Squid Game star Jung Ho-yeon ends nine-year relationship with actor Lee Dong-hwi

Squid Game (2021 to present) star Jung Ho-yeon has split from her actor-boyfriend Lee Dong-hwi after a nine-year relationship.

On Nov 26, Jung’s agency Saram Entertainment and Lee’s agency Company On both confirmed the news of the break-up to South Korean media, saying that Jung and Lee have decided to split and will maintain good relations as co-workers.

No further details were revealed about the break-up.

Jung, 30, is a model turned actress who shot to fame playing an impoverished North Korean defector in the Netflix global hit Squid Game, which marked her acting debut.

The role won her the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.

Lee, 39, gained widespread recognition as one of the main cast members of the popular nostalgic K-drama Reply 1988 (2015 to 2016), as well as comedy movie Extreme Job (2019).

Jung and Lee began dating in 2015 and went public with their relationship the following year.

News of the break-up has come as a surprise for fans. While the pair generally kept a low profile, they have spoken openly about each other in recent months.

When Jung was a guest on South Korean host Yoo Jae-suk’s YouTube talk show in April, she spoke about asking English football star David Beckham for an autograph at an Adidas event on behalf of Lee, a huge fan.

Beckham told her he would film a video message for Lee instead.

She recounted: “I sent it to him, and it was a big deal among him and his friends. He said he was so proud.”

In August, Lee appeared in an episode of Season 2 of the variety series Kwak Jun-bin’s World Taxi Restaurant that was filmed in the United States. While in a taxi, Lee asked the driver if he knew Squid Game.

When he said he did, Lee told him that the actress playing Sae-byeok (Jung) was his “girlfriend and best friend”.

Jung recently starred in the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer (2024), alongside Hollywood star Cate Blanchett.

Lee starred in the action film The Roundup: Punishment (2024) and is performing in a play in South Korea.

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.