Hundreds of people die in each season of Squid Game, yet some of these deaths are a lot more tragic than others. Whether due to the circumstances that lead to the characters competing in the games or the moments leading up to their untimely demise, the deaths of certain characters can really tug on the viewer's heartstrings.
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The saddest deaths in Squid Game typically belong to fan-favorite characters, but there are one or two minor characters whose deaths manage to hit almost as hard. Some are betrayed by the people closest to them, while others lay down their lives so that others can survive a little longer. As a result, many tears have been shed as a result of their deaths.
Updated June 29, 2025, by Tom Bowen: Just as expected, Season 3 of Squid Game brought with it a lot more death and despair. Some of these deaths were expected, some were surprising, and others were downright depressing. The most tragic deaths in Squid Game's third season shocked and saddened viewers, with more than a few fan-favorite characters meeting their maker during the show's final six episodes.
Spoiler Warning: The following list contains MAJOR SPOILERS for all three seasons of Squid Game.
12 Player 069
Player 069 (33rd Squid Game)
Pretty much all of the saddest Squid Game deaths involve characters who have been heavily developed, yet there's one big exception to this during the first season. Viewers never even get to learn Player 069's name, nor do they really find out too much about him other than the fact that he and his wife are competing together in an attempt to clear their debt.
The pair is successfully able to navigate the first three games by working together, but it's their decision to do so again in the fourth game that leads to both of their deaths. Player 069 beats his wife during Marbles, yet, in doing so, he loses his will to live. Consumed by the guilt and the pain of his loss, Player 069 ends up taking his own life, thus helping to emphasize the devastating emotional toll that a game like Marbles can have on players.
11 Ji-yeong
Player 240 (33rd Squid Game)
Like Player 069's wife and so many others, Player 240 met her end while playing Marbles, though rather than competing and losing, Ji-yeong opted to sacrifice herself so that Sae-byeok could survive. Although the latter's death a few episodes later makes this sacrifice somewhat pointless, it doesn't make it any less tragic.
The most popular Squid Game characters tend to be developed over the course of multiple episodes, but pretty much all of Ji-yeong's character development can be found in the Season 1 episode Gganbu. Her conversation with Sae-byeok does a lot to explain her personality and almost feels like a dying confession. As a result, when she thanks Sae-byeok for playing with her, it can be hard not to shed a tear.
10 Oh Mal-soon
Gi-hun's Mother
Most of the saddest deaths in Squid Game take place at the titular games. However, there are one or two hard-hitting deaths that happen back in the outside world, one of which belongs to Gi-hun's elderly mother, Oh Mal-soon. Viewers don't actually get to see her die, though her death happening offscreen arguably makes it more impactful.
Mal-soon worked her fingers to the bone to survive and support an ungrateful son who stole money from her on a regular basis, causing her constant heartache and worries. When she eventually got sick due to complications from diabetes, Gi-hun was nowhere to be found, resulting in Oh Mal-soon dying alone, with no idea what had happened to her son.
9 Kim Jeong-rae
Gi-hun's Loan Shark
In addition to hurting those who are closest to him, Gi-hun's addiction to gambling sees him borrowing large sums of money from a loan shark named Mr. Kim, and it's ultimately this debt that leads to his participation in the games. Being a loan shark, audiences are led to assume that Mr. Kim is a terrible person, yet while this may be true to a certain extent, he's far from beyond redemption.
In Season 2 of Squid Game, Gi-hun is shown to be working with Mr. Kim in the hopes of tracking down the recruiter. The latter is eventually successful, although is soon captured by the Ddakji-playing psychopath and forced to participate in a deadly two-player game with one of his underlings, Choi Woo-seok. After panicking, Woo-seok ends up in a losing position, yet Mr. Kim decides to sacrifice himself by intentionally getting disqualified, showing that there was some good in him after all.
8 Kim Jun-hee
Player 222 (2024 Squid Game)
It's clear that the organizers of the games place very little value on human life, yet their decision to allow a pregnant woman to participate seems particularly depraved. Thanks to those around her, Player 222 is somehow able to survive long enough to give birth to her child, but her luck eventually runs out when the contestants are forced to play a deadly game of jump rope in the third episode of Season 3.
With nobody but Gi-hun left to help her, Player 222 decides to end her life after seeing her baby pass safely to the other side. The idea of a newborn child being left without a mother makes this death particularly tragic, although it could perhaps be argued that Kim Jun-hee gave up a little too easily. Sure, her ankle was badly injured, but she could have at least tried to make it across for the sake of her child.
7 Park Jung-bae
Player 390 (2024 Squid Game)
Due to both its faster pacing and there being two fewer episodes, Season 2 of Squid Game didn't have quite as many memorable characters as the one that preceded it. Technically, one of its best wasn't even a Season 2 character, as Park Jung-bae's first appearance actually came during the show's pilot episode, Red Light, Green Light, in which Jung-bae is shown to be one of Gi-hun's gambling buddies.
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This friendship is further explored throughout the show's second season and is shown to be based on a lot more than just a mutual addiction. In a lot of ways, Jung-bae is the ultimate wingman who is willing to follow Gi-hun to the ends of the Earth if needed. Sadly, this is how he ends up meeting his maker, with Jung-bae being one of the many people who get shot and killed during Gi-hun's failed rebellion.
6 Seong Gi-hun
Player 456 (33rd Squid Game + 2024 Squid Game)
Given the nature of the games, it was always a matter of when Gi-hun would die rather than if, but that didn't make it any easier when Player 456 finally bit the bullet. What did help a little was that he went out on his own terms, although his final words arguably rang a little hollow, given how little he actually ended up accomplishing by going back to the games.
Just as he did on the show's viewers, it's clear that Gi-hun was able to make an impression on the Front Man, although apparently not enough to end his affiliation with the games. Perhaps the show's creator will explore this idea further in the upcoming spin-off, but as things stand, Gi-hun's attempt to end the Squid Games once and for all failed, and, despite his best efforts, all 456 contestants of the 2024 Squid Game died.
5 Kang Sae-byeok
Player 067 (33rd Squid Game)
Most of the players in Squid Game are there because of their poor life choices, but this isn't the case with everyone. After escaping from North Korea, Sae-byeok decided to take part in the games so that she could afford to bring her younger brother safely across the border. Technically, this could be seen as a poor choice on her part, yet few would try to argue that it isn't a selfless one.
Although Gi-hun does end up honoring his promise by helping Sae-byeok's brother, she dies not knowing whether he'll be true to his word or even survive the final game. This in itself is tragic, but the biggest gutshot comes in Sae-byeok's dying moments, during which, she tells Gi-hun that she wants to go home. Right until the very end, she was driven by her love for her family.
4 Jang Geum-ja
Player 149 (2024 Squid Game)
Jang Geum-ja wasn't the most likable character when she was first introduced at the start of Season 2, nor was her son, Park Yong-sik. However, as the season progressed, both characters became a lot more compelling, with Player 149, in particular, becoming a firm favorite among fans.
In the build-up to Season 3, there was plenty of speculation about what would happen to the pair, although few could have predicted that Jang Geum-ja would end up killing her son. Justified or not, the weight of her decision proves to be too much for her to live with, and she tragically takes her own life not long after.
3 Oh Il-nam
Player 001 (33rd Squid Game)
Granted, the old man ended up being one of the bad guys and didn't actually die at the end of Gganbu, but that moment in which the audience is led to believe that he did is heartbreaking. Although it was built upon a foundation of lies, Il-nam's bond with Gi-hun was a strong one on the surface, helping to make the old man a firm fan-favorite character up to that point. However, this bond went much deeper than just friendship.
Player 001 was the father figure that Gi-hun never had and always needed, which made their decision to team up in Marbles hit a lot harder. That Gi-hun then tried to trick Il-nam into giving him all of his marbles was very difficult to watch, even if the old man was later revealed to be letting Gi-hun win. The audience learns a lot about Gi-hun through this encounter, just as he learns a lot about himself.