00:00Now, with the show that everyone's talking about, it's called Squid Game.
00:04Have you seen Squid Game?
00:05Is the question everyone is asking these days.
00:08Could become the streaming service's biggest non-English language show in the world.
00:13Followed by gushing about how good it is, especially with the breakout star, number 67.
00:19Why is it so popular? Here's why.
00:21Everyone has been raving about the character and the actress, Ho-yeon Jung's acting.
00:26The charismatic actress was originally a model from South Korea who was very hesitant to take the role.
00:32Good thing she did, though, right?
00:34See you on Netflix.
00:36Squid Game has become Netflix's top TV show in 83 countries worldwide,
00:41on its way to becoming the streaming platform's biggest show ever.
00:44It's all anyone is talking about these days.
00:47It is a phenomenon. Squid Game has a rare 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
00:52The worldwide fame has landed the stars a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
00:57While all the actors have gained tremendous amounts of fame internationally,
01:01no one compares to the actress who plays, number 67, Ho-yeon Jung.
01:05She has become the most-followed South Korean actress on Instagram with over 13.8 million followers.
01:11Since the show's release last month,
01:13the actress has seen her Instagram following count rise from around 400,000 to 13.8 million and counting.
01:20She overtook veteran actress Sung-hae Kyo of Descendants of the Sun fame,
01:24who currently has 12 million,
01:26and Lee Sung-kyung, who has 12.9 million followers.
01:30Meanwhile, fellow Squid Game co-stars Lee Jung-jae,
01:33who plays the main character, number 456,
01:36and Parkhae Soo, who plays the main character's childhood friend, number 218,
01:40have recently started their own Instagram accounts.
01:43Fans have since speculated that Ho-yeon had encouraged the actors to start their own Instagram accounts,
01:48after she commented on their posts shortly after they had uploaded their first.
01:52Yes, she wrote on Lee's post, alongside a series of applause and thumbs-up emojis.
01:57The actress has also commented, finally, on Parkhae's first post with a heart emoji.
02:02While she gets along with her co-stars in real life,
02:04her character in Squid Game wasn't too keen to be friendly.
02:07She plays Kang Sae-byeok, a North Korean defector,
02:10who plays the game to pay for a broker to find and retrieve her surviving family members,
02:14who are still across the border.
02:16Her story broke our hearts, but luckily, her real-life story is much happier.
02:21But of course, not without its ups and downs.
02:23Ho-yeon has said she relates to the character she plays.
02:26For the role, the model-turned-actress prepared by watching documentaries about refugees from North Korea.
02:32She practiced speaking in a North Korean accent with a teacher and studied a lot.
02:36She was able to relate to her character because she left South Korea to further her modeling career overseas.
02:42More than anything, I think I was able to accept Sae-byeok without any big difficulties because I am similar to her.
02:48In 2016, I left Korea to further my modeling career overseas, and I spent a lot of time alone.
02:54At the time, the emotion that I felt the most was loneliness.
02:57That feeling of loneliness while trying to persevere and live isn't all that different, she told W Korea.
03:03Born in Seoul, South Korea in June of 1994,
03:06she started modeling at the young age of 16 in 2013 and found some work during Seoul Fashion Week.
03:12She went on to appear in the fourth season of Korea's Next Top Model, where she bagged second place.
03:17She started off modeling in her home country before making an international debut.
03:21But moving was worth it.
03:23She made her international modeling debut in 2016 after she dyed her hair red.
03:27The fiery color became her signature and made her stand out.
03:31According to Models.com, her first major international runway was for opening ceremony's Spring 2017 show during New York Fashion Week.
03:39A few days later, Jung would also walk for Marc Jacobs,
03:42then appeared in Milan later that month in shows for Alberta Ferretti and Fendi,
03:46and made her Paris debut as an exclusive for Louis Vuitton.
03:50W named her one of the Top 10 Breakout Models at the end of 2016.
03:54Hi, I'm Ho Young. I'm gonna show you my skincare and my makeup.
03:58She soon began appearing in Western fashion magazines and booked major fashion campaigns,
04:03such as for Louis Vuitton pre-fall 2017.
04:06Her career continued to thrive over the next few years.
04:09She'd go on to walk for Jean-Paul Gaultier, Chanel Haute Couture, Roberto Cavalli, and Bottega Veneta, amongst several others.
04:16All the while, Jung became known for her killer model-off-duty street style and became a favorite of street style photographers.
04:23She has also appeared on the cover of Vogue Korea, Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book, and Harper's Bazaar Korea.
04:30With the success of her modeling career, Ho Young wanted to try acting.
04:34In an interview with W Korea, she said,
04:36She later affirmed her desire to be an actress in an interview with Models.com, revealing that she wanted to be known as an actor.
04:55She also said she was interested in the action genre, and could see herself in works like Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
05:05In an interview with W Korea, Jung revealed her reaction to learning that she had been cast in the show.
05:10When my CEO told me I'd been casted, the first thing I said was,
05:13Can you believe her scene-stealing performance in Squid Game was her first acting job and her first audition?
05:26The actress went on to reveal that she had auditioned in January of 2020 for her role in Squid Game just a month after transferring to her current acting agency.
05:35As a new transfer, she thought they would train her before putting her to work.
05:39However, by February, a group chat including her and her CEO was created.
05:43And he gave her the Squid Game script and told her to film and send in an audition video.
05:47At the time, she was in New York for New York Fashion Week.
05:50After the show's success, she's bound to get more jobs.
05:53Of course, her newfound level of fame also likely means her former fashion clients will soon come calling again.
06:00Maybe next time she'll find herself in the front row instead.
06:03She may have wanted to try acting as her significant other, Lee Dong-hui, is an actor too.
06:08The two have been dating for six years.
06:10Ho-yeon and Dong-hui confirmed their relationship publicly in January of 2016.
06:15She revealed that Lee Dong-hui was proud of her success.
06:18She called him a good senior, a good friend, and a good person in general.
06:21She also thanked Blackpink's Jennie, who supported her throughout her journey as a new actress and congratulated her on her popularity.
06:28Jennie was known for sending a coffee truck to the set of Squid Game and visited Ho-yeon to cheer her up.
06:33Jennie is always there on the list of people I'm grateful for while acting in Squid Game.
06:37She congratulated me so happily, as if my joys were also her own, that I wondered how such an angel could exist, Ho-yeon said.
06:44For her support, Blackpink's Jennie made a cameo in the show, but not in the way you might expect.
06:48Her name appears in the show's credits under the section of Special Thanks.
06:52Jennie's food truck message for the model turned actor said,
06:55With all this support, it's no wonder Ho-yeon was able to put on such an amazing performance.
07:04Although Season 2 of Squid Game is not confirmed, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety he's exploring options.
07:11It's most likely that in the second season, they would explore the story of the front man.
07:15Unfortunately, Ho-yeon is unlikely to appear in Season 2, if there is a Season 2, but she said playing her character changed her outlook on life.
07:23She said to The Times,
07:25I used to be a person who focused on personal benefit, but after playing this character who puts her family before herself and seeing her life hold a lot of meaning,
07:33I'd like to trust people more and help them out.
07:35The most powerful lesson I learned was to have faith in humanity.
07:39Bye, guys!
07:40Ho-yeon Jung is grateful for all the international support the series has given her.
07:45Even with her newfound success, she stays humble and continues to show gratitude towards her fans and those who have supported her.
07:51Have you seen Squid Game? What do you think about Ho-yeon Jung's acting and her future career in the business?
07:56Let us know what you think in the comments.
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