Cho Sang-woo

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Hero Overview Synopsis Gallery

Do-Gooder
Full Name	Cho Sang-woo (조상우)
Alias(es)	Player 218 The Pride of Ssangmun-dong (by Seong Gi-hun) Sang-woo-ya (by Gi-hun) Genius (by Gi-hun) Famous Prodigy (by Gi-hun) The Genius Cho Sang-woo of SNU (by Gi-hun) Babe/Older Brother ("Oppa") (by Han Mi-nyeo) Cool Guy/Mr. Brains (by Mi-nyeo) Leader/Captain (by Mi-nyeo) Sir/Boss ("Sajangnim") (by Ali Abdul) Older Brother ("Hyung") (by Ali) Older Brother Sang-woo ("Sang-woo Hyung") (by Ali)
Origin	Squid Game
Occupation	Student and Seong Gi-hun's classmate in elementary school (formerly) Student of Business Administration at Seoul National University (formerly) Valedictorian of SNU Business school (formerly) Leader of Team Two at Joy Investments (formerly) Investment banker Wanted white-collar criminal Player and Finalist of the 33rd Squid Game Co-Founder and De-Facto Leader of his team in the 33rd Squid Game
Powers / Skills	Genius-level intelligence Exceptional shrewdness Resourcefulness Vast knowledge of business administration Leadership Charisma Strategy Teamwork Manipulation Eloquence Combat prowess Reflexes
Hobby	Playing children's games with Gi-hun and their friends (formerly). Investing in the future market. Participating in the Squid Game. Playing.
Goals	Pay back his clients and prevent his mother's belongings from being taken (posthumously succeeded through Gi-hun). Win the Squid Game and return to his mother with the prize money (failed).
Family	Unnamed mother
Friends / Allies	His & Gi-hun's team Seong Gi-hun (childhood best friend) Ali Abdul † (close friend; formerly, indirect victim) Kang Sae-byeok † (formerly) Oh Il-nam † (indirect killer; unknowingly) Ji-yeong † Han Mi-nyeo † Player 276 † Player 196 † Player 244 † Player 017 † (situational ally; briefly, victim) 6 unnamed childhood friends (seen only in flashbacks)
Enemies	His clients (situational enemies) Korean police (situational enemies) Deok-su's gang Jang Deok-su † Player 278 † Player 040 † Player 303 † Player 413 † Player 113 † 10 Players of Team 5 † (situational enemies and victims) Seong Gi-hun (former rival; temporarily) Kang Sae-byeok † (situational enemy and victim)
Type of Hero	Tragic Pragmatic Genius

“	I'm alive right now because I tried damn hard to stay alive.	„
	~ Sang-woo to Seong Gi-hun.

“	Do you remember this place? We played Red Light, Green Light here. Everyone who stood here back then is dead now, except for you and me. We've... come too far to go back.	„
	~ Sang-woo to Gi-hun during the final game.

“	Sang-woo: When we were young, we used to play like this and our moms would call us in for dinner. But no one calls us anymore... Gi-hun: Let's go... Let's go home. Sang-woo: Gi-hun... I'm sorry... (...) Gi-hun... my mom... my mom...	„
	~ Sang-woo's last words to Gi-hun, asking him to take care of his mother.

Cho Sang-woo (Korean: 조상우), also referred to as Player 218, is the deuteragonist of the first season of the South Korean Netflix drama Squid Game. Sang-woo is Seong Gi-hun's childhood best friend and the former leader of an investment team at a securities company.

Being extremely intelligent, Sang-woo graduated as the top of his class at Seoul National University and became a successful businessman. However, after siphoning money off from his clients and failing upon investing it mostly in the future market, he became heavily indebted and wanted by the Korean police. Sang-woo accepted to join the 33rd Squid Game to win the crash prize, in order to pay his ₩6 billion debt and solve his financial problems, especially because they will also cause his mother's financial ruin.

Starting as Gi-hun's closest ally and teammate in the Squid Game, the two friends form a team to survive the games. Because of Sang-woo's more calculated and pragmatic ways to deal with the games, he eventually becomes an anti-villain near the end of the brutal competition for the ₩45.6 billion prize, turning into his friend's rival and final adversary in the games.

He was portrayed by Park Hae-soo, and by Park Si-won as a child. In the English dub, he was voiced by Stephen Fu, who also voices Seiji Shishikura from My Hero Academia.

Personality

“	If we leave now... will your wife come back to life? Will she forgive you for killing her? If you can't keep going, then why are you still alive? You should have died in her place. That's... not just the cost of your wife. It's the cost of everyone who died here. You want us to just leave that behind? You want us to leave and restart a shitty life from the rock bottom? With all this shitty guilt in our hearts? Are you ready to live like that? If you can, then go ahead and stand up! Get up and leave this place!	„
	~ Cho Sang-woo to Player 069 and the other surviving players about quitting the games.

Sang-woo is an extremely intelligent and rational individual who is determined to win the game. Although Sang-woo is strong-willed, his willingness usually causes him to exploit certain situations in his own favor, as he is fully aware that he will need to go extreme lengths in order to win. Sang-woo is someone who was exposed to an extreme level of competition even before the games, since in regular society, he became part of the elite as a successful student at the Seoul National University. Because of this, he is stoic, intellectual and reasonable, making decisions based on his odds of survival. Sang-woo is great at making cool-headed judgments and, being very intelligent, he can quickly come up with solutions to problems even under extreme situations, as seen when he saves his team during the Tug-of-War game. Sang-woo also does not fall for tricks easily and is capable of manipulating others, a skill he uses to favor himself during the fourth game.

Despite showing a cruel and self-serving side during the final few games, he is actually polite and not really heartless, as seen during most of the competition. This is shown as he helps Ali Abdul in Seoul and his teammates during the games, especially when the generous action will not bring any harm to his own life. According to the director of the series (Hwang Dong-hyuk) and Sang-woo's actor (Park Hae-soo), Sang-woo helping Ali in Seoul shows that he is not really cold-hearted, although there are two sides of his kindness. At the same time that Sang-woo feels sympathy and is considerate, he also wants to act as an elite due to his high social status, which makes him view himself as superior. Thus, despite not being insensitive, Sang-woo feels the obligation to do the morally right thing and help someone impoverished like Ali, because he still retains the "Noblesse oblige" spirit despite being broke. This shows that he is a sophisticated and proud person who is self-centered but also has a sense of responsibility and honor besides being sympathetic.

Sang-woo also truly loves his mother, as she is his entire reason for joining the Squid Game in the first place. His whole desperation to win the games is due to him needing the money to prevent his mother's possessions being taken after he used them as financial collateral in his failed investments. Because of the total failure after being constantly praised by everyone for his achievement as the top student of his class in Seoul National University, Sang-woo feels humiliated and frustrated with his own life. As result, he does not have the courage to return to his mother and tell her the truth of his current situation. After the games were interrupted by the majority vote, his frustration leads him to almost take his own life in his motel bathroom, before being offered another chance to rejoin the Squid Game. Sang-woo views the games as his last hope to pay his debts and save his mother from financial ruin. This goal is what motivates Sang-woo to go forward in the games at any cost, and he ultimately proves to be willing to die to ensure that it is accomplished.

During most of the games, Sang-woo acts as a good teammate. However, Sang-woo tries not to get attached to other players, knowing about the high chances of them dying, including by facing him during the games. Despite this, Sang-woo develops a close friendship and trust with Ali. Sang-woo is the one who frequently reassures and helps Ali, including explaining the rules of the Korean games to him, making Sang-woo gain Ali's respect and admiration. Sang-woo, in turn, not only recognizes Ali's physical strength but also grows fond of his sincerity, to the point that Sang-woo is happy when Ali agrees to call him "older brother" ("hyung") instead of "sir/boss" ("sajangnim"). Sang-woo later decides to team up with Ali during the Marbles game, believing that the two of them will be a great duo against other players. However, Sang-woo becomes stunned when he discovers that they have to face each other and one of them will die. Sang-woo initially plays fair with Ali and even teaches him the rules of the marble game, but as he realizes he is about to lose to his game partner, Sang-woo fears for his own life and for his mother. Despite caring about Ali, Sang-woo ultimately does what it takes to save his own skin, even manipulating Ali and letting him die to grant his own survival. Though it is shown that Sang-woo hesitates to leave the location of the Marbles game when he hears Ali calling out to him and is also visibly shaken as he hears the gunshot that ends Ali's life, showing that he is remorseful.

He also shares a very close and brotherly relationship since childhood with Seong Gi-hun, with Sang-woo always referring to him as "older brother" ("hyung"), making Gi-hun the closest one to Sang-woo among the players. While Gi-hun admires Sang-woo and constantly brags about his friend's intelligence and accomplishments, Sang-woo always seems uncomfortable hearing Gi-hun's compliments during the games. When Gi-hun tries to brag about Sang-woo while introducing him to Ali, Sang-woo cuts him off by simply telling Ali his name. Because he is frustrated with his life, Gi-hun's admiration seems to make Sang-woo recall the high expectations people had of him and how he failed them. Sang-woo's insecurities also make him feel jealous of Gi-hun's down-to-earth personality and other of his easy-going traits which he himself was never able to develop. Despite this, Sang-woo truly cares about his childhood best friend and enjoys his companionship. The two of them are seen teaming up for most of the games. Despite his group not officially having a leader, Sang-woo and Gi-hun usually act together as co-leaders, making all the decisions and planning for their team.

Despite prioritizing his own life in the competition, Sang-woo is also seen actively helping, being concerned and/or protective over Gi-hun several times. In the Red Light, Green Light game, Sang-woo helps Gi-hun when he sees his friend having difficulties and encourages him to move. In the second game, Sang-woo sees no reason to tell his guess about the game being Dalgona to the others, but he immediately becomes alarmed when Gi-hun chooses the hardest option, the umbrella, and even thinks about warning his friend. After hesitantly giving up on warning Gi-hun, Sang-woo remains anxious the entire time, even avoiding his friend's eyes as he leaves before Gi-hun from the location of the game. This anxiety only disappears when Sang-woo sees that Gi-hun ended up surviving the game, causing Sang-woo to sigh and smile in relief. As Jang Deok-su and his gang attack and murder the other contestants after the lights are out, Sang-woo actively protects Gi-hun from attackers and shows concern for him, asking if he is injured. Sang-woo also seems worried about his friend's well-being when he looks at a remorseful Gi-hun right after the Tug-of-War. During that same day, while their team takes turns sleeping to keep a watch at night, Sang-woo asks if his friend is okay when Gi-hun seems to have woken up from a nightmare. Following the Marbles game, Sang-woo tries to comfort Gi-hun about the supposed death of Oh Il-nam, saying that he only knew the old man in the games and points out to Player 069, who is in a worse situation as he had to play against his own wife (this statement also might imply that Sang-woo is telling himself the same to cope with his guilt for Ali's death). Following the fifth game, when the remaining glass tiles explode and its shards hit the surviving trio, Sang-woo looks behind him at Gi-hun, to see if his friend is hurt.

Even though he cares about Gi-hun, Sang-woo makes it clear that he will do almost anything to survive and win the prize. As the number of killed players increases, Sang-woo goes down a spiral, becoming more ruthless and disregarding others' lives to survive. At the same time, to ensure that the games are not interrupted again, he also makes sure other players don't start another vote to terminate the games, reminding them that they already came too far to stop. Sang-woo, however, recognizes the cost of the games and the guilt he and the other players feel for eliminating other contestants, especially their closest allies. As seen when he tells the widowed Player 069 and the other surviving players after the Marbles game, Sang-woo thinks that the choice to stop the games will make all previous deaths become meaningless. Sang-woo believes that if he and the other players return home without the money, they would have to face an even worse reality, in which their debts are not paid, and they will have to carry the guilt for the deaths in the competition for the rest of their miserable lives.

After Sang-woo kills Player 017 to complete the Glass Stepping Stones game within the time limit, Gi-hun, who has a naturally kind heart, becomes surprised and does not understand Sang-woo's decisions. This results in the two of them arguing because of their differences in approach to the games. While Gi-hun recognizes the importance of having others' help to advance in the games, Sang-woo considers his victories to be solely the result of his own efforts. Because of this, Sang-woo is willing to break alliances and get his hands dirty to move forward in the games, while Gi-hun isn't. Sang-woo thinks that he can only win by turning others into losers, while Gi-hun learned from experience that winners exist because of the losers. Although there is truth in both their arguments based on each of their personal experiences in the competition, the disagreement leads to the two friends falling out with each other. Sang-woo thinks that his friend's mindset makes him a frustrating person who is too naive and has no sense of reality. With this conflict, Sang-woo cuts all ties with Gi-hun and Kang Sae-byeok, and goes rogue in order to win.

Being very familiar with Gi-hun's kindness, Sang-woo later fears that Gi-hun will attempt to stop the games to help a mortally wounded Sae-byeok. This leads Sang-woo to kill the dying girl to prevent a possible vote from happening. After this murder, Sang-woo is briefly in a trance-like state, in which he stands paralyzed beside the girl's bed while staring at nothing and loosely holding his knife while his hand shakes, indicating that he is in shock because of his own terrible action. Sang-woo killing Sae-byeok further infuriates Gi-hun before their mortal confrontation in the final game. Sang-woo later tells Gi-hun that he knew that Sae-byeok was in pain and was going to die anyway, revealing he also sees this act as a mercy kill. And this is what he tells himself (and Gi-hun) to cope with his guilt for the girl's death.

When facing Gi-hun in the Squid Game, Sang-woo is willing to kill even his childhood best friend to win. However, upon being defeated, Sang-woo accepts his loss and completely gives up on killing Gi-hun. Despite having previously worked to prevent Gi-hun and the others to start a vote, Sang-woo becomes emotional seeing his friend trying to end the game so they both can survive and go home. Gi-hun's goodness towards Sang-woo makes him even tearfully recall how the two of them were once innocent and used to enjoy playing these games together in their childhood, during the time they formed their brotherly bond. When Gi-hun extends his hand to him, Sang-woo even hesitates and reaches out to take it, considering to accept the offer. Sang-woo ultimately acknowledges Gi-hun's kind-hearted nature by committing suicide instead, choosing to make his friend the winner of the games and refusing Gi-hun's offer that would make them both go home empty-handed only to save himself. He also doesn't take another chance to kill his friend, who had let his guard down while making the offer and reaching out to Sang-woo. His choice of not killing Gi-hun at this moment of vulnerability shows that he decides to kill himself out of genuine affection and care not only for his mother but also for his friend. Sang-woo sacrifices himself so that Gi-hun can be the one to win all the prize money, trusting that his friend will support his mother after his death.

Good and Heroic Deeds

• Upon seeing Seong Gi-hun paralized on the ground during the first game, he told his friend how to survive the game and encouraged him to move. After crossing the finish line, he looked back at Gi-hun to see if his friend was going to make it in time.
• Spoke for the players begging the staff to let them go and proposed the vote to terminate the games. Although he later changed his mind and voted for the games to continue, the first action is what allowed all the players to go home. As result, 14 players didn't rejoin the games and are presumably alive, so Sang-woo in way saved them.
• Bought ramyeon for Ali Abdul, then lended his phone to him. Later, he also offered money for Ali to take a bus from Seoul to Ansan.
• According to his mother, he would always bring gifts for her from his business trips.
• Rejoined the games, choosing to risk his own life to pay back his clients and save his mother from financial ruin.
• Reassured Ali, who was upset for not knowing any of the Korean children's games, telling him that children's games are simple and that the team would explain him if he didn't know.
• Gave his breakfast to Ali in "The Man with the Umbrella".
• Tried to warn Gi-hun about the Dalgona (Sugar Honeycombs) game, although he failed. Later was relieved upon seeing that Gi-hun survived.
• As Player 271 was being beaten by the gangster Jang Deok-su, Sang-woo seems to have protected Gi-hun by stopping him from intervening in the confrontation. While Deok-su moves away from 271, Sang-woo is seen with his hand raised in front of Gi-hun.
• Right after Player 271 was beaten by Deok-su, Sang-woo approached the player with the intention to help. He tried to wake him up, before realizing that the player was dead.
• Advised his team to stay awake after the lights out for them to survive the attack from Deok-su's group.
• Saved Gi-hun from attackers twice during the special game, defending him from Player 413 and then from Player 113. He also showed concern for Gi-hun and asked him if he was injured.
• Helped his team to protect Kang Sae-byeok from Deok-su's group during the special game, including saving Sae-byeok from Player 303, who was attacking her.
• Saved his team when they were about to lose during the Tug-of-War.
• Showed concern for Gi-hun when his friend was feeling remorse right after the Tug-of-War in "A Fair Word". During the night, when Gi-hun seemed to have a nightmare, Sang-woo also asked if his friend was okay.
• When Han Mi-nyeo mistreated Ali for being an immigrant and addressed Sang-woo as the leader to have Ali kicked off the team, Sang-woo defended Ali, saying that everyone in their team is equal.
• Along with Gi-hun, devised a plan for his team to survive another possible attack from Deok-su's group after lights out in "A Fair Word".
• Shared the corn he received from Ali with him.
• Allowed Ali to call him "older brother" ("hyung") instead of "sir/boss" ("sajangnim").
• Tried to encourage Ali that the two of them would win together as they entered the location of the fourth game. He then became shocked upon hearing that he and Ali would have to play against each other.
• Initially tried to play a fair and a simple guess game with Ali, who told him he never played marbles before. Also explained this game to Ali, as he did not know the difference between even and odd numbers.
• Hesitated to leave Ali behind in the location of the fourth game, with him being consequentially shot to death after being betrayed. Sang-woo keeps going, even though feels guilty.
• Tried to comfort Gi-hun when he was mourning Oh Il-nam's supposed death in "VIPs".
• Although he pushes Player 017 to his death to complete the fifth game in time, this action saves not only himself but also Gi-hun and Sae-byeok who were behind him. As the time was almost running out, if Sang-woo hadn't done that, they would all have died when the remaining glass tiles exploded.
• Upon being hurt by exploding glass after the fifth game, Sang-woo immediately looked behind him at Gi-hun, to see if his friend was injured. Although he only showed concern for Gi-hun, and neither men noticed Sae-byeok looking at herself in horror behind them as she was mortally hurt by the glass.
• Accepted defeat and chose to kill himself, allowing Gi-hun both to win the competition and gain the money to help his mother, in a moment where he could have easily killed Gi-hun to become the winner, or simply accepted Gi-hun's offer to stop the game just to spare his own life.

Relationships

Family

• Mother

Allies

• 6 Childhood Friends
• His & Gi-hun's Team - Teammates
  • Seong Gi-hun - Childhood Best Friend and De-Facto Co-Leadership Partner; formerly temporarily turned Rival, Attempted Killer and Attempted Victim
  • Oh Il-nam † - Kidnapper and Indirect Killer (both unknowingly)
  • Ji-yeong †
  • Han Mi-nyeo †
  • Player 276 †
  • Player 196 †
  • Player 244 †

Former Allies

• Ali Abdul † - Teammate and Close Friend turned Indirect Victim
• Player 017/Do Jung-soo † - Situational Ally turned Victim
• Kang Sae-byeok † - Teammate turned Situational Enemy and Victim

Enemies

• Clients - Situational Enemies
• Korean Police - Situational Enemies
• Deok-su's Gang - Rival Team
  • Jang Deok-su †
  • Player 278 †
  • Player 040 †
  • Player 303 †
• Player 413 †
• Player 113 †
• 10 Players of Team 5 † – Situational Enemies, Attempted Killers and Victims

Squid Game Result

Event	Participated ?	Opponent	Time Finished (time left on the clock)	Survived ?	Notes
Game 1: Red Light, Green Light (Time Limit: 5 minutes)	Yes	-	Around 20 seconds left	Yes	Hid behind other players; told Seong Gi-hun to do the same
Players' Vote	Yes	-	-	-	Voted for the games to continue
Game 2: Dalgona (Sugar Honeycombs) (Time Limit: 10 minutes)	Yes	-	Around 3 minutes left	Yes	Guessed the game before its reveal; picked the triangle shape
Special Game	Yes	Any attackers; Jang Deok-su's gang	-	Yes	Protected Gi-hun and later Kang Sae-byeok; defended his team
Game 3: Tug-of-War	Yes	Team 5	-	Yes	Played with Team 4; placed at the front of the team, behind Gi-hun; his strategy saved his team
Game 4: Marbles (Time Limit: 30 minutes)	Yes	Ali Abdul	Around 3 minutes left	Yes	Played a guessing game; later played a mind game
Game 5: Glass Stepping Stones (Time Limit: 16 minutes)	Yes	-	Around 10 seconds left	Yes	Picked number 14
Game 6: Squid Game	Yes	Seong Gi-hun	-	No	Played defense and was beaten; Gi-hun refused to claim victory and tried a vote, so Sang-woo committed suicide for Gi-hun to win
Final Result: 2nd Place in the 33rd Squid Game

Quotes

“	Sang-woo: Gi-hun! Do you know why your life is so pathetic? Because you ask such dumb questions even in this kind of situation. Because you're such a nosy-ass idiot who's freaking slow, and always have to get into trouble to know it's trouble. Gi-hun: Sure. It's all my fault I ended up like this. I'm slow and incompetent. I'm a nosy dimwit who lives off the back of his old mother. But why is the pride of Ssangmun-dong, the genius Cho Sang-woo of SNU, here? Rolling around in this shithole with a dimwit like me. Is that also my fault?	„
	~ Gi-hun and Sang-woo's argument after the fifth game.

“	Sang-woo: She was going to die anyway. I just ended her pain quickly. Gi-hun: Don't give me that bullshit. She was alive, and could've been saved. Sang-woo: That's why I killed her. Because I know how you are. Because you would've given everything up just to save her. Gi-hun: Was that it? Were you afraid I'd give up? Sang-woo: That's right! Because if you two gave up, it would've been all over! I'd have to leave here without a penny! Gi-hun: If it hadn't been for her, I would've killed you with this knife. You... will never leave here with that money.	„
	~ Sang-woo and Gi-hun's final conversation before their fight in the last game.

“	Gi-hun: Let's go... Let's go home. Sang-woo: Gi-hun... I'm sorry... Gi-hun: Sang-woo! Sang-woo... Sang-woo: Gi-hun... Gi-hun: No, Sang-woo. Don't talk. Sang-woo... Sang-woo: My mom... my mom... Gi-hun: No. Don't. Sang-woo, no... Sang-woo...	„
	~ Sang-woo's final moments and dying words to Gi-hun.

Trivia

• The actual translation of his name is (or is supposed to be) Sang-woo Cho.
• In the first episode, it is stated that his age is 46. As one year is added after birth in the Korean age, this places his birth in 1975.
• Sang-woo's ₩6 billion debt converted to U.S. dollars is around $5 million.
• Hwang Dong-hyuk (the director of the series) explained that Sang-woo and Gi-hun were named after two of his friends in real life and are two sides of himself: Similar to Gi-hun, he was raised in Ssangmun-dong by a single mother in a financially troubled environment; similar to Sang-woo, he went to Seoul National University and his entire neighbourhood praised him and had high expectations of him.
• Part of the casting of Sang-woo and Gi-hun in the series was to make the two characters look like fraternal twins because Hwang Dong-hyuk wanted them to emulate this relationship. Dong-hyuk said that this relationship expresses the journey of the two characters, explaining that fraternal twins are from the same mother, but look different just like Gi-hun and Sang-woo. They share memories, play and grow up together, but they eventually go on different paths; Sang-woo was on the track of success and Gi-hun was on the track of failure, however, they later meet in the games because in an extremely competitive society anyone can end up with the same outcome in life.
  • Lee Jung-jae (Gi-hun's actor) also describes Gi-hun and Sang-woo's relationship as "not [biologically] related but still close."
• Hwang Dong-hyuk explained that he picked number 218 for Sang-woo in the games, because he wanted a number along the middle out of the 456 to have the character as the person who twists the balance during the vote in the second episode. He chose to end his number with "18" because in Korean it reads like a curse word (translated as "oh f***") and he wanted to convey the way Sang-woo feels about life. He also had Sang-woo say this curse word to Gi-hun during their argument in the eighth episode.

• Hwang Dong-hyuk explained that in the second game, Sang-woo was not 100% sure that the game was Dalgona while looking at the shapes on the doors. This is because the shapes on the doors had the circle separated from the triangle, while during Sang-woo's childhood, the triangle and the circle were part of the same shape (which is seen when Sang-woo recognizes the Dalgona shapes). Because of this, Sang-woo felt about 80% to 90% certain that the game would be Dalgona, but as he was not completely sure, this also gave him a bit of an excuse to give up on telling Gi-hun not to pick the umbrella.
  • Further explaining this scene, Dong-hyuk says that Sang-woo didn't have a reason to guide all his four teammates to pick the easiest shape because saving everyone is not necessarily his goal, as some will have to fail in a survival game.
• Park Hae-soo (Sang-woo's actor) describes the character as having a duality within him like there is in everybody and thinks that Sang-woo is just a very common everyman that had his irony exposed to the extreme. Hae-soo explains that he and Hwang Dong-hyuk did not approach the character as "good or evil", or as a "hero or villain", instead they think that Sang-woo is an extremely reasonable individual. Because of this, Hae-soo disagrees with fans who say that his character is devilish, because he thinks Sang-woo is just someone who tries to make the best decision in a given circumstance.
• Park Hae-soo also said that he didn't feel any difference between himself and his character while filming the series, which made him feel as if he wasn't acting.
• In an interview, when asked who is the most memorable character of the series, Wi Ha-joon (Jun-ho's actor) and Anupam Tripathi (Ali's actor) both replied Sang-woo: Wi Ha-joon said that Sang-woo is the most realistic character and, in his position, he would have done the same; Anupam Tripathi said he admires Sang-woo's determination to keep going despite of everything.
• Anupam Tripathi explained that he doesn't see what Sang-woo did to Ali in the Marbles game as betrayal. Instead, Tripathi saw it like what a practical person can do in extreme situations.
  • Anupam Tripathi also said that he would have trusted in Sang-woo if he was in Ali's place in the Marbles game, because Sang-woo had helped him survive in the competition until that point and they had become close friends. Tripathi also feels that Ali is just innocent and doesn't think that he was stupid for believing in Sang-woo.
  • In interviews, Anupam Tripathi and Park Hae-soo both compared Ali and Sang-woo's close relationship in the show to their friendship in real life. Hae-soo said that Ali is his "soulmate" within the series and also in real life.
• Considering the times Sang-woo is concerned and/or protective over Gi-hun throughout the games, it is likely that he pushed Player 017 during the fifth game to ensure not only his own safety, but also Gi-hun's, who was at the back for picking the last number. Sang-woo pushes 017 and gets to the platform with 10 seconds left, leaving enough time for Sae-byeok and Gi-hun to follow him, instead of stalling to prevent them to get to safety. While arguing with Gi-hun about 017's death, this might be what Sang-woo also meant when he says that Gi-hun should be grateful that he got his hands dirty for him. Sang-woo's anger during their argument is implied to be due to him becoming hurt that Gi-hun is questioning what he did, as Sang-woo's ruthless action did save both Sae-byeok and Gi-hun, who were behind him during the fifth game.
• Hwang Dong-hyuk explains that Gi-hun's attempt to save Sae-byeok is ultimately what gets her killed. Gi-hun banging on the doors and screaming for help ends up waking Sang-woo up. Seeing Gi-hun's desperation, Sang-woo thinks he might give up on the games, causing Sang-woo to kill Sae-byeok to stop it from happening.
  • Similarly, Dong-hyuk explained that Sae-byeok's decision to stop Gi-hun from killing Sang-woo in his sleep contributed to her final fate. He says that Sae-byeok saved Sang-woo's life by stopping Gi-hun, but this ironically resulted in her being betrayed and killed by Sang-woo right after.
  • Although Sang-woo kills Sae-byeok to prevent her and Gi-hun from stopping the games, Sae-byeok is one of three main characters (besides Sang-woo and Han Mi-nyeo) who voted against the termination of the games during the first vote and there is no indication that this would have changed with a new vote near the end of the games. Sae-byeok was willing to risk her life from the beginning and even after being mortally injured, she didn't seek anyone's help and insisted that Gi-hun promise to take care of her brother as if she was already expecting to die soon. This would make Sang-woo's action a result of paranoia for not knowing Sae-byeok very well. On the other hand, this shows that Sang-woo knows Gi-hun very well, as he is in fact correct that Gi-hun would attempt a vote, which ironically happens when his friend tries to do it to save Sang-woo's life in the final game.

External Links

• Cho Sang-woo on the Villains Wiki
• Cho Sang-woo on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
• Cho Sang-woo on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
• Cho Sang-woo on the Squid Game Wiki