Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ continues the story of Seong Gi-hun, as this time, he returns to exact revenge on the people who are behind the games. The last time, even though he emerged as the sole winner and went home with more money than he could have ever imagined, he was so traumatized by everything that happened during the games that he decided to end it, once and for all. However, this is not the only journey that we see in the second season. The sophomore season takes a new turn by giving us the perspective of one of the guards, most of whom had remained behind a mask for the past few seasons. The character of Kang No-eul is revealed to be Guard 011, and while there is a lot to her story, there are things that suggest that she may have a connection with one of the main and beloved characters from Season 1. SPOILERS AHEAD
Sae-Byeok and No-eul May Have a Surprise Connection in Squid Game
One of the great things about ‘Squid Game’ is that nothing is without purpose in the show. Every character and their story serves an important role, which becomes more evident with the many twists and turns we witness when the identities of certain characters are revealed. This is why, when two characters have the same surname, it is natural to assume that this is more than just a coincidence. Both Sae-Byeok and No-eul have the surname Kang, but that’s not the only common thing between them. The backstories of both women reveal that they are defectors from North Korea and are trying to get their loved ones over to South Korea.
In Sae-Byeok’s case, it is her mother. Her brother is already in South Korea but he lives in a shelter because she doesn’t have a lot of money to keep them afloat while also paying the broker to find her mother in the north. Her father died while crossing the border, and her mother was arrested and is now in a prison camp. In the second season, the broker tells Gi-hun that Sae-Byeok’s mother is still alive, though there was an outbreak of tuberculosis in the camp, and it’s not confirmed if her mother got it. In any case, she is still alive, and with all the money that Gi-hun has given him, it is possible to get her mother to South Korea and reunite her with her son, Cheol, who is under the care of Sang-woo’s mother for now.
In contrast, No-eul escaped North Korea seven years ago and left behind her infant daughter. She also killed her superior officer, which is why perhaps she was forced to flee so urgently that she didn’t have to make arrangements to get her daughter with her. Now, so far, no apparent connection appears between the two women, but there is a chance that there is more to the story that neither of them has admitted to yet. Considering that they both share the same last name, there is a chance that they are related to each other. The first thought that comes to one’s head is that perhaps they are sisters. But it must be remembered that No-eul was married, which means Kang is the surname she acquired from her husband.
Interestingly, Sae-byeok had an older brother who died from a plague. Now, it is mentioned that he died when she was young, but his age is not mentioned, and neither do we find out the age gap between them. We can assume that she is in her early 20s or late teens during the events of ‘Squid Game,’ considering that her brother, Cheol, is only ten years old at the time. It is possible that she had a similar age gap with her elder brother. In that case, there is a chance that No-eul might be married to him, which would make her Sae-byeok’s sister-in-law. This would explain why Sae-byeok doesn’t mention her when she talks about her family. She only mentions her brothers, her grandparents, and her parents. Perhaps she doesn’t like No-eul enough to mention her.
No-eul’s Defection May be the Reason Behind Sae-byeok’s Escape from North Korea
While it is revealed that No-eul escaped from North Korea, we don’t get the exact measure of her circumstances. Why did she kill her superior? Why did she have to leave in such a hurry that she didn’t even have the time to get her infant daughter? Could it be that she was found to be a spy or a traitor? Maybe she was found, which is why she had to run. If that’s so, then it makes sense that the government would target her family to find out more about her. No-eul escaped about four years before the events of ‘Squid Game’ Season 1. Sae-byeok and her brother had also crossed over shortly before this. It could be that No-eul’s defection caused problems for her husband’s family, forcing even them to find an escape and leave North Korea.
It is possible that Sae-byeok and her family hate No-eul for what she did to them, which is why they don’t consider her a family member anymore. In that case, it makes sense that Sae-byeok wouldn’t talk about her to anyone. In the same vein, because No-eul expects her in-laws to hate her, she doesn’t bother with finding out what has become of them. Her biggest priority is her daughter, who matters to her more than anyone else in the world. It wouldn’t make sense for her to spend her money, which she is already strapped for, on locating her in-laws. Moreover, Seoul is a big city, and it would make sense if she didn’t cross paths with Sae-byeok, particularly because she already had too much on her plate to notice anything else.
Another interesting thing about the duo is how their names mean the exact opposite of each other. Sae-byeok means dawn, while No-eul means sunset. In addition to both their surnames being Kang, it seems too much of a coincidence for the writers to have come up with this set of names. The meanings of their names serve as an argument for the women being sisters, which, in hindsight, could still be possible. All the arguments above would still make sense if No-eul were Sae-byeok’s sister. The family would still suffer due to her defection, which would make her family disown and hate her, leading Sae-byeok to act as if she never had a sister, to begin with. While all these arguments have some grounds to stand upon, the theory is still on thin ice.
Why Sae-Byeok and No-eul May Not Be as Connected as They Seem
Considering the penchant ‘Squid Game’ writers have for shocking twists and turns, it wouldn’t be a surprise for the third season to reveal a connection between Sae-Byeok and No-eul, whether or not it is the same as mentioned above. Still, there is also a chance that what we anticipate might be nothing but a coincidence. After all, No-eul is not the only character with “Kang” as her surname. Dae-ho’s surname is also Kang, and there is no reason to make any connection between him and the two women. The fact is that Kang is one of the most common Korean surnames, so the fact that both Sae-Byeok and No-eul have Kang as their surname could be nothing but an accident.
All the similarities between the two women could be the writers paying tribute to Sae-Byeok. By bringing in another character with similar circumstances as her, they might plan to give No-eul the ending that Sae-Byeok never received. While the girl never got to her brother and mother again, it could be that the writers plan to reunite No-eul with her daughter, giving her a happy ending and, in a way, making up for the tragic fate they bestowed upon a character that received a lot of love from the audience. The opposite meaning of their names could be an indication of this possibility.
As for all the theories about their familial connections, there are many things to suggest that they are too much of a stretch. While we wouldn’t completely discredit the part about them being sisters or sisters-in-law, we have to confess that there are a lot of what-ifs in that theory. Most importantly, we don’t yet know whether No-eul has been working as a guard in the games every year for the past seven years. If it is so, then why wouldn’t she recognize Sae-byeok and try to help her, just as she kept an eye on Park Gyeong-seok, aka Player 246? If Sae-byeok really is her sister or sister-in-law, why didn’t No-eul show the same concern for her that she does for Gyeong-seok in Season 2?
One reason to explain this is by assuming that No-eul hasn’t worked as a guard every year. Perhaps she joined the games about 6-7 years ago for the first time but then refused to be a part of it for the next few years because she couldn’t make peace with what was happening to the players, and she was one of the people doing it to them. Then, in the year 2024, she found herself getting desperate again because she’d run out of money, and her daughter still hadn’t been found. It would make sense for her to choose to return to the games. In the same vein, there is a chance that No-eul was never a spy. Perhaps she attacked and killed her superior because he harassed her. It is certainly a more realistic explanation than her being a spy.
When he forced himself on her, she defended herself, and perhaps, by accident, or maybe deliberately, she shot him. Once she realized what she’d done, she knew she would be jailed for it because who’d care that she was sexually assaulted? All anyone would see is that she shot a superior, and that’d be enough to send her to prison for life if not having her executed. To save herself, she had no other choice but to run, and this is why she couldn’t go back to get her daughter. Even with all this, we might yet find a connection between the two women, considering that both of their loved ones are still behind the border and are being looked for by the same broker. What if No-eul’s daughter is in the same prison camp as Sae-byeok’s mother? If that’s the case, then there is a chance that we might see both of them come to South Korea at the end of Season 3 to give No-eul her happy ending while also bringing closure to Sae-byeok’s story by fulfilling her last wish.
Read More: Squid Game Season 2 Post-Credits Scene: Why is There a Second Doll? Who Are the Players?
