‘Squid Game’ Star Dies Just Months After Stomach Cancer Diagnosis: Lee Ju-sil Was 81

Veteran actress Lee Joo-Sil, best known for her roles in productions like The Tower, Train to Busan, and the Netflix hit Squid Game, has died. She was 81.

According to Deadline, the cause of death was stomach cancer, which she had been diagnosed with back in November. Prior to this diagnosis, she revealed that she was already a cancer survivor from earlier in her life.

Around 30 years before, the actress had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and given a one-year prognosis. She fought and struggled with the disease for 13 years before overcoming it and going into remission.

Lee started her career in 1964, gaining prominence for her voice acting and stage performances. She has appeared in Death of a Salesman and Macbeth, later joining projects like Commitment, Train to Busan, A Single Spark, and Sikgaek.

For those more interested in her role on Squid Game, it was small, but important, appearing as detective Hwnag Joon-ho’s mother on the series.

“Everyone becomes stronger when faced with a crisis,” she said in an interview in 2023. “If you let everything go, you become helpless. When I was contacted by a film company to work with them, I said, ‘I’m sick,’ and they said, ‘That’s an illness, and we’re working.’ I was grateful for that kind of thinking.”

Her funeral was set to be held at Severance Hospital funeral hall in Sinchon, Seoul. Visitors will be taken starting on Monday, Feb. 3, and the funeral will follow on the fifth.