Who Is Hoyeon Jung Dating? 5 Facts You Need To Know About The “Squid Game” Actress
She’s besties with BLACKPINK’s Jennie, too!
The newest Korean survival TV series “Squid Game” has been the talk of the town since its release on Netflix on September 17. It tells the story of 456 individuals who found themselves playing a deadly game of chance in a desperate act to win 45.6 billion Korean won, which may be the only way to pay off their debts in the outside world.
The nine-episode series stars Lee Jung Jae, Park Hae Soo, Wi Ha Joon, and Korea’s It Girl, Hoyeon Jung.
The show’s disturbing premise aside, the Internet has taken notice of Hoyeon and loving Kang Sae-byok, Hoyeon’s character in the show, who wishes to use the prize money to reunite her family.
simping over this hoyeon-jung aka. sae byeok from netflix "squid game" dang she's so pretty ? pic.twitter.com/lCofvDUDOG
— ara’ (@kdramapuffy) September 19, 2021
i guess i'm inlove.#hoyeonjung pic.twitter.com/PA5wjGsytd
— . (@vnzziee) September 19, 2021
After “Squid Game,” there’s no doubt we’ll see Hoyeon in more projects! But did you know that she’s actually been in the industry for years now—and famous, at that? Yup, here are 5 things you should know about her!
She started modeling at age 16
ICYDK, Hoyeon has been modeling for years even before she appeared on “Squid Game.” Now 27, she started at the age of 16 and attended several castings for modeling agencies. She later joined ESteem Models in 2012.
“I thought to myself, What should I do for a living so that I can keep feeding myself?” Hoyeon shared in a 2015 interview with Vogue. “And I thought, oh, I’m tall, so why not give modeling a try?”
She joined Korea’s Next Top Model Season 4
Not long after she signed with ESteem Models, she joined the fourth season of Korean reality TV show Korea’s Next Top Model, where she placed second. This experience put Hoyeon on the map and paved the way for several opportunities to come knocking on her door.
Since then, she has walked for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Max Mara, and has graced the covers of Harper’s Bazaar Korea, Dazed & Confused Korea, and Vogue Korea. Today, she’s part of the Top 50 fashion models list by models.com.
She’s dating “Reply 1988” actor Lee Dong Hwi
Hoyeon’s IRL leading man is none other than “Reply 1988’s” Ryu Dong-ryong! The two have been dating since 2015, but their relationship was only made public a year later.
The 36-year-old actor’s agency, Shim Entertainment, confirmed that both parties are in a “good relationship.”
“After checking in personally with the parties involved, it is true that Lee Dong Hwi and Jung Ho Yeon are dating. As it is his personal life, we don’t know the details but they are in a good relationship. Please watch over them,” the 2016 report revealed.
Dong Hwi was still filming “Reply 1998” when the news broke, but he “didn’t want to lie about his personal relationships,” according to the agency.
She’s bffs with Jennie from BLACKPINK
Instagram went crazy after Hoyeon posted a photo of her and BLACKPINK’s Jennie at the set of “Squid Game”! Apparently, the singer is close friends with the model-turned-actress, and even sent a coffee truck to the show’s set. They’re so cute!
Squid Game was her acting debut
Yup, “Squid Game” is actually Hoyeon’s first acting gig. And she’s perfect for the role! She auditioned for Kang Sae-byok’s character just a month after her transfer to her current acting agency.
“Last January, I moved to my current acting agency, and at that time I thought that they would train me to a certain extent before putting me to work,” she shared in an interview with W Korea.
“However, by February, a group chat including our CEO was created, and he gave me the Squid Game script and told me to film and send in an audition video. I was in New York for New York Fashion Week at the time!”
She immediately sent her audition tape and landed the role. Hoyeon says that she can relate with her character, as she also left Korea at a young age to fulfill her dreams.
“More than anything, I think I was able to accept [the character] Sae-byeok without any big difficulties because I am similar to her. In 2016, I left Korea to further my modelling career overseas, and I spent a lot of time alone. At the time, the emotion that I felt the most was ‘loneliness’… That feeling of loneliness while trying to persevere and live isn’t all that different.”
Watch Squid Game on Netflix.
