Oh Il-nam

Oh Il-nam, Player 001, first appears as a frail, elderly man with a brain tumor who joins the Squid Game seemingly out of resigned acceptance of his approaching death. His childlike wonder during the games and grandfatherly bond with Gi-hun make him one of the most sympathetic characters in the early episodes, and his apparent sacrifice during the marble game is genuinely moving.

The revelation that Il-nam is actually the creator and host of the Squid Game — a billionaire so bored by his immense wealth that he designed the deadly competition to feel alive again — is one of television's greatest plot twists. It recontextualizes every interaction he had with the players, turning moments of tenderness into something far more sinister and raising disturbing questions about power, privilege, and the commodification of human suffering.

Il-nam's final scene, on his deathbed with Gi-hun, distills the show's central philosophical argument. He bets Gi-hun that no one will help a homeless man freezing outside — that humanity is fundamentally selfish. When someone does help, Il-nam dies having lost his last game, suggesting that even the most cynical worldview cannot fully extinguish human compassion.

The character operates as Squid Game's ultimate metaphor: the ultra-wealthy do not merely ignore the suffering of the poor but actively engineer it for entertainment. Il-nam did not watch the games from a screen — he participated, playing alongside his victims while always holding the power to stop the game at any moment.