mom I'm starving.", and he was sobbing in his dream, Gi-hun asked Jung-bae if he really did that, to which Jung-bae said yes and Gi-hun asked him if he stayed for him, to which Jung-bae said yes. Jung-bae was watching Gi-hun and thought "Wow, now this is really sad. I can't leave this guy alone" and "If I go now, and he wakes up soon, he'll start crying so much I doubt he could take a piss alone." Jung-bae couldn't leave him, Gi-hun said that Jung-bae was talking nonsense, to which Jung-bae declared that what he said was true and swore on Gi-hun's mother, Gi-hun asked him why he was swearing on his mother and told him to swear on his own mother, Jung-bae said that no matter who he swore on, what he said was true, he also said that he got fired and ended up in the games because he stayed. Gi-hun said that Jung-bae always blamed him for every bad thing that happened, like losing money in horse racing and the failure of the chicken shop, the he asked him if he also was going to blame him for his marriage, Jung-bae said no because getting married was what he wanted and that he got divorced because of Gi-hun, but Gi-hun told him that it was because of him that his wife left him, because he always invited him for drinks every night, and he was who got him into horse racing in the first place, Jung-bae started laughing, told him not to shout and that he finally looked like the Seong Gi-hun he knew, Gi-hun complained about that comment and Jung-bae told him that he had been acting like a different person. Then Jung-bae told Gi-hun to get out of there after the next game and go drink soju like old times, Gi-hun agreed to do that, but Jung-bae would pay, Jung-bae said that people don't really change, he called Gi-hun, "Seong Gi-hun, the cheapskate of Ssangmun-dong. Cheapest of cheapskates, and Lord of all cheapskates.", and both friends started laughing. But unbeknownst to them, In-ho was listening to them.
The next morning, the players were woken up and told by the Announcer that the third game was about to begin, so it was necessary for all players to get out of bed and get ready. Upon arriving at the game hall, it was revealed that the game was called "Mingle". The players had to stand over the central platform and when the game started, the platform would start to spin and when it stopped, a number would be announced. Players would have 30 seconds to form groups according to the announced number, enter the rooms in the game hall and close the door. Jung-bae said that Mingle was similar to a game they played as kids on field trips where a number is being called, and they had to form groups by hugging, to which Dae-ho said yes and that instead of hugging, they had to enter the rooms. While planning a strategy, Gi-hun's team said that if the number was bigger than 5, they should bring in additional players that they needed and Dae-ho asked if the number was smaller than 5, In-ho reminds them that they should split into groups, and the team made sure to stay calm and confident that everyone would make it, so they put their hands together and said "Victory!".
In the first round, where the number was 10, the players tried desperately to form groups and chaos ensued. Gi-hun's team (which was 5) teamed up with Hyun-ju's team (which was 4) and Jung-bae said that they were 9. Player 050 asked Gi-hun's team if they were a group of 5, he said that his group was also 5 and that they came with them, but then Player 313 told 050 that his group was also 5 and they took them with them. In-ho told Gi-hun that they were running out of time and need to leave quickly, then Hyun-ju saw Seon-nyeo alone and she grabbed her, having 10 players, the team ran towards Room 44 (which had a light green door) and fortunately managed to enter in time, saving themselves from dying. In the room, Seon-nyeo hypocritically declared that everyone was alive because of her, which scared the team and Jung-bae said that she scared him, by almost giving him a heart attack. Seon-nyeo then noticed the pregnant Jun-hee, and tells Gi-hun that he had lived longer than he meant to. In the second round, where the number was 4, Gi-hun told the team to go the 4 of them together, but In-ho told him to go with the team and he told the team to go, In-ho proceeded to find 3 players to form a group and the team ran towards Room 09, saving themselves from dying. When the players left the rooms, the team started searching for In-ho and they were happy to see that he was alive, Jung-bae got relieved to see that In-ho was alive, he hugged him and said that he knew that he would make it, adding that In-ho wasn't just anybody, but something special. Gi-hun told him that he was worried for a while, but he was glad he made it. In-ho made a joke about counting Kim Jun-hee's baby, they were 6, Jung-bae deciphered the joke for the team and they laughed. While the team laughed, Myung-gi watched them from afar, relieved that Jun-hee was alive.
In the third round, in which the number was 3, Gi-hun and In-ho told Jung-bae, Dae-ho and Jun-hee to go find a room together, and Players 456 and 001 proceeded to look for 1 more player. Gi-hun and In-ho teamed up with Geum-ja (who was left alone because Players 172 and 220 took Yong-sik with them during the chaos) and when the players left the rooms, Geum-ja reunited with Hyun-ju and Young-mi, the mother and son reunited with a hug, Yong-sik started to cry and apologize to her mother for leaving her alone while Geum-ja calmed his son down and told him everything was okay. Jung-bae, Dae-ho and Jun-hee arrived and they saw the mother and son hugging after almost losing each other. In the fourth round, in which the number was 6, Gi-hun told Dae-ho, Jun-hee, Hyun-ju, Yong-sik, Geum-ja and Young-mi to go they 6 together and he along with Jung-bae, In-ho and Park Gyeong-seok (Player 246; who joined the team in the previous round) proceeded to look for 2 more players, In-ho saw 2 players and the team ran. Gi-hun's team managed to survive by teaming up with Players 328 and 350 and entering Room 34.
In the fifth round, Jung-bae asked Gi-hun what he thought the number would be and In-ho said that he thought it would be 2. Jung-bae asked In-ho why he thought the number would be 2 and In-ho explained that there were 126 left and there were 50 rooms, so there was enough space for 100 players, forming teams of 2, which meant the other 26 players would be killed. In-ho's explanation made Gi-hun start to suspect something, but then the platform stopped and it was announced that the number was 2. The players rushed to grab someone and get to a room, In-ho grabbed Jung-bae, Yong-sik grabbed Geum-ja, Myung-gi (who joined the team in the previous round) grabbed Jun-hee, Dae-ho grabbed Gi-hun and Gyeong-seok grabbed Hyun-ju (who was devastated because Young-mi died in the previous round).
The players started fighting each other to survive and everything turned into a chaos. Jung-bae and In-ho started running towards a room, but Jung-bae was thrown to the floor, In-ho saw that, then told Jung-bae to get up and fortunately, Jung-bae managed to get up quickly. In-ho grabbed Player 285 while he tried to enter Room 33, he took him out of the room and told Jung-bae to get in while he threw 285 to the floor. Upon entering, Jung-bae discovered that Sim Jae-seok (Player 343) was inside the room, In-ho entered the room, he saw Jae-seok and told him to get out, but Jae-seok declared that he and 285 arrived first before they did. In-ho grabbed Jae-seok, put him against the wall and started to strangle him (applying the police throat choke), 285 tried to enter and started yelling obscenities, demanding that Jung-bae and In-ho open the door and declaring that he arrived first while Jung-bae kept the door closed to left him outside and he apologized for having to do so. With 2 seconds left, In-ho broke Jae-seok's neck, killing him instantly and leaving only 2 players in the room. Time was up, the door closed and it was announced that the third game was over, Jung-bae got horrified and shocked to see In-ho commit such an atrocity and In-ho turned to look at him.
On the stairs, Gi-hun told In-ho that when they got back to the dorm, they should count how many players were left, that way they would know if Team X or Team O was more likely to win the next vote. In-ho said that he hoped that more players from Team O had died and Jung-bae stared at him, still remembering what he did to Jae-seok. In the dorm, Jung-bae counted the players and told Gi-hun that there were 55 players who voted for "O", Gi-hun asked him if he was sure and Jung-bae told him that he counted twice, Dae-ho asked him if he counted himself, Jung-bae realized that he forgot it and said that there were 56 players who voted for "O", which meant that there were 44 players who voted "X" (12 less) and it might be hard for Team X to win. In-ho said that it seemed like there was a big difference between the teams, but if 6 players from Team O joined Team X, it would be a tie 50-50, if 7 players did, Team X could win. Dae-ho believed that the players of Team X could also join Team O, but In-ho didn't believe that they would do it easily because they would want to leave even if the prize was small and since they already could leave with more money, they wouldn't want to risk their lives playing another game, then Jung-bae said he would vote for "X", so the teams would tie if 5 more players who voted "O" did so as well and if 6 players did, Team X would win. Gi-hun said to go to the players who voted "O" and try to convince them, but In-ho believed it was too risky since many of those players would want to keep playing, so they wouldn't just sit back if the team did something. Gi-hun and In-ho started arguing about what to do since Team X could lose again and then the guards arrived. The Manager congratulated all the players for winning the third game and it was revealed that out of 255, 155 were eliminated and 100 completed the game.
Before the voting started, Jung-bae saw that the prize pool had increased to ₩35,600,000,000, so it would be ₩356,000,000 for each player and he was sure that with that amount of money, some players would vote for "X". The voting was carried out from the largest number to the smallest number, so Gi-hun was the first, then the Manager said that to ensure a fair and democratic voting, any kind of disruption was prohibited from that point onward and he asked the players to take it into mind. Gi-hun voted for "X", starting the voting 1-0 and the players quickly made their decision. When it was Player 390's turn, Jung-bae voted for "X", he proudly took off his "O" patch and put on his "X" patch with the same pride, Jung-bae stood next to Gi-hun and told him that Team X only needed 6 players to win. Dae-ho voted for "X" and stood next to Jung-bae and Gi-hun, Se-mi (Player 380) changed her vote from "O" to "X" and Jung-bae said that the team only needed 5 more players.
At the halfway point, the voting was 23-27 and the players remained loyal to their teams, but Player 185 hesitated over her decision and she finally changed her vote from "O" to "X", which excited Jung-bae and he said that the team only needed 4 more players. Park Min-su (Player 125) was pressured by Thanos and Nam-gyu to vote for "O" and when he passed to vote, Min-su hesitated over his decision because the fear, but he finally decided to do the right thing and voted for "X", which excited Jung-bae and Dae-ho and they said that the team only needed 3 more players. Hyun-ju went on and she changed her vote from "O" to "X" (in memory of Young-mi), which excited Jung-bae, he hugged Gi-hun (who smiled in relief), and said that the team only needed 2 more players.
When the vote neared the end, the vote was 47-47 and Player 024 voted for "O", making it 47-48. Seon Han-nam (Player 015) decided to change his vote from "O" to "X" and Jung-bae got glad that Han-nam voted for "X", he said that Team X already had 6 more players and it was a tie, so if the team got 1 more player, they would win. Player 009 voted for "O", but Jung-bae didn't worried because she had already done so. The next voter was Yong-sik and Jung-bae asked Geum-ja if her son would vote for "X", to which the old lady assured him that he would do the right thing... and indeed, Yong-sik changed his vote to "X", making that Team X already had 7 players. Gi-hun's team that the last voters were In-ho and Park Mi-hwa (Player 006) and since they both voted "X", Dae-ho believed that Team X would win and he told Jung-bae that they were going to win. But seeing In-ho, Jung-bae remembered what he did to Jae-seok and decided to tell Gi-hun, but then Mi-hwa changed her vote from "X" to "O" (because she had become Seon-nyeo's loyal follower) and she put the voting 49-50.
In-ho, being the last voter, passed to vote and Dae-ho told him to end it all, Dae-ho told the team that the vote would end in a 50-50 tie and In-ho stood in front of the buttons. Jung-bae said that In-ho scared him a little, Dae-ho asked him why and then Jung-bae, despite not knowing how to say it, decided to tell the team what happened in Room 33... but before Jung-bae could say what happened, In-ho voted for "X" and he ended the voting 50-50, making it a tie, which made Team X happy and In-ho gave the team an OK gesture, showing that he had kept his word. Having ended the voting in a tie, the Manager announced that there would be a new voting (based on the consent form), that the voting would be held the next day to give the players time to think and he asked players to think about their future.
Having split between Team X and Team O, the players split the dorm in 2. At mealtime, the players were given gimbap and a bottle of soda, Gi-hun asked Jung-bae what he wanted to tell him about In-ho in Room 33, but Jung-bae saw In-ho passing a good time with the team, so he decided to forget that In-ho killed Jae-seok and he said that the place drove people crazy, so it would be better to get out of there before he went crazy. Dae-ho told In-ho that he thought he might be going to vote for "O" (like the first time), and that he was so nervous that he couldn't see, then Dae-ho mentioned what Jung-bae was going to say about him, but Jung-bae told him to just eat because he didn't want to talk about what happened. Jung-bae thanked In-ho for voting for "X" and giving Team X another chance, then In-ho said that he only did it to stay alive, and there's enough money in the piggy bank, so he should get out as soon as possible. Gi-hun's team sat down to eat together (being Gi-hun, Jung-bae, In-ho, Dae-ho, Jun-hee, Hyun-ju, Yong-sik, Geum-ja and Gyeong-seok) and talked about doing what Gi-hun said about convincing some of the Team O members to join Team X. But a concerned Yong-sik tells them that Team O seemed to have lost their minds over the money, but with the dry food that the players were receiving, Team X seemed to have the advantage and they decided to try to convince at least 1 player to join them. Both teams start arguing and insulting each other because Team X wants to leave and Team O wants to stay, but since both teams stay on their side, a fight doesn't start. Gi-hun opened his ration of food and upon seeing that there was a metal fork, realized that the guards were planning for there to be a fight.
In the men's restroom, Thanos and Nam-gyu began threatening and scaring Min-su to force him to join them in the next vote, but fortunately, Myung-gi intervened to protect Min-su. Myung-gi asked Team X for help and he informed them that Thanos and Nam-gyu were threatening Min-su to join them in voting (which was cheating), Team X arrived to help and players like Kwon Byeong-su (Player 047) and Player 145 scolded the idiot aggressors for what they were doing, Thanos and Nam-gyu asked Team O for help and they declared that Team X wanted to attack them, Team O arrived and both teams began exchanging insults. Min-su hid among Team X and Myung-gi prevented Thanos from approaching him, then Thanos and Nam-gyu started mocking Jun-hee about her pregnancy, which angered Myung-gi and started a fight between Team X and Team O. The fight claimed the lives of 5 players and revealed to the players that they could kill each other. In the dorm, it was revealed that Players 230, 268, 299, 331 and 401 were eliminated, so there were 95 left and the prize pool increased to 36,100,000,000 won, with 380,000,000 won for each player. The players got surprised for the eliminations, Jung-bae asked Gi-hun what happened and Gi-hun realized that the riot was near. The survivors of the fight arrived at the dorm and told the others what happened. Both teams started blaming each other for the deaths of their teammates and Jeong-dae asked which team lost most players, but nobody knew the answer, so it was made a head count to discover which team had more players left.
On Team O, Jeong-dae discovered that they had 47 players, which meant that 3 of them died (Players 230/ Thanos, 268 and 299) and on Team X, Byeong-su discovered that they had 48 players, which meant that 2 of them died (Players 331 and 401). Player 400 realized that if Team X had lost 2 of the 5 dead, Team O had lost 3, Se-mi said that then Team X had the advantage to win the next voting and Jung-bae said excitedly that it was 48 against 47, so if no Team X member changed their mind, they would win by 1 vote. Believing they had already won, Team X became overjoyed and it was announced that the lights out in 30 minutes, so they went to sleep, but Gi-hun believed that Team O might be plotting something.
With 20 minutes left, Gi-hun's team (Gi-hun, Jung-bae, In-ho, Dae-ho, Jun-hee, Hyun-ju, Yong-sik, Geum-ja, Gyeong-seok, Byeong-su, and Player 145) talked about what might happen when the lights went out. Gi-hun said that he believed that Team O would attack Team X, since when they killed them, they would gain votes and the prize would increase. The team suggested attacking first to have the advantage, since Team X had more women and older people on their side, so if Team O attacked them, they would kill them. But Gi-hun said that they couldn't do that, because that was what the Front Man and The VIPs (the financiers of the Squid Games) wanted and he said that if they were going to fight, it should be against the Front Man and the VIPs. Gi-hun told the team that the Front Man and the VIPs were on the upper levels, where they controlled the games and if they captured the Front Man, they could win. Gi-hun explained to his team that his plan was that when the lights went out, they would quietly hide under the bottom beds and Team O and Team X would start fighting each other, when the lights came on, the guards would come in to stop the fight, then they would pretend to be dead, would attack the guards and take their guns.
When the lights went out, Gi-hun's team followed his plan, Jung-bae hid with Dae-ho and the Special Game started. When the guards came in to stop the fight as the lights went back on, and verify the identity of the dead, Gi-hun's team sprang into action and attacked the guards, starting a Revolt. Jung-bae grabbed the Soldier who was scanning him and he asked Dae-ho for help, Dae-ho hits the Soldier on the head with an empty soda bottle and Jung-bae took his Heckler & Koch MP5. Gi-hun's team managed to kill several Soldiers and quickly took the advantage, the Masked Officer got scared when he saw what was happening in the dorm and he ordered that all the guards to retreat and close the gate. The Announcer told the guards to retreat and the guards ran towards the gate, some Soldiers were killed and others managed to escape, the Manager ran out of bullets and he tried to escape, but the door closed and he got trapped, being the only guard alive in the dorm. Gi-hun told his team to stop shooting, Jung-bae and 145 ran towards the Manager and Jung-bae told him to get on his knees with his hands on his head, taking the Manager as their hostage.
Having collected the guards' guns, Gi-hun told the players that they would go to the masked men's headquarters, capture the Front Man and end the games for good. When all the players hesitate to join, Jung-bae told the players that he knew that they were all scared, that he was too, but that might be their last chance to get out of there alive, so they had to fight their way out. Han-nam, Player 072, Ko Yun-ho (Player 206) and Player 324 joined the fight and Jung-bae said that they would use Channel 7 on the radios. Hyun-ju explained to everyone how to operate the guns (thanks to her being a first class sergeant in the ROK Special Forces) and everyone understood how to use them. Gi-hun told the Manager at gunpoint to take off his mask and balaclava, the Manager took them off and revealed that he was a very young man (about 20 years old), Jung-bae got surprised to see how young the Manager was and asked him if his parents knew that he committing such atrocities. Gi-hun told the Manager to guide them to the Front Man and the team left.
On the stairs, the Announcer told the rebels to return to the dorm or they would be eliminated, Jung-bae said that he thought that he was going to hear her voice in his dreams. On the way to the management area, Gi-hun fires his gun at the speaker, then the Officer made all the Soldiers get ready and the rebels encountered with them, the rebels fought against the Soldiers and killed them. Almost reaching to the management area, the Manager said to Gi-hun that the entrance was around the next corner and that the control room was above it, the Manager took his mask (since it was necessary to enter) and then he saw In-ho among the rebels and recognized him as the Front Man, which left him in shock. Suddenly, the Manager was shot in the head (since the guards were forbidden to remove their masks) and the rebels were attacked by a group of Soldiers.
Player 072 was killed and the rebels began to fight against the guards. Gi-hun said he would go look for control room entrance and In-ho offered to go with him, but Gi-hun decided to go with Jung-bae and told In-ho that him and the rebels should stay there to buy more time. Jung-bae and Gi-hun found the entrance to the management area, put on the mask and entered, leaving a gun to keep the entrance open, and ejecting the magazine from the gun for emergencies. Then Jung-bae asked Gi-hun why he took him with him instead of In-ho, to which Gi-hun told him that because he was his best friend and Jung-bae stated that Gi-hun only said that when he was in a jam. Gi-hun informed In-ho that they had entered at the management area and would make their way further up. Jung-bae and Gi-hun encountered a pair of Managers and they killed them, then they discovered that the guards had ammunition in their pockets. The two friends advanced where the Managers came from and the Officer sent more Managers to guard the stairs to the control room.
Jung-bae and Gi-hun confronted the Managers head on, while the rebels waited to be informed that they had reached to the control room, Byeong-su tells In-ho that they should follow them to the management area, but In-ho advises that they'll get surrounded if they moved forward without receiving word from Gi-hun and Jung-bae. So they continued to strong hold their position until they can get an update from them, then Yun-ho was killed and Soldiers started to approach, but Gyeong-seok and Hyun-ju took out the flankers that killed Yun-ho. Eventually, Jung-bae, Gi-hun and the rebels started running out of ammunition and Jung-bae contacted In-ho and Dae-ho for help. In-ho told Jung-bae that he could hear him and Jung-bae told him that he and Gi-hun were right below the control room, but they needed backup and more ammunition, In-ho told Jung-bae that they were running out of ammunition too, Gi-hun said that there was extra ammunition in the pockets of the dead Soldiers in the dorm and someone has to go get it. In-ho went with Byeong-su and Han-nam to backup Jung-bae and Gi-hun while the others stayed to fight against the Soldiers and immediately restock, Hyun-ju said that she would go for the ammunition, but Dae-ho volunteered to go get them. Dae-ho went back to the dorm to get the ammunition and Jung-bae contacted him to find out where the ammunition was, to which Dae-ho told him that he was on his way to get them, Jung-bae told Dae-ho that they were counting on him and Dae-ho told him that he could count on him and that he would be there soon.
Gi-hun asked Jung-bae to cover him to go for ammunition, Jung-bae told him that it was too dangerous, but Gi-hun said that he had to do it to survive while waiting for Dae-ho. Jung-bae covered Gi-hun and Gi-hun went for ammunition. Having collected the ammunition, rapid firing and fallen down the stairs after being shot in the left arm, Jung-bae asked Gi-hun if he was okay, to which he said yes and that the bullet only grazed his arm, Jung-bae said that if Gi-hun died before him, he would kill him and Gi-hun said that he would make sure to outlive him. Then In-ho arrived with Byeong-su and Han-nam, and Gi-hun told him to find another route to get to the control room, In-ho said that he was pretty sure that there was another route around the masked men and asked them to hold them back while he attacked from behind. Gi-hun gave In-ho ammunition and told him that Dae-ho would bring more.
Dae-ho collected all the ammunition in the dorm with the help of Yong-sik, Geum-ja and Jun-hee and proceeded to return to the fight, but upon hearing the gunshots, Dae-ho panicked and went to a bed in a corner, abandoning the team. Hyun-ju tried to contact Dae-ho, but she didn't receive a response and went to check. In-ho, Byeong-su and Han-nam advanced through the back route and saw the Managers attacking Jung-bae and Gi-hun. In-ho told Gi-hun and Jung-abe to distract the Managers by killing some of them, and that they would attack from behind, Gi-hun followed the plan and Byeong-su and Han-nam prepared to attack, but then In-ho shot Players 047 and 015, killing Byeong-su and leaving Han-nam almost dead. Gi-hun asked In-ho if they had already managed to attack and In-ho pretended to be almost dead, he told Gi-hun that he was sorry, that it was all over and that the guards caught them, Gi-hun asked for an answer and In-ho brought the radio closer to Han-nam (who was moaning from the gunshots) and then In-ho shot Han-nam, killing him and making Gi-hun believe that In-ho was dead. In-ho switches the radio on Channel 1 and told the guards and the Officer to finish the revolt.
Hyun-ju arrived at the dorm and looked for Dae-ho, then Yong-sik told her that Dae-ho was in the corner and Hyun-ju went to check on him. Dae-ho was panicking, he started apologizing (possibly for his cowardice) and Hyun-ju found the ammunition, she took it and proceeded to return to the fight, but then another group of guards arrived, and a Manager fired two warning shots telling everyone to stay where they are. Hyun-ju prepared to fight, but Geum-ja told her not to risk and that she would be killed, to which Hyun-ju agreed, feeling bad for having to leave her companions alone. Gyeong-seok, 145 and 324 began to be surrounded and were running out of ammunition, 324 saw the Soldiers approaching and he decided to commit suicide. Player 145 told Gyeong-seok that they had to surrender and that he believed that was the only way that they would survive. Jung-bae and Gi-hun ran out of ammunition and 145 informed them that they had also run out of ammunition, so they would surrender. Gyeong-seok and Player 145 surrendered and 145 begged the Soldiers not to kill him, but then a Soldier shot him in the chest, killing him and leaving Gyeong-seok alone. Gyeong-seok was cornered by Soldier, he begged for his life and said that his daughter, Park Na-yeon was very sick, but fortunately, the Soldier was Kang No-eul (Soldier 011; who had worked at Seoul Land, an amusement park, like Gyeong-seok and knew about Na-yeon's condition) and she had a plan to help him get off the island alive.
Fate[]
Gi-hun…
Jung-bae to Seong Gi-hun before being shot
Park Jung-bae's corpse.
Trapped, Jung-bae and Gi-hun surrendered, a couple of Managers retained them at gunpoint and then In-ho (dressed as the Front Man) arrived along with the Officer. In-ho asked Gi-hun if he had fun "playing the hero" and pointed his pistol at him. In-ho told Gi-hun to look closely at the consequences of his "little game" and suddenly aimed at Jung-bae, Jung-bae exchanged glances with Gi-hun and then In-ho shot Jung-bae in the heart. Jung-bae started bleeding out and Gi-hun started screaming in pain for seeing his friend being killed. In-ho proceeded to leave along with the Officer and Gi-hun, furious, tried to go after the Front Man to make him pay for killing his friend, but the Managers held him down and barely managed to contain him. Gi-hun began to scream in rage and pain, he turned to look at his deceased friend's corpse and began to cry over Jung-bae's death. Jung-bae was scanned by a Manager and it was announced "Player 390, eliminated.".
Legacy[]
Gi-hun, being unconscious, was sent back to the dorm by the guards in a coffin and he dreamed about what happened during the revolt. Upon waking up, Gi-hun was informed by Jun-hee, Hyun-ju, Yong-sik and Geum-ja (the last members of his team) that only Hyun-ju and Dae-ho survived and the others were killed. Hyun-ju asked Gi-hun about Jung-bae, Gi-hun didn't say anything and Hyun-ju realized that Jung-bae was dead, Gi-hun remembered Jung-bae's death and he felt devastated. The guards arrived and revealed that from 95 players, 35 were eliminated the night before and 60 remained, after that, the voting took place. Then Gi-hun asked the guards why they left him alive and didn't kill him like the others, devastated by Jung-bae's death, Gi-hun told the guards to kill him and told In-ho that he won, so the guards grabbed him and handcuffed him to a bed.
After Team O won the voting, Jeong-dae and his team asked Gi-hun if he planned everything that happened and they told him that with the death of their allies, more money was accumulated and Team O won the voting, so they thanked and gave a big round of applause to Player 456. Then Seon-nyeo and her group approached Gi-hun and Seon-nyeo started to mock Gi-hun for the failure of his plan and the death of his friends, she told him that she would listen to their screams until he died and laughed at him in his face. Furious with the stupid and disgusting woman, Gi-hun grabbed Seon-nyeo from the neck and he started to strangle her for making fun of him and his dead friends. Mi-hwa and Player 306 told Gi-hun to let go of Seon-nyeo and separated them before Gi-hun could kill her. All the players realized how furious and devastated Gi-hun was about what happened and Gi-hun fell into a hard depression, regretting the death of his friends.
At meal time, Gi-hun's team brought him food and tried to cheer him up. Geum-ja told Gi-hun that he should eat and that she knew that he tried to do the right thing, Hyun-ju apologized for not bringing the ammunition on time, to which Yong-sik said that she didn't have to apologize and revealed to Gi-hun that it was all Dae-ho's fault. Yong-sik told Gi-hun about Dae-ho's cowardice, that the guards arrived when Hyun-ju came for the ammunition, and that if it weren't for Geum-ja, Hyun-ju would have died too. Geum-ja told Gi-hun, Yong-sik, and Hyun-ju that sitting around doing nothing couldn't bring anyone back, but focus on those who were still alive should continue and told him to eat and drink, feeling sorry for his psychological injuries. Having discovered that it was all Dae-ho's fault, Gi-hun assigned himself the mission to make him pay for causing Jung-bae's death.
Gi-hun stared at Dae-ho all night with a look full of fury and the next morning the players were taken to the fourth game. The next morning, the players saw the corpses of Jung-bae, Byeong-su, Player 145, Han-nam, Player 072, Yun-ho, Player 324 and the hostage Manager (dressed as Player 001) hanging from the hands of a giant wind mobile, being a warning to the players about what would happen to them if they tried to rebel against the games like the rebels did. Gi-hun and Dae-ho showed a great pain upon seeing Jung-bae's corpse hanging from the mobile and Gi-hun looked at Dae-ho with an increasingly furious look.
In the fourth game, "Hide and Seek", Gi-hun was a member of the Seekers (Red Team; who had a Knife) and Dae-ho was a member of the Hiders (Blue Team; who had a Key). Before the game started, the players had the chance to switch teams, Jeong-dae kindly asked Gi-hun if he wants to switch with him, but Gi-hun gave him an angry stare, causing Jeong-dae to walk away, and Gi-hun noticed Dae-ho trying to switch teams with Player 349, but his desperate and cowardly behavior scared her. Then Dae-ho saw that Gi-hun was still looking at him and he confronted him, Dae-ho asked Gi-hun what his problem was with him, why he kept looking at him like that and if he blamed him for what happened. Dae-ho lost his mind, he grabbed Gi-hun and started angrily declaring that if Team X had fought against Team O, they could have won, Dae-ho told Gi-hun that it was his fault and that he and his plan caused the team's death. But then a Soldier pointed his gun at Dae-ho to leave Gi-hun alone and Dae-ho let him go. At the start of the game, the Hiders entered the game hall, which was a huge maze and they had 2 minutes to hide, the Seekers waited for the 2 minutes to pass and when the time was up, they entered to seek. Then Gi-hun said with a murderous look that it had all been Dae-ho's fault and with his knife in hand, he proceeded to enter the maze to find him and kill him for causing Jung-bae's death.
When the Seekers entered the maze and started the 30-minute clock, the Seekers split up and Gi-hun started hunting Dae-ho. Gi-hun encountered with Player 197 and he mistook him for Dae-ho (since they both had the same hairstyle), but when Gi-hun saw that 197 wasn't Dae-ho, he let him go and saw Dae-ho on a lower floor. Then, Seon-nyeo encountered with Myung-gi and Nam-gyu and she abandoned her group to save herself while Players 333 and 124 killed them. While fleeing, Seon-nyeo encountered with Dae-ho, who injured his left leg while fighting against Player 359, Dae-ho left, leaving a trail of blood and Seon-nyeo continued to flee. Then Seon-nyeo encountered with Gi-hun and she got scared to see that it was him, Seon-nyeo started insulting Gi-hun and he decided to kill her for all the stupid and horrible things that she said. Seon-nyeo panicked and she asked Gi-hun if he was looking for Dae-ho for betraying his team, the shaman told Gi-hun that she encountered with Dae-ho, told him how to find him and Gi-hun went to look for him.
Gi-hun found the blood trail, he followed it to a door and found Dae-ho. Dae-ho, terrified, told Gi-hun that he really wanted to help the team and then he confessed that he lied about being a Marine, he explained that he lied to be on his team, since he believed that with them, a loser like him would survive. Gi-hun told Dae-ho that it was all his fault, Dae-ho tried to beg for his life and Gi-hun pinned the liar to the ground while he blaming him for the team's death. Dae-ho grabbed the blade of a broken knife that he had and tried to defend himself, Dae-ho questioned Gi-hun that survived while the team was killed and asked him if he had planned that they die to win the game. Players 456 and 388 started fighting, Dae-ho tried to escape and Gi-hun went after him. Having cornered Dae-ho, Gi-hun confronted him and strangled him to death, making him pay for what his lies caused and avenging Jung-bae and the team. Dae-ho told Gi-hun with his last words that it was his fault and Gi-hun strangled him mercilessly until he died (with In-ho watching from the control room). But after getting his revenge, Gi-hun started to feel bad for killing someone who was once his friend and he started to believe that he caused the deaths, so he decided to cut his own throat with the blade, but the guards stopped him, they left him unconscious and took him back to the dorm, and cuffed him again.
At bedtime, Gi-hun still felt guilty, but Geum-ja approached him and told him that what happened wasn't his fault. The old woman told Gi-hun that she believed him that he was trying to save the players and she asked him to help Jun-hee and her baby (who was born during the game). During the night, the masked men entered with a coffin Gi-hun discovered that Geum-ja hanged herself (because she felt guilty for indirectly causing Yong-sik's death), so he decided to fulfill the old woman's last request, allowing him to be freed from the guilt.
The night before the sixth and final game, In-ho had a Manager bring Gi-hun to his room. In-ho told Gi-hun that he knew that he and Jun-hee's baby (who became Player 222 after Jun-hee's sacrifice) would be the targets of Jeong-dae, Kim Gi-min (Player 203), Myung-gi (Player 333), Lee Seung-won (Player 336), Kim Yun-tae (Player 353) and Player 039 in the final game, so he gave Gi-hun a knife and he told him that he could use it to kill the imbeciles who wanted to kill him and the baby. In-ho told Gi-hun that those idiots fell into a deep sleep from being fed too much food and drinking, so Gi-hun would just need to quietly cut their throats. Gi-hun asked In-ho why he wanted to help him and then In-ho took off his mask, revealing to Gi-hun that he was Young-il. In-ho apologized to Gi-hun for killing Jung-bae and Gi-hun grabbed the knife in a threatening manner, In-ho told Gi-hun that he could kill him, that there was no one to stop him and that someone else would become the new Front Man, but Gi-hun decided to leave him alive and left with the knife. In-ho then told Gi-hun that if he kills the sleeping players, he and the baby will win the prize money, and leave the game alive as promised. As Gi-hun goes to the elevator, In-ho asks him if he still has faith in people. Back in the dorm, Gi-hun attempted to kill Jeong-dae with the knife In-ho gave him, but he hesitates when he sees Sae-byeok's ghost telling him not to proceed, that he is a good person at heart.
When Gi-hun and the baby were the last players alive, the masked men expected Gi-hun to sacrifice the girl to save himself, but instead of that, he sacrificed himself to save the girl, showing the masked men and VIPs that there was still goodness in people. Hwang Jun-ho (In-ho's brother and a detective who led Gi-hun's mercenaries) and the Coast Guard found the island and the masked men evacuated, but the island was completely destroyed and the games in Korea ended forever, avenging all the players.
Quotes[]
Not with civilians!
Park Jung-bae stopping Kang Dae-ho from approaching to beat up Kim Yeong-sam for still using the One More Game slur in O X
Kill count[]
| Episode | Character | Gif | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friend or Foe | Soldier |   |
Shot in the Head |
Death Counter: 6 (3 Debatable Deaths)
Trivia[]
- Park Jung-bae's name wasn't revealed while Season 1 premiered. Only until Season 2 premiered, was his name stated.
- Jung-bae said to Seong Gi-hun that when they make it out they would do stuff together -- it is common throughout the series for one person in a duo to die if they talk about getting out.
- Jung-bae was the first member of Gi-hun's team to see traces of In-ho's personality as the Front Man.
- Jung-bae is the last player to die in Season 2.
- Lee Seo-hwan (Jung-bae's actor) revealed that when Jung-bae died he wasn't blaming Gi-hun, instead, he wanted to apologize for not being able to do his part.
- Lee Byung-hun (In-ho's actor) stated that In-ho didn't want to kill Jung-bae, but had to in order to break Gi-hun's spirit of ever stopping the games. He even said In-ho was shaking behind the mask.
- Park Jung-bae is one of the seven characters confirmed to be a smoker. The other are Seong Gi-hun, Cho Sang-woo, Thanos, Han Mi-nyeo, Jang Deok-su and The Masked Officer.
- It is unknown if Jung-bae had a friendship with Cho Sang-woo.
- Jung-bae is also one of three characters introduced in the first episode that survive the first season, but die in a later season, the only other characters to fit this criteria being Gi-hun and The Recruiter.
- Jung-bae's death is very similar to that of Primrose Everdeen's from The Hunger Games for several reasons:
- They were the last known casualties of a rebellion meant to overthrow an oppressive system that they were involved in. The difference, however, is that the rebellion Primrose died in successfully overthrew her country's oppressive regime, whereas the rebellion Jung-bae died in was a failure thanks to Hwang In-ho's betrayal.
- In addition, Primrose did not actively fight in her rebellion due to her age, whereas Jung-bae did.
- Their last known words before their deaths was a call to someone close to them: Primrose to her sister Katniss and Jung-bae to his close friend Gi-hun. Both of the people they called out to were left in a depressed and emotionally distraught state upon witnessing their deaths.
- They both died outside of the season/book of their respective series that they were introduced in.
- They were the last known casualties of a rebellion meant to overthrow an oppressive system that they were involved in. The difference, however, is that the rebellion Primrose died in successfully overthrew her country's oppressive regime, whereas the rebellion Jung-bae died in was a failure thanks to Hwang In-ho's betrayal.
Mistakes[]
- Another player 390 is seen in a promotional poster
Behind the scenes[]
Jung-bae is portrayed by Lee Seo-hwan. In the English dub he's voiced by Aaron Yamawaki and in the Latin Spanish dub he's voiced by Mauricio Pérez.
Appearances[]
- Season 1
- Season 2
- "001"
- "Six Legs"
- "One More Game"
- "O X"
- "Friend or Foe" (Death)
- Season 3
- "Keys and Knives" (mentioned/corpse)
- "The Starry Night" (indirectly mentioned)
- "222" (mentioned)
- "Humans Are..." (indirectly mentioned)
Gallery[]
Jung-bae talking to the unmasked Manager before going to the control room.
Jung-bae kills shoots another guard.
Promotional[]
.jpg "390(s2).jpg (32 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ Since the 37th Squid Game began directly after Seong Gi-hun met with the Front Man on October 31, the Special Game and ensuing revolt occurred on either November 3 or November 4, as the drone pilot was stated to have "disappeared" at around three in the morning, which occurred before the fight itself, although a manager stated it was on the previous night when announcing the results of the Special Game and revolt. The ensuing Revolt occurred directly after the Special Game.