Squid Game Season 2 Star Jo Yuri Talks Junhee’s Path, Toxic Exes, and Season 3 Hopes

Warning: Spoilers for Squid Game season 2 (‘오징어 게임 2’) ahead.

From the moment former IZ*ONE member Jo Yuri appears on screen during Squid Game season 2, you immediately know her character, Kim Junhee, is going through a lot. While her boyfriend Myunggi, portrayed by Run On‘s Im Siwan, is getting slapped by the mysterious salesman brought to life by Gong Yoo at Seoul’s Jonggak Station, Junhee is all alone in the waiting room of her OB-GYN. She calls Myunggi to no avail and her gaze says it all: she will do anything and everything in her hands to get out of this situation — and, serendipitously, what’s literally in her hands is an invite to the brutal survival games that took over pop culture in 2021.

After spending years in the spotlight as a K-pop idol — appearing on a variety of talent shows, racking up awards with IZ*ONE, and even launching a successful career as a soloist — Jo Yuri first ventured into acting in 2022 with the teen drama Mimicus. In it, she portrayed Oh Roshi, the youngest member of an idol group who returns to school to find herself and what she really wants in life. The perfect example of art imitating life, the glaring parallels between Oh Roshi and Jo Yuri are impossible to ignore. Squid Game 2, however, shows us Jo Yuri like we’ve never seen her before, with irreverence and disdain as Junhee’s native languages. Long gone are the pastel pink aesthetics, and, in their place, it’s blood, sweat, and tears with new faces, new games, and new challenges.

A couple of weeks before the long-anticipated premiere of Squid Game season 2, Teen Vogue sat down with Jo Yuri to chat about Junhee’s idiosyncrasies, dealing with a toxic ex, the scariest characters of the season, and her hopes for Squid Game season 3. Keep reading for it all.

Teen Vogue: Okay. So, first of all, I know that you started off in music first, and Squid Game is only your third role. When and why did you decide to go into acting?

Jo Yuri: I was very interested in acting ever since I was young. In high school, I joined the drama club and that’s where I started learning to act. Then when I was in IZ*ONE, I wanted to keep acting so I kept preparing to become an actress. So, I’d say it was a really natural transition and choice for me.

TV: I assume the competition was fierce for Squid Game. Can you tell me where and when were you when you learned you had gotten the role? Do you remember what your reaction was?

JY: So, it was actually a very long audition process. I had to talk a lot with the director [Hwang Donghyuk] before I was officially cast. When I first heard that I was actually part of the team, I was thrilled. It was such a big honor, and I couldn’t actually believe it at first.

TV: Can you share how long it actually was and your favorite memory from it all? If you were to forget everything, what’s one memory that you will keep?

JY: I think the whole audition process took about four or three months as a whole. Honestly, the most memorable moment was probably my third audition. That’s when they actually showed the script for season two for the very first time and it was, like, 30 minutes before I had to meet the director, so I had to skim it very quickly and do the acting right away. I was so desperate to get the role at that moment, so I can’t help but keep thinking of that moment.

TV: That sounds really stressful.

JY: It was. [Smiles.]