‘Ogem2’ Jo Yu-ri “Yena unnie, pregnancy + crying precognitive dream... surprised” [DA:Interview①]

Singer and actress Jo Yu-ri shared her thoughts on appearing in season 2 of ‘Squid Game’.

During a recent interview for season 2 of the Netflix series ‘Squid Game’, held at a cafe in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Jo Yu-ri explained that she joined the show after going through four rounds of auditions.

She said, “I thought I failed because it took so long between the first and the second round of auditions. That‘s why I was even happier when I got the call that I passed. I met director Hwang Dong-hyeok from the third round, but the auditions were held without a decided role. I think he had me in mind for the role of Jun-hee since the fourth round. If it weren’t for Jun-hee, I wouldn‘t have failed,“ he said. ”During the audition, the director just said, ’You‘re doing well,’ and didn‘t give me any other feedback. I was happy because he was so kind to me, but on the other hand, I thought, ’Why do you keep acting like I‘m not going to see you?’ and I was anxious.“ He continued, ”When I passed, it felt like a dream. I thought that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was so touched and happy to see such a big opportunity for a rookie who hadn‘t done anything properly yet.“

The second season of ‘Squid Game’, which was released at the end of last year, is the story of ‘Ki-hoon’ (Lee Jung-jae), who returns to the game after vowing revenge, and ‘The Frontman’ (Lee Byung-hun) who greets him, as well as the fierce confrontation between them and the real game starting again. Jo Yu-ri, who joined the new season, played the role of ‘Jun-hee’, a pregnant woman who loses a large sum of money after believing incorrect investment information from her boyfriend ‘Myeong-gi’ (Im Si-wan) and ends up participating in the game.


After appearing on Mnet’s audition program ‘Idol School’ in 2017, Jo Yu-ri appeared on the same broadcasting station‘s other audition program ‘Produce 48’ the following year and was selected as a member of the project girl group IZ*ONE, making her official debut in the entertainment industry. After IZ*ONE’s disbandment, she debuted as a solo artist in 2021 and has been active as a singer. Although she appeared in the 2022 web drama ‘Mimicus’, Jo Yuri‘s casting in ‘Squid Game’, which has little experience in acting, was an unconventional casting.

Jo Yuri said, ”I dreamed of acting even before I became a singer. I happened to be in a theater club in high school, and that was my first time acting. It was so much fun and I was interested in it. If I had the chance, I would have wanted to be an actor, but I first got connected to idols. I always had a thirst for acting,“ and added, ”I was attracted to the idea of being able to live a life I’ve never lived. It was fun to play a character with a personality different from my real one.“

Jo Yuri said she received the most contacts and congratulations right after the casting for Season 2 of ‘Squid Game’ was revealed, saying, ”The IZ*ONE members also sent me congratulatory messages, and (Jang) Won-young was very happy. “Sister, you‘re really amazing. You’re awesome. ”She said, ‘Congratulations,’“ and ”(Choi) Yena even had a precognitive dream. She said that she had a dream about me crying while pregnant the day before the casting was announced. I was so worried, so I searched it up and she said that it meant that I would be lucky to pass. My sister also knew that I auditioned for ‘Squid Game.’ She asked me if I got the part, and I told her that I did. I kept it a secret from her which character it was, but my sister was really surprised when she found out later. She said, ‘I guess it’s fate.‘“ She revealed that she lost weight down to 41kg to portray a pregnant woman in a difficult situation. Jo Yuri explained, ”I didn’t think Junhee would be a happy pregnant woman. Would he have been able to eat what he wanted? I don‘t think there was anyone who would give him food. He would have starved because he couldn’t eat, and I thought he would have been skinny. I wanted to highlight his worn-out parts, so I actually lost weight.“ She also said that she filmed while wearing a pregnancy cushion to express a state close to full-term pregnancy. Jo Yu-ri confessed, “I had no experience with pregnancy, so I felt burdened by acting as a pregnant woman. I asked a lot of people around me who had experienced pregnancy and studied. I received feedback on what kind of posture I could take and even small habits. I also got help from habits like pulling my stomach up because it was heavy or habitually touching my stomach.”

Jun-hee portrays a short but deep emotional exchange with Geum-ja (Kang Ae-shim), a game participant, with the common denominator of maternal love. Jo Yu-ri mentioned the bathroom crying scene and recalled, “I thought it was the first time Jun-hee’s emotions were revealed. I had a strong desire to do well and went into it mentally prepared. Thanks to my senior, I was able to immerse myself more. I think I broke down and cried more.” She also hinted, “The scene that I had the most takes on was a really difficult and emotional scene. It’s in season 3. Please look forward to it.”

Jung Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com
Photo courtesy of Netflix