# Cho Sang-woo (character)

Cho Sang-woo, also known as Player 218, is a fictional character in the first season of the South Korean survival drama television series Squid Game. He was portrayed by South Korean actor Park Hae-soo.
Sang-woo is the childhood friend of series protagonist Seong Gi-hun, and the former leader of a investment team at a securities company. A graduate at Seoul National University, Sang-woo became millions of won in debt. To solve his financial problems, Sang-woo participated in the Squid Game. Initially allied with Gi-hun and several other players, he takes on a darker role as the series progresses, becoming willing to kill other players to ensure his own survival.
Sang-woo was based on one of the childhood friends of series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Sang-woo and Gi-hun were based on Hwang's own personal experiences and represented "two sides" of himself; Gi-hun shared the same aspects of being raised by an economically disadvantaged single mother in the Ssangmun district of Seoul, while Sang-woo reflected on Hwang having attended Seoul National University with high expectations from his family and neighborhood.

## Appearances

Cho Sang-woo was childhood friends with Seong Gi-hun. The two friends would often play children's games, such as Squid. Sang-woo later attended Seoul National University, and graduated at the top of his class. According to Gi-hun, Sang-woo's graduation from SNU caused him to became a famous prodigy in the Ssangmun-dong neighbourhood in the city of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. After graduating from SNU, Sang-woo became the leader of a investment team at the securities company Joy Investments. He illegally siphoned money from his client's balances, then invested it in derivatives and future options which failed, resulting in the loss of 6 billion won. He also used his mother's house and store as collateral for his illegal activities. He then gets recruited to play in a series of deadly childhood games, and is re-united with Gi-hun. After learning that participants who lose are killed, Sang-woo gave Gi-hun advise on how to survive "Red Light, Green Light" by informing him that the doll is a motion sensor. After both Sang-woo and Gi-hun survive the game, the majority of players want to quit, horrified at the revelation of players who loose being killed. When the masked staff members repeat the first two consent forms, Sang-woo took the initiative for conducting a vote among the contestants to end the Squid Game. However, he ultimately decided to continue participating when he learned that the prize money for winning was 45.6 billion won. After the games were stopped by the majority vote, his heavy debt almost led him to kill himself in his motel room before having being offered the chance to rejoin the Squid Game, which he accepts.
During the Squid Game, Sang-woo helped Gi-hun and others in their alliance, particularly befriending Ali Abdul. However, to ensure his own survival, he became frequently more ruthless and inconsiderate as the games progressed. Sang-woo resorted to manipulation to win the Marbles game, betraying Ali and leaving him to die. He later murdered Player 017 in the Glass Stepping Stones game, and afterwards Kang Sae-byeok, to keep himself in the game. Sang-woo was one of the two players to make it into the final round of the competition, along with Gi-hun, who by then was his rival. The two faced off in the eponymous Squid game, in which, after an intense battle between the two, Gi-hun defeated him. Before claiming his victory, Gi-hun attempted to end the games prematurely by invoking clause 3 of the consent form, hoping to end the game and save his friend's life. However, Sang-woo decided to commit suicide by stabbing himself in the neck, allowing Gi-hun to be winner of the game. As a final request before his death, Sang-woo asked Gi-hun to use some of the prize winnings to help his mother.
Sang-woo's request to Gi-hun is fulfilled after he gives all of his winnings to Sang-woo's mother, and also puts Kang Cheol (Sae-byeok's younger brother) in her care, offering a better life for both of them.

## Concept and creation

Sang-woo was based on one of the childhood friends of series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Sang-woo and Gi-hun were based on Hwang's own personal experiences and represented "two sides" of himself; Gi-hun shared the same aspects of being raised by an economically disadvantaged single mother in the Ssangmun district of Seoul, while Sang-woo reflected on Hwang having attended Seoul National University with high expectations from his family and neighborhood.

## Reception

Park received international fame for his role as Sang-woo, and was able to gain over 800,000 Instagram followers in a single day due to the success of the series.