Squid Game 3 characters as typical Singaporeans
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or in the Pink Soldiers’ dorm, you’d know that Squid Game 3 has finally dropped. While binge-watching the latest season, we couldn’t help but notice something oddly familiar about the characters. Nope, not because we’ve been in a death game ourselves, but because these personalities are basically the people we see every day in Singapore.
So, in the name of fun, we’ve matched the Squid Game 3 characters to common Singaporean archetypes. You may or may not see yourself on this list – don’t say we never warn you.
Note: spoilers ahead – proceed only if you’re okay with them.
Table of Contents
1. Gi-hun / Player 456
The taxi uncle with a past
Image credit: @netflixkr via Instagram
You’ve probably sat in his cab before. The radio’s playing old school hits, he’s humming along, and halfway through the ride, he starts sharing life advice you didn’t ask for. All you wanted was to stare out the window and doomscroll in peace, but now you’re lowkey invested in his life story that sounds like it belongs in a Channel 8 drama.
He most probably started a business with a friend when he was younger, only for it to fail. His wife left him not long after, and he was left to pick up the pieces for his children, who now barely talk to him. He gambled a bit, maybe more than a bit, just to feel like he still had some control over his life.
And just like Gi-hun (Player 456), all he had left was guilt and a long list of regrets. But also like Gi-hun, he’s trying – he still sends his children angbao money during CNY, just like how Gi-hun promised to protect Jun-hee’s (Player 222) newborn with his life.
He might not ever strike it big. No flashy job, no fancy condo. But he has a heart, and in this world, sometimes that’s all you need to keep going.
2. Myung-gi / Player 333
The failed start-up founder
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He was once “the next big thing” who raised funds from family and friends, promising a platform that would “change how Singaporeans invest”. But as with a lot of startups, hype outran reality. His personal life took a hit too, and he’s now trying to keep his head above water, paying off debts and rebuilding his reputation.
The baby Myung-gi (Player 333) had with Jun-hee in Squid Game 3 seemed like the symbol of a fresh start at first, but felt more like life handed him a boss fight he wasn’t emotionally equipped for.
Like Myung-gi, this guy’s in his flop era. He has lost the plot, the girl, and maybe even himself along the way – but there’s still that delulu part of him that believes he can turn things around.
Maybe, just maybe, he might need to ask himself if it’s time to walk away.
3. Dae-ho / Player 388
The guy who’s “all talk, no action”
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Every squad has that one friend who’s always hyping things up and acting like he’s got it together. He has opinions on everything and swears he would’ve handled things better if it were him. Dae-ho (Player 388) is basically him, personified.
As much as it’s annoying, you know he’s not a bad person. He probably means well and wants to be the brave one, until reality hits and he quietly melts into the background. Suddenly it’s “Eh, I got something on”. Sure you do, bro.
Still, you keep him around – he’s good for laughs, has zero malice, and TBH – most of us are just like him. All bark, no bite, but trying our best to keep up in a world that’s a little too much sometimes.
4. Hyun-ju / Player 120
The ah ma who always puts you first
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She’s the one who secretly slips you $10 when your parents aren’t looking. The one who says “Aiya, next time can try again lah” while hiding your report card behind a stack of newspapers.
You don’t live with her anymore, but somehow her house feels more like home than your own. The MILO tin is always full, your favourite snack is magically restocked, and there’s always hot porridge waiting if you so much as sneeze.
Similar to Hyun-ju (Player 120) in Squid Game 3, who instinctively stepped up to care for the elderly Geum-ja and pregnant Jun-hee, grandma is the quiet protector. When things go wrong, she’s the first to step in.
She hustled hard in her younger days and worked long hours to raise her kids, who now forget to reply in the family group chat. But she doesn’t hold it against anyone, because that’s who she is – the glue that holds everyone together, even when no one notices.
5. Yong-sik / Player 007
The black sheep child
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He’s the one who was always compared to his siblings growing up. Heard things like “Why can’t you be more like your brother?” or “Stop making your mother worry leh” on loop until it became background noise.
In Squid Game 3, Yong-sik (Player 007) is spiralling – not just from debt, but from the weight of constantly disappointing everyone, especially his mother. But under all the recklessness, we see something else: hesitation. In the hide-and-seek game, when he’s told to kill someone on the blue team to survive, he falters.
Yong-sik doesn’t have it in him to become fully cruel. His attack on Jun-hee wasn’t pure malice – it was panic, a last-ditch attempt to not go down first. And in a cruel twist, it’s his mother who has to stop him.
It’s a feeling a lot of black sheep kids know too well: trying to do better but never fast enough, never good enough.
6. Geum-ja / Player 149
The nosy office auntie
Image adapted from: @squidgamenetflix via Instagram
You know exactly who we’re talking about here. Before you can even say “hello,” she’s already sussed out that you went on leave for a breakup and not Bali. She knows who just got engaged, who got ghosted, and who’s “sick” but actually went for a job interview. She’ll also ask you personal questions and leave you mildly traumatised in the pantry.
For all her kaypoh energy, we know this auntie means well. Like Geum-ja (Player 149), she’s the mother hen of the workplace. She entered the game to save her son, Yong-sik, but somehow ended up fussing over everyone else too. Classic.
In the office, she’s the unofficial HR, life coach, and pantry surveillance unit rolled into one. Ask her where the scissors are, and somehow you’ll end up telling her your whole dating history. She might overshare and occasionally trauma-dump, but she’ll also force herbal tea on you when you look tired, text you home remedies when you’re sick, and sneak you the good snacks from her drawer.
7. Jun-hee / Player 222
The XMM you underestimated
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She’s the one you once called “blur” or “soft-spoken” during orientation camp – until life smacked her hard and she came out tougher than anyone expected. Like Jun-hee (Player 222), she trusted the wrong person, and now she’s the one picking up the pieces. Broke, pregnant, and just trying to survive – but you won’t catch her asking for pity.
Don’t be fooled by the XMM vibes. Behind the cute eyeliner and quiet voice is someone who’s juggling 3 part-time jobs, settling bills her family doesn’t know about, and showing up every day like she’s got nothing to hide.
You might have written her off at first. But when things go south, she’s the one holding it all together with more heart than most people twice her age.
8. Seon-nyeo / Player 044
The superstitious aunt
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She’s the reason you don’t dare sweep the floor during CNY or cut your nails at night because “Later attract bad luck how?” Okay, can.
Every morning at 6am sharp, she sends you the same image: a glittery sunrise with “Have a positive & prosperous day”. It’s followed by different links warning you not to take durian with alcohol.
Like Seon-nyeo (Player 044) in Squid Game 3, she’s intense. But unlike Seon-nyeo, her worst crime is flooding the family group chat with her superstitions and badly compressed good-luck memes.
9. Min-su / Player 125
The quiet nice guy who gets pushed around
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You’ve definitely worked with someone like him – the soft-spoken guy who says “can lah” even when his plate is overflowing. He gets cut off mid-sentence in meetings, volunteers to stay back when no one else will, and somehow always ends up with the short end of the stick.
Min-su (Player 125) joined Squid Game not out of greed. He got scammed in a dodgy rental deal and was just trying to get his life back together. But as the games progress and he sees the ones who cheated him still walking free, that quiet rage inside him starts to boil.
Still, he hesitates and overthinks – pretty much like the classic Singaporean who’s been taught to follow rules all his life. And maybe he doesn’t win and never learns to be cutthroat. But he walks away with his conscience intact, and if you ask us, that’s the bigger flex.
10. Nam-gyu / Player 124
The wannabe ah beng
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He’s not the real ah beng – just the one who hangs around them, laughs too loudly at their jokes, and throws shade at the quiet kid to earn brownie points. Just like Nam-gyu (Player 124), he learnt early that if you can’t be the boss, it’s best to leech off one.
And when the bigger dog leaves the room, like when Thanos gets eliminated, suddenly, he’s the loudest. It’s honestly giving backup dancer who thinks he’s the main act now.
Everyone else can tell he’s trying too hard. His so-called “confidence” is paper-thin, and deep down, he’s still that insecure guy who just wants to be liked. While you may roll your eyes at him, somewhere in that cringe is a tiny bit of pity – because maybe if someone had seen him earlier, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to be someone else.
11. The Front Man
The toxic boss
Image adapted from: @squidgamenetflix via Instagram
Ever had a boss who smiles during meetings and casually says, “Don’t worry, this is a safe space,” but the moment you speak up, suddenly you’re not on the next project? That’s The Front Man energy and a tell-tale sign of a toxic workplace right there.
He’s not the loud, table-slamming kind of boss, but the type who plays mind games. Once upon a time, he was one of us – hustling, struggling, and eating cai fan with 1 meat 2 veg. But now that he’s made it to the top, he’s forgotten what it was like to be on the losing side.
And while you might daydream about calling him out in front of everyone, the real win is making sure you never become that kind of leader.
12. Jun-ho
The friend who’s always lost
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You know the friend who’s always losing his keys, missing the MRT stop, or showing up late because he forgot where he was going? That’s just like Jun-ho, the well-meaning blur sotong.
Like Dora the Explorer but without the map, he’s forever searching for answers, directions, or just a clue on what’s going on. Sometimes he throws a wrench in your plans – not on purpose, just because he’s genuinely lost in his own world.
You can’t stay mad at him, though. I mean, just look at that face.
13. No-eul / Guard 011
The working mum
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Many working mums like No-eul (Guard 011) aren’t out here chasing dreams – they’re just trying to keep the household, their career, and their sanity from collapsing all at once. Her idea of “me time” is probably eating biscuits in the toilet while hiding from her kids.
People might think she’s cold or distant, but they don’t see her overcoming silent battles at work and at home, and still showing up for both.
In Squid Game 3, No-eul does whatever she can to help Gyeong-seok (Player 246) reunite with his daughter, because mums get it. To be fair, she could probably run the Squid Game better than The Front Man, but she’s too busy sorting her kid’s tuition schedule and defrosting chicken for dinner.
Which Squid Game 3 character do you relate to?
Image credit: @squidgamenetflix via Instagram
The Squid Game series might be over, but the characters – and their very human struggles – aren’t going anywhere. So, which one made you feel a little too seen? No shame – we’re all just trying to survive life’s daily elimination rounds.
More Squid Game-related content:
- Squid Game promos & deals in SG
- Squid Game 3 theories
- How jialat SG’s version of Squid Game would be
Cover image adapted from: @squidgamenetflix & @netflixkr via Instagram