Seong Gi-hun

Seong Gi-hun
Squid Game character
Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game season 1
First appearance	"Red Light, Green Light" (2021)
Created by	Hwang Dong-hyuk
Portrayed by	Lee Jung-jae
Voiced by	Greg Chun (English)
In-universe information
Alias	Player 456
Occupation	Car factory worker (formerly) Chauffeur (formerly) Vigilante
Family	Unnamed mother Seong Ga-yeong (daughter)
Significant other	Unnamed ex-wife
Nationality	South Korean

Seong Gi-hun (Korean: 성기훈; [sʌŋɡihun] ^ⓘ), also known as Player 456, is a fictional character who is the protagonist of the Netflix series Squid Game. In the first season, he joined in a secret life-or-death contest consisting of six children's games where he competed with 455 other players for 45.6 billion South Korean won, after incurring significant debts from gambling and unemployment. During participation, he made allies with various other participants, including Ali Abdul, Cho Sang-woo, Kang Sae-byeok, and Oh Il-nam. He reappears in the second season, once again as its protagonist and a participant in the games who joins to end them.

Gi-hun was created by series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk and portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, who was cast out of a desire to affect his reputation as a cool actor and show the humanity behind his role. Gi-hun takes multiple aspects from Hwang's life, including his neighborhood, his childhood friend's name, aspects of his uncle, and his own struggles with gambling and failure. When designing his character for season 2, Hwang aimed to make him a Don Quixote–like character, revolting recklessly against the system. Lee found him to be the most "heartbreaking" character he has portrayed. He is voiced in the English dub by Greg Chun.

Gi-hun was well received as a character, with Lee winning multiple awards for his performance, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy. Critics discussed the parallels between his life and real-world problems in South Korea, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis. His season 2 portrayal was more mixed, with critics suggesting his character's actions were frustrating and didn't make sense. Despite these criticisms, Lee has been praised for shifting from a more lighthearted character to a darker one in the second season.