Cho Sang-woo/History (2024)

Backstory[]

Born in Ssangmun-dong, Seoul in 1975, Cho Sang-woo is the childhood best friend of Seong Gi-hun, as they developed a very close and brotherly relationship.^[1][2] The two of them used to play children's games together, such as the Squid Game, Sugar Honeycombs, and Red Light, Green Light.

Sang-woo studied Business Administration at Seoul National University, graduating at the top of his class, and became a prodigy in the Ssangmun-dong neighborhood. He later started to work as an investment banker and was the team leader of Team Two at Joy Investments. He eventually siphoned money off from his clients to invest in the stock market and futures. He lost it all, which resulted in a debt of ₩6 billion. Sang-woo also used his mother's shop and house as financial collateral in these investments.^[3]

2020[]

Sang-woo is hunted by the police because of his debts. To prevent his mother's possessions from being taken, pay back his clients, and solve his money issues to avoid being sent to prison, Sang-woo accepted the offer to join the 33rd Squid Game.^[3]After being taken to the island where the Squid Games takes place, Sang-woo began to feel skeptical about games, accusing the Guards of tricking and kidnapping him and the other 455 players because they were receiving very little information about the competition. Sang-woo later discovered that his childhood best friend, Seong Gi-hun, was also a participant, as the two reunited just before the first game. Sang-woo hid behind other players during Red Light, Green Light to avoid Young-hee detecting his movements. When he saw Gi-hun struggling, he advised him to do the same, and they both made it through the game.^[4]

Following the tragic events of the first game, Sang-woo initially concluded he needed to get out of the game. Remembering about the third clause of the Squid Game, he proposed the guards to let the players vote to terminate the games. However, upon seeing the amount of money accumulated in the piggy bank after the first game, Sang-woo changed his mind and voted yes to continue the games. The game was still stopped after majority voted to get out of the game. Afterwards, he was dropped off in the middle of Seoul with Ali Abdul, the player who saved Gi-hun's life in the first game. Sang-woo saw Ali's financial difficulties and offered to help by paying for his bus ride home. Later, he called his mother and told her he was abroad. Just as he was about to commit suicide in his motel bathroom, another invitation from the game crew arrived at his door, and he decided to return to the game.^[3] Rejoining the Squid Game, he reconnected with the other players, including Gi-hun, but he felt nervous, knowing that he'd have to compete against all of them at some point. Gi-hun proposed to form a team, which Sang-woo agreed. Their initial team was composed by Gi-hun, Sang-woo, Ali and the elderly participant Oh Il-nam.After another player, Kang Sae-byeok, had gone off earlier to find out what the second game would be about, Sang-woo approached her and questioned about what she discovered. She told Sang-woo that the crew was melting something in large pots, and it smelt like sugar. Later, upon viewing the shapes on the doors of the playground, Sang-woo guessed the game (Sugar Honeycombs) although he was not completely sure of it, because the circle and the triangle were part of the same shape when he played this game as a child.^[5] Instead of notifying his guess to his teammates, he chose to keep it to himself, seeing no reason to guide all the others to the easiest shape.^[5] Sang-woo then picked the simplest shape to cut out of the cookie while telling the others to split by choosing different ones. However, he is taken aback by Gi-hun choice's of the umbrella, which is the most difficult shape to cut if his guess was correct. Sang-woo tries unsuccessfully to warn his friend not to pick that shape.^[6] As the game started Sang-woo confirmed his guess was right. When the game ended, Sang-woo is relieved to learn that Gi-hun survived.^[7]

When Jang Deok-su and his gang attacked other players late at night in order to reduce the number of competitors and boost the amount of money, Sang-woo vigorously fought them off and assisted his teammates in defending themselves. Sang-woo later saved the team in the Tug of War game by thinking of a last-second strategy. As they were being dragged and were on the verge of falling to death, he told his team to take three steps forward to knock down their adversaries, allowing him and his teammates to win the game.^[7][8] Fearing another attack from Deok-su's gang, Sang-woo and Gi-hun advised the members of their team to take turns sleeping and keep a lookout at night in case of another riot. Sang-woo and Ali remained up late together, bonding over their shared experiences and telling each other stories.^[8]

Sang-woo opted to partner up with Ali the next day during the Marbles game, stating that with a smart and strong individual, they'd be able to beat the other teams. They soon discovered, however, that instead of playing together, the pairs would have to play against each other. Initially, Sang-woo tried a basic guessing game after Ali revealed he had never played marbles before, which was possible as they were allowed to set the rules of the game. To his surprise, Ali had better luck guessing the amount of marbles accurately and came close to beating him.^[9]

Betrayal of Ali and downfall[]

Sang-woo felt frantic with only one marble left and realized he was about to lose. He got on his knees and begged Ali to save his family. However, Ali responded that he, too, had a family who needed him alive. With no other option, Sang-woo decided to betray Ali. He lied to him about how they both might have the chance to play together if the time is out and the other pairs don't have a winner, allowing them both to beat the remaining teams and survive the Marble game. He then convinced Ali to give him his marble pouch and swapped it for one with pebbles. This made him successful in gaining all of his opponent's marbles without resorting to any violence, thus winning this game. On the way out of the location, Sang-woo hesitated and stopped when he heard Ali call for him. He then heard Ali being shot, before remorsefully leaving the place.^[9]

After all the other players were eliminated in the next game, Glass Stepping Stones, Sang-woo, Gi-hun and Sae-byeok were guided by Player 017, who worked as a glass manufacturer. Just as they were running out of time, the lights were turned off, making Player 017 stop as he became unable to guess the final tile they should step on. For wasting too much time, Sang-woo pushed Player 017 off the bridge, allowing him and the others to get to the other side within the time limit.^[10] Following this game, Sang-woo and Gi-hun argue over Player 017's death, with Gi-hun asking Sang-woo if he would have killed him if he was in Player 017's position. Though Sang-woo didn't answer, he tore into Gi-hun for being irresponsible and always getting into trouble, to which Gi-hun responded that Sang-woo was no better and has no one to blame but himself for his own dire financial situation. This causes the two friends to fall out with each other. ^[11]

As one of the finalists of the Squid Game, along with Gi-hun and Sae-byeok, he was gifted a suit and served in a fancy dinner. When they were done eating, he and the others were each given a knife. Still disturbed by Sang-woo's murder of Player 017, Gi-hun tried to assassinate Sang-woo while he was sleeping, but was stopped by Sae-byeok, who told Gi-hun that he "wasn't a murderer". However, Gi-hun noticed that Sae-Byeok was bleeding to death from a glass shrapnel wound she received in the last game. He started to bang on the doors of the place and call for the guards to help, resulting in Sang-woo waking up instead. Seeing the other man desperate, Sang-woo realized that Gi-hun might end up giving up the games to save Sae-byeok. This caused Sang-woo to get up from his bed and stabbed Sae-byeok's neck while Gi-hun still had his back turned.^[5] Sang-woo's murder of Sae-byeok made Gi-hun furious, and he attempted to attack him with his knife but was stopped by the guards.^[11]

In the sixth and last game, Squid Game, Sang-woo and Gi-hun would face off. Before doing so, Sang-woo told Gi-hun that killing Sae-byeok was an act of mercy because she was going to die anyway from her initial glass wound. Gi-hun didn't believe him, so Sang-woo further explained that Gi-hun would have given up on the game to save Sae-byeok, voting with her to terminate the games, which would result in all of them leaving empty-handed.^[12]

Death[]

Sang-woo and Gi-hun initially play the game according to the rules, but it soon degraded into a brutal and ugly fistfight. Both players fought dirty, using every possible advantage they could get, with Sang-woo even nearly strangling Gi-hun with his suit jacket. Ultimately, Gi-hun gained the upper hand. But despite all that Sang-woo did to hurt him, Gi-hun couldn't bring himself to murder his childhood best friend. Instead, Gi-hun invoked the agreement's third clause to end the game in order to save Sang-woo's life, even with this meaning to give up on the prize money, resulting in they both returning to their miserable lives.^[12]

As Gi-hun reached out and asked Sang-woo to come home with him. Moved by his friend's action, Sang-woo tearfully recalled when they played together as kids. Although Sang-woo initially reached to take Gi-hun's hand, considering to accept the offer, he ultimately apologized and refused it. Instead, Sang-woo chose to let Gi-hun be the winner of the games by committing suicide, stabbing himself in the neck with a knife. In his last moments, Sang-woo urged Gi-hun to help his mother. Although they had become enemies by the end of the games, Gi-hun was heartbroken at Sang-woo's decision to end his life. Gi-hun broke down and cried while holding his dead friend in his arms and was emotionally scarred long after the games were over.^[12]

One year after Sang-woo's death, Gi-hun eventually fulfilled his friend's wish by giving his mother a share of the prize money and entrusting her with Sae-byeok's brother, Kang Cheol.^[12]