HoYeon Jung: Biography, Age, Squid Game, Modeling, Personal Life

Biography of Jung HoYeon

HoYeon Jung is a breakout South Korean model and actress who became a global sensation starring in Netflix's "Squid Game" when it premiered in September 2021. She's become an international icon, landing major campaigns with luxury powerhouses like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermès, and the role won her a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Childhood

Born on June 23, 1994, in the Myeonmok-dong neighborhood of Seoul, the future star grew up with two sisters. Her parents are restaurateurs.

Jung Ho Yeon started taking modeling classes at 15. She'd always been taller than her classmates, so modeling felt like a natural fit. She later graduated from the College of Performing Arts at Dongduk Women's University, where she majored in modeling.

She stood her ground and set out to make it as a model.

Modeling Career

HoYeon's modeling career began in 2010, at just 16, when she started walking Seoul Fashion Week shows as a freelancer, without an agency. In 2012, she signed with ESteem Models, and in 2015 Vogue called her "one of Seoul's top modeling talents."

HoYeon Jung - Runway Collection

Jung captivated model scouts with her striking height, distinctive features, and especially her fiery red hair that made her stand out from the crowd.

The real breakthrough in HoYeon's career was the fourth season of "Korea's Next Top Model" in 2013 (she had first tried out for the show in 2011). Finishing as runner-up was anything but a setback: she went on to shoot for the Korean editions of Vogue, Elle and W.

HoYeon in the show 'Korea's Next Top Model'

In 2016, Jung signed with The Society Management and moved abroad. She made her international runway debut in September 2016 at Opening Ceremony's show during New York Fashion Week, and that season walked in Paris as a Louis Vuitton exclusive, handpicked by Nicolas Ghesquière. She went on to walk for Chanel, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Miu Miu and Gucci and starred in ad campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès and Bottega Veneta.

HoYeon Jung's Elimination on KNTM

Soon, the rising star was gracing not just the pages of fashion magazines but their covers too, including Vogue Korea, Vogue Japan, CR Fashion Book and Harper's Bazaar Korea. Her February 2022 cover of American Vogue made her the magazine's first solo Korean cover star.

Jung Ho Yeon often appears on the covers of glossy magazines

In September 2018, Models.com named her one of its top 50 models, and in 2022 it put her on its "New Supers" list, calling her a "supermodel for the modern era." At the 2019 Asia Model Awards, she won the Asia Star Award.

Squid Game and Other Roles

Feeling that modeling careers are short, Jung decided to try her hand at acting. She approached the decision seriously: during holidays at home she took acting lessons, and she improved her English. In January 2020, she signed with Saram Entertainment. According to Ho Yeon, having spent so much time abroad, she wanted to channel her feelings of loneliness and emptiness into her screen performances.

Just a month after signing with the agency, she received three scenes from the script of a new Netflix drama series and sent an audition tape from New York, where she was working at Fashion Week.

Ho Yeon didn't expect to land the role on her first try, but director Hwang Dong-hyuk invited her to audition in person in Seoul and cast her on the spot. What's remarkable is that she held her own alongside seasoned, well-known actors. For instance, Lee Jung Jae, who played the lead role of Seong Gi Hun (№ 456), had been in over 40 projects by that time.

In the plot, 456 people with massive debts end up in a game with a multi-billion dollar prize. What looks like child's play at first glance quickly reveals the dark side of human nature – competition, cruelty, and greed all emerge as the story unfolds. Jung was given the role of Kang Sae Byeok, a North Korean defector and thief. Her character needs money to take her younger brother out of an orphanage and to find her mother in North Korea.

Hoyeon Jung All Scenes - Squid Game

The actress prepared thoroughly for the shooting. To convincingly play a pickpocket, Ho Yeon had to completely unlearn the polished runway walk she'd perfected over years of modeling. She also practiced her character's Hamgyong dialect with real North Korean defectors, watched documentaries about defectors, learned martial arts and kept a daily diary written from Sae-byeok's point of view.

The actress admits that during the shooting, she felt insecure and often asked herself: "Do I really belong here?". Her inexperience and fear of disappointing the team made it hard for Jung to feel confident on set. But the director put her at ease, telling her she just needed to be herself. Sae-byeok became a fan favorite, and critics hailed Jung as the show's breakout star. She won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She later returned for cameos in the show's second and third seasons (2024-2025).

Personal Life of Jung Ho-Yeon

Despite all the attention from fans, her heart was taken for years: from 2015, Jung Ho-Yeon dated actor Lee Dong-Hwi, who is nine years her senior.

Jung called him not just her boyfriend but also her best friend and creative partner. Lee is well-known in Korea for his work in films and TV shows, including the thriller "The Handmaiden" and the action-comedy "Extreme Job". The actor also engages in music and loves to dress stylishly.

Lee supported her as she prepared for her first role and said he was sincerely happy for her successful debut. On November 26, 2024, their agencies announced in a joint statement that the couple had separated after nine years together.

Squid Game's Jung Ho-yeon Finally Talks About Her Boyfriend

Jung Ho-Yeon Now

Jung Ho-Yeon's breakout performance in "Squid Game" catapulted her to fame beyond anything she could have imagined. In 2021, she became the most-followed South Korean actress on Instagram, and by late 2023 she had more than 20 million followers.

Beyond her massive fanbase, in October 2021 the breakout role landed her a global ambassador deal with Louis Vuitton and an Adidas Originals campaign; in 2022, she also became one of the faces of N°1 de Chanel.

In 2022, she made a memorable appearance in The Weeknd's "Out of Time" music video, and in 2023 she appeared in two NewJeans music videos. In 2024, she had a cameo in the comedy series "Chicken Nugget" and played Jisoo in Alfonso Cuarón's thriller miniseries "Disclaimer."

Jung Ho-Yeon in The Weeknd's music video

In 2024, she received a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, and in January 2025 she moved to BH Entertainment. She made her feature film debut as Im Sung-ae in Na Hong-jin's sci-fi thriller "Hope" (2026).

Interesting Facts

Ho-yeon's love for adventure rivals her passion for modeling and acting. She has said she went skydiving in Guam with friends when she was about 19 and loves to travel.

She's also an action movie buff who dreams of one day starring in a Quentin Tarantino film. Among the films that most influenced her, Ho-yeon cites Ari Aster's "Midsommar," the Coen brothers' "Fargo," and Tarantino's "Kill Bill."

Ho-yeon is fluent in English, which she learned not just to communicate with international designers and colleagues, but also to prepare for the acting career she was eager to launch.

During "Squid Game" filming, Ho-yeon received support from her close friend Jennie Kim of Blackpink. Jennie reportedly even had a food truck sent to the set. The girls have been communicating on social media since 2019.

Valeria Fedorova, Content Manager, Fact Checker; Daria Koshkina, Editor 14 Nov 2026

Photos: Jung HoYeon