Is Sae Byeok alive in Squid Game?

Sae-byeok dies in the 8th episode of Squid Game.

Squid Game is a South Korean survival thriller show on Netflix, directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show became Netflix's most-watched series within its first four weeks of release. The show highlights human psychology, humanity, and the lengths people will go to for money and survival. The cast of the show includes Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Park Hae-soo, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Kim Joo-ryoung, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, etc.

The show follows 456 contestants who accept the offer to participate in children's games for a chance to win big prize money. Things turn chaotic when it turns out to be a deadly survival game. Each contestant had a backstory that explained why they joined the game. Some of these backstories stood out and added depth to the storyline, and among them is Kang Sae-byeok, also known as Player 067, who became a fan favorite because of her personality and emotional background. The audience was devastated by the tragic end of her character. Let's take a look at what happened to Sae-byeok at the end of the season.

Is Sae-byeok alive in Squid Game?

At the end of Episode 7, at the end of the Glass Bridge challenge, only Sae-byeok, Gi-hun, and Sang-woo were left in the competition. After the completion of the game, the glass panels of the bridge exploded, injuring three of them. Sae-byeok was severely injured by the glass but hid it from the others. The three of them became the finalists of the game and were invited to a dinner in formal outfits. The players were left with the knives after the dinner. Gi-hun asks Sae-byeok to team up against Sang-woo as he can go to any extent to win the game.

Sae-byeok begs Gi-hun to promise that whoever wins will take care of the other's family. She stops Gi-hun as he tries to kill Sang-woo while he is asleep, reminding him that he is not a murderer. Over time, Sae-byeok's injury got worse, so Gi-hun went to ask the guards for help. In a turn of events, while Gi-hun was away asking for help, Sang-woo took advantage of the situation and killed Sae-byeok. The guards arrived and took her body away.

Who is Sae-byeok in Squid Game?

Kang Sae-byeok, played by Jung Ho-yeon, was a North Korean defector introduced as Player No. 067 in the competition. She only has her younger brother left in her family. The rest of her family died, and her mother was sent back to North Korea when she was caught. Her brother stays away from her in a shelter while she earns money by pickpocketing and working with gangsters. She wants to earn enough money to buy her own house and bring her mother to South Korea so they can live together.

She enters the Squid Game to win prize money and give money to a broker to buy a house. She stays calm, uses her intelligence in every situation, and doesn’t show her emotions much. She survives the first few games and forms alliances with Gi-hun, Sang-woo, and others. They protect her when she gets targeted by Deok-su. She also forms an alliance with Ji-yeong and they pair up for the marbles game. Ji-yeong sacrifices herself for Sae-byeok so that she can win the money and live with her family. Sae-byeok becomes one of the three finalists who reach the end of the competition, but she eventually gets killed.

The tragic end of her character was an emotional moment for the audience. Her character stood out in the show and was praised by critics and audiences on the internet.