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| “ | Player 456. Did you have fun playing the hero? Look closely at the consequences of your little hero game. | „ |
| ~ Front Man to Gi-hun before killing Jung-bae at the end of Season 2. |
Hwang In-ho (황인호 in Korean; born on February 2nd, 1976), better known as the Front Man, is the main antagonist of the Korean survival drama Squid Game. He is the masked leader and administrator of a clandestine competition in which 456 financially struggling participants engage in lethal versions of children's games, competing for a large cash reward.
Background[]
In-ho oversees the games' operation, commands the masked men, and enforces a strict set of rules based on a dogma of "fairness" and survival of the fittest. Any participants or guards who break protocols face death as a consequence. He also caters to The VIPs, who are wealthy spectators placing wagers on the contestants' fates.
Before his leadership, In-ho participated as Player 132 in Oh Il-nam's 2015 games. He was looking to pay for his pregnant's wife liver transplant, but she died before he could save her. Upon winning, the now disillusioned and cynical In-ho was promoted to the Front Man position and became Il-nam's right-hand. His sudden disappearance in 2020 prompted his brother Jun-ho, a detective, to investigate. Their eventual confrontation resulted in a baffled Jun-ho being shot and falling into the sea without proper explanation, though he survived and was later rescued at In-ho's command.
In the 2024 Squid Game, In-ho assumed the identity of Player 001, using the alias Oh Young-il. He joined the team of Seong Gi-hun, the psychologically scarred victor of the 33rd games who returned to dismantle the organization. While pretending to be an ally, In-ho studied Gi-hun's psychology and covertly worked to thwart his attempts to expose and end the games.
He is portrayed by Lee Byung-hun.
Personality[]
- “Whether you sell off organs from the dead, or devour them, I don't give a damn. However, you ruined the most crucial element of this place: equality. Everyone is equal in these games. Players get to compete in a fair game under the same conditions. These people suffered from inequality and discrimination out in the world, and we offer them one last chance to fight on equal footing and win. But you have broken that principle.”
- ―The Front Man to a soldier, before executing him for violating the rules of the Squid Game.
In-ho maintains strict discipline and control over the games, immediately executing those who violate rules or disrupt the proceedings as he wishes to carry them. He rationalizes the games as a unique opportunity for equality, where participants compete under uniform conditions after experiencing discrimination and inequality in society; he claims that they have a "chance" here on equal footing, and thus, it cannot be interfered with in the slightest, lest he risk the principles he seeks to ingrain within the organization. However, despite his "code" or surface-level integrity, he simultaneously draws a callous parallel between The VIPs sadistic spectation of the players to betting on horse races when explaining the scenario to Gi-hun.
In-ho is absolutely and uncompromisingly intolerant of any threat to the games' egalitarian structure, eliminating both players and masked workers who hurt the system's integrity. He places tremendous importance on maintaining the games' secrecy; when one masked manager inadvertently reveals his identity to a player, he is immediately executed with the blunt reminder of, "Once they find out who you are, you die," to the other soldiers. While ruthless, he remains sophisticatedly polite and shows genuine respect for his superiors, including the Host and the VIPs (though he appears to dislike the crudeness of the latter group).
Towards Gi-hun, he even displays respect, congratulating him on winning and unexpectedly advising him to treat the experience like a distant nightmare, suggesting an understanding of the potential psychological trauma of his experiences. He seems to view Gi-hun as a glimmer of hope in humanity and perhaps a reflection of himself before he became the Front Man. However, during Gi-hun's rebellion, he poses as a team ally while orchestrating its failure - it was perfectly possible for him to suppress it without intentionally drawing it out, but he does so in order to prove his "point" to Gi-hun about the futility of his "hero game." Thus, while the Front Man harbors some consideration towards his archenemy, he is ultimately a pawn to be manipulated by him. That said, while playing as a contestant, he does seem to enjoy his experiences with his team.
Family holds significant emotional importance for In-ho, particularly his relationship with his brother. He previously donated a kidney to Jun-ho and goes to extraordinary lengths to protect him, even breaking the games' secrecy by revealing his own identity to him when Jun-ho discovers him and the island. Upon Jun-ho's rejection, he deliberately shoots him non-fatally and rescues him from the water that he fell into, a deviation from his typically cold and lethal approach. He feels remorse and emotional turmoil over doing so. Before shooting him, he did his best to have Jun-ho follow his lead, and the insistence that he would die otherwise proved a lie, implicitly because the Front Man could not do such a thing to his brother.
The loss of his pregnant wife also left In-ho disillusioned, which is the root of his cynical and hopeless view of humanity. During the 36th Squid Game, he appears to show true compassion to pregnant contestant Kim Jun-hee, likely triggered by memories of his own wife. He also protects Jun-hee's partner from Thanos and Nam-gyu, and he even demonstrates restraint when confronted by sparing them despite having the opportunity for elimination.
Role in the Series[]
Season 1[]
Season 2[]
Relationships[]
Trivia[]
- The Front Man is left-handed.
External Links[]
- Front Man on the Squid Game Wiki
- Front Man on the Villains Wiki