Hoyeon -- who starred as Kang Sae-byeok in 'Squid Game' season 1 -- is opening up about the highly anticipated second season.
Squid Game star Hoyeon is opening up about her personal and professional life, including those Devin Booker dating rumors.
In a new cover story for ELLE, the 30-year-old model-turned-actress answered questions about her potential return as Kang Sae-byeok in the critically acclaimed Korean drama series -- which is expected to debut its second season later this year.
Sadly, for Hoyeon -- whose full name is Hoyeon Jung -- a reprisal of her SAG and Emmy-nominated role is all but out of the question considering the fate her character met in the first season, which premiered on Netflix back in 2021. Fans will remember that Hoyeon's Squid Game player was stabbed in the neck by Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo) before she could make it to the end of the competition.
Unless Kang-Sae-byeok were to appear via a flashback, dream or other TV-magic method that brings the dead back to life, Hoyeon says a return is all but out of the question. "No," she told ELLE, who noted that she did laugh and smile while shaking her head. Could she just be playing coy?
We do know that Emmy winner Lee Jung-jae will reprise his role as sole winner Seong Gi-hun. Also returning are season 1 actors Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho, Lee Byung-hun as the Front Man and Gong Yoo as the Salesman.
As for Hoyeon, fans will have to wait to see if she was trying to keep a cameo under wraps or if she was truthful. One person who will for sure be watching whenever the second season premieres? That would be Booker, 27, who appeared to shoot his shot at Hoyeon earlier this year.
In April, Hoyeon posted a photo to Instagram and received a comment from the Phoenix Suns player, who seemingly was expressing his interest in her.
"check your dm shawty," Booker wrote in a message, per TMZ. At the time, Hoyeon responded to the NBA player, "No❤️."
Asked by ELLE about where she stands with Booker -- the ex-boyfriend of Kendall Jenner -- Hoyeon responded as comically as she did to the Instagram comment left by the athlete in the spring.
"I don't even know who he is," the South Korean-born actress shared, telling the outlet she doesn't watch the NBA.
ET last chatted with the up-and-coming actress alongside her Squid Game co-stars back in 2022 at the Critics Choice Awards. There, she explained her excitement at the major splash the Netflix show had made and what comes next in her career.
"Feeling so good and amazing," she said. "Can't wait to see much adventure and happy things coming."
Outside of her win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2022 -- which made her just the second actress of Asian as well as Korean descent to be nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor category -- she has a lot to celebrate in her professional life.
Next up, Hoyeon stars alongside Cate Blanchett, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kevin Kline and Lesley Manville in Alfonso Cuarón's Disclaimer series for Apple TV+. The show follows a journalist (Blanchett) who receives a book that exposes her darkest secrets. Hoyeon plays the assistant to Blanchett's character.
She told ELLE that while she was nervous to take on the role in the star-studded cast, she took comfort in seeking out the uncomfortable and deciding to sign onto a project where she knew she could learn a lot.
Hoyeon explained that a veteran actor told her, "'If you're having trouble figuring out your next move, go to a project where you can learn the most,'" and that the words of wisdom turned out to be "exactly the advice that I needed."
Disclaimer premieres on Apple TV+ on Oct. 11.
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