Kang Sae-byeok

Kang Sae-byeok (Korean/Chosŏn'gŭl: 강새벽, Gang Sae-byeog), also referred to as Player 067, is the tritagonist of the first season of the South Korean Netflix drama show Squid Game. Sae-byeok is a North Korean defector that joined the 33rd Squid Game to gain money to get her brother out of the orphanage and her mother out of North Korea. 
During the games, Sae-byeok reunites with her former mentor, the gangster Jang Deok-su. Despite initially playing by herself, Sae-byeok later joins Seong Gi-hun and Cho Sang-woo's team to seek protection from Deok-su and his group.
She was portrayed by model in her acting debut.
==Personality==
Sae-byeok is very quiet and calm, never panicking even in stressful situations. She is also very reserved and prefers to work by herself. She is reluctant to interact with others and reveal things about herself, hesitating even to say her name to anyone without having a reason to do so. She also rarely lets it show any kind of emotion she is feeling, and is stoic most of the time. Sae-byeok states that she doesn't trust anyone, especially the people in the games, knowing that she can be betrayed by other players at any time.
She is protective over her family and determined to win the game to be able to reunite with her mother and younger brother in a new house. Sae-byeok risked herself to gather money to pay for a broker to take her mother out of North Korea and is even willing to die in the Squid Game to be able to reunite her family. She votes against the termination of the games and is disappointed when the players vote to stop them. She shows no signs of be willing to give up later, even after she is mortally wounded by glass in the fifth game. Instead, she entrusts her goal to Seong Gi-hun, knowing that she doesn't have much time left before dying.
Because she is reserved, she is seen alone most of the time before the special game. She performs very well even without others' help, showing to be very intelligent and resourceful. She manages to figure out how to survive in the first game by hiding behind others and is successful in staying awake upon being taken to the island again, managing to smuggle her switchblade to use in the games. She also plans how to get information about the third game by entering inside a vent. Sae-byeok can also be very perceptive. After Cho Sang-woo tells her that he can guess the game, she deduces correctly that he figured out what the game is by observing him from afar and then follows his choice, resulting in her picking the easiest shape to cut out from her dalgona candy.
Despite being often quiet, Sae-byeok is also blunt and not afraid to speak her mind when she decides to do so. She will speak honestly about her opinions of others and the situation, and rarely lies. She openly tells her team that she doesn't trust them or anyone in the game. She lets them know that she is aware that contestants will not choose to play with her during the Marbles game, because she is a woman. At the same time, she also admits she does not care about embarrassing herself to manage to get a partner. When Ji-yeong suggests them to share their stories before the eventual death of one of them, she is also honest and open about her past and objective in the game.
Her solitary and distrustful nature makes her not accept help or give others' help easily. During the period she is alone before the special game, she accepts Han Mi-nyeo's help to get inside the vent, but is reluctant to tell her what she saw, even after stating she would do so to repay her help. Sae-byeok eventually does it because of Mi-nyeo's insistence. She later refuses to tell Sang-woo anything about the guards melting sugar, until she realizes that telling him can also work in her favor. When Gi-hun invites her to join his team as a way to protect herself from Jang Deok-su's gang, Sae-byeok replies that she does not trust anyone. Despite this, she does seek his team upon being pursued by Deok-su during the special game. As Ji-yeong decides to sacrifice herself for her in the Marbles game, Sae-byeok becomes visibly angry and tells the other girl to play again, before accepting her wish. Upon being mortally wounded by glass, Sae-byeok endures the pain alone and tries to stop the bleeding by herself, without telling anyone about her situation. When Gi-hun notices there is something wrong with her, she tells him to worry about himself.
Ultimately, Sae-byeok does form strong bonds during the competition. She befriends Ji-yeong, who also has a tragic past and a similar personality to her. Despite usually not showing emotions, when Ji-yeong reveals her intentions to sacrifice herself, Sae-byeok clearly shows anger and then sadness for the first time. She cries for her friend and is seen mourning her death after the Marbles game is over. Sae-byeok also recognizes that Gi-hun is a good person, making her willing to trust and help him. Sae-byeok eventually joins his team after his invitation, and later gives him a water bottle for him to take care of Oh Il-nam. She also tells Gi-hun which glass he should step on when he is confused during the fifth game. As Gi-hun attempts to kill Sang-woo in his sleep, Sae-byeok stops him because she knows he is a kind-hearted person. In her final moments, she entrusts her little brother's care to him, knowing that Cheol will be in good care with her friend.
==Relationships==
===Family===
*Grandmother †
*Grandfather †
*Mother
*Father †
*Older Brother †
*Kang Cheol - Younger Brother 
===Allies===
*North Korean Broker Employer - Situational Ally
*Gi-hun & Sang-woo's Team - Teammates
**Ji-yeong † - Close Friend 
**Seong Gi-hun - De-Facto Leader and Close Friend
**Han Mi-nyeo †
**Ali Abdul †
**Oh Il-nam † - Kidnapper and Indirect Killer (both unknowingly)
**Player 276 †
**Player 196 †
**Player 244 †
*Player 017/Do Jung-soo † - Situational Ally
===Enemies===
*Immigration Agents - Situational Enemies
*Deok-su's Gang - Rival Team
**Jang Deok-su † - Former Mentor turned Archenemy and Attempted Killer
**Player 278 †
**Player 040 † - Attempted Killer 
**Player 303 † - Attempted Killer 
*10 Players of Team 5 † – Situational Enemies, Attempted Killers and Victims
*Cho Sang-woo † - Teammate and De-Facto Leader turned Situational Enemy and Killer
==Squid Game Result==
Event 	Participated ? 	Opponent 	Time Finished (time left on the clock) 	Survived ? 	Notes
Game 1:Red Light, Green Light(Time Limit: 5 minutes) 	Yes 	- 	Around (more than) 20 seconds left 	Yes 	Hid behind other players
Players' Vote 	Yes 	- 	- 	- 	Voted for the games to continue
Game 2:Dalgona (Sugar Honeycombs)(Time Limit: 10 minutes)	Yes 	- 	Less than 5 minutes left 	Yes 	Had a hint about the game; picked the triangle shape following Cho Sang-woo's choice
Special Game 	Yes 	Jang Deok-su's gang 	- 	Yes 	Used her smuggled switchblade; protected by Seong Gi-hun and his team
Game 3:Tug-of-War 	Yes 	Team 5 	- 	Yes 	Played with Team 4
Game 4:Marbles(Time Limit: 30 minutes) 	Yes 	Ji-yeong 	Less than 3 minutes left 	Yes 	Played a throwing game; Ji-yeong dropped her marble for Sae-byeok to win
Game 5:Glass Stepping Stones(Time Limit: 16 minutes) 	Yes 	- 	Around 3 seconds left 	Yes(but was mortally wounded right after) 	Picked number 15; mortally wounded by exploding glass, later killed by Sang-woo
Game 6:Squid Game 	No 	- 	- 	- 	-
Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game 	Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game	Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game	Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game	Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game	Final Result: 3rd Place in the 33rd Squid Game
==Trivia==
*The actual translation of her name is (or is supposed to be) Sae-byeok Kang.
*"Sae-byeok" means "dawn" in Korean. During her death scene, it is heard a song called "Dawn", which was featured on the Squid Game soundtrack album.
*Despite Sae-byeok dying in the games, HoYeon Jung (Sae-byeok's actress) thinks her character lived her life to the fullest and said she is not sure if Sae-byeok should have won the competition. She explains that Sae-byeok was desperate for the prize money and to win the games, but because of the life she had and how she ended up surrounded by dead bodies, Jung thinks that Sae-byeok didn't necessarily have to earn the cash prize.Jung Ho-yeon of ‘Squid Game’ on dark twists in series, light mood on set
*Hwang Dong-hyuk (the director of the series) explains that Sae-byeok's decision to stop Seong Gi-hun from killing Cho Sang-woo in his sleep contributed to her final fate. He says that Sae-byeok saved Sang-woo's life by stopping Gi-hun, but this ironically resulted in her being betrayed and killed by Sang-woo right after.Squid Game Cast Review the Biggest Betrayals in Season One | Vanity Fair
**Similarly, Dong-hyuk explained that Gi-hun's attempt to save Sae-byeok is ultimately what gets her killed. Gi-hun banging on the doors and screaming for help ends up waking Sang-woo up. Seeing Gi-hun's desperation, Sang-woo thinks he might give up on the games, causing Sang-woo to kill Sae-byeok to stop it from happening.
**Ironically, although Sang-woo kills Sae-byeok to prevent her and Gi-hun from stopping the games, Sae-byeok is one of three main characters (besides Sang-woo and Han Mi-nyeo) who voted against the termination of the games during the first vote and there is no indication that this would have changed with a new vote near the end of the games.
==References==
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