'Squid Game 3' Star Jo Yu-ri Says She Didn't Know the Ending

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- In Netflix's "Squid Game" Season 3, while countless lives are lost, a new one is born. The character Jun-hee (played by Jo Yu-ri), who enters the deadly competition heavily pregnant, gives birth mid-game. After Jun-hee’s death, the newborn inherits her number — 222 — and becomes a participant in the game.

In a media interview held at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, Jo Yu-ri revealed that even she didn’t know the fate of her on-screen child until watching the final cut.

“As a mother, I was curious about what would happen to the baby, but I didn’t know the ending until the very end,” she said. “I watched Season 3 with bated breath, and only then did I finally find out the baby's fate.”

Despite playing a pivotal maternal role, Jo said the plot surrounding the child — who becomes a key figure in the season's climax — was kept under tight wraps. “That’s how secretive the story of ‘Squid Game 3’ was,” she said.

Jo was particularly struck by the chilling performance of Im Si-wan, who plays Myung-gi, the baby’s father and Jun-hee’s tormentor.

“I was speechless the first time I saw that scene,” she said. “He was so convincingly hateful — I was shocked as a mother and as a viewer.”

Though she has never experienced pregnancy or childbirth herself, Jo portrayed Jun-hee's journey with intensity and empathy.

“A friend told me that during labor, you go into a kind of trance — you don’t think, you just feel,” Jo explained. “I based my performance on that. Senior actress Kang Ae-sim (who plays Geum-ja) guided the scenes, and I gave it my all under her lead.”

In the series, Jun-hee relies more on Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) than on the baby’s father, Myung-gi.

“Initially, she may have hoped Myung-gi would come around,” Jo said, “but once he killed Hyeon-ju (played by Park Sung-hoon), all she could feel was disgust. Gi-hun, on the other hand, still seemed to have some humanity left, so she leaned on him emotionally.”

Jun-hee eventually entrusts her baby to Gi-hun and sacrifices herself in a jump rope game to protect them.

“She likely thought that if Gi-hun tried to save her, he might die,” Jo said. “So she made a realistic decision to increase the baby's chances of survival.”

Although Jo Yu-ri is best known to the public as a singer, she revealed that acting has always been her dream.

“I was in the theater club in high school and wanted to major in theater and film,” she said. “When I debuted as a singer, I couldn’t act, and that left me with a kind of thirst. During my solo career, I auditioned for dozens of roles, and my desire to act grew even stronger.”

That persistence paid off when she landed her role in "Squid Game 3", a performance that has been widely praised for its emotional depth and impact.

Jo is now preparing to return to her musical roots. She will release her third mini-album on July 14.

“I was so touched when international fans left comments like, ‘Wait, she sings too?’ or ‘Her voice is so nice,’” she said with a smile. “It’s been a long break as a singer, so I’m grateful to the fans who waited for me for two years. I participated in every track with a heart full of gratitude.”