Actress Lee Joo-Sil, a Squid Game fan-favorite for her role as Park Mal Soon in the second season of the hit Netflix show, has died. She was 81.
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According to her talent agency, 1230Culture, Lee suffered cardiac arrest at her family home on the morning of February 2. She was rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, where she was pronounced dead, according to South Korean outlet JoongAng Ilbo. She was reportedly diagnosed with stomach cancer only three months prior to her passing.
Veteran actress Lee Joo Sil passed away at age 81 after battling cancer.
— MoviePlus📺 (@MoviePlusx) February 2, 2025
She was widely recognized for her roles in Squid Game 2, Train to Busan, and The Uncanny Counter. 🕊️💔 pic.twitter.com/Y9n64OWft0
Her final role, according to IMDb, was in Squid Game. She portrayed the mother of undercover detective Hwang Joon-Ho (Wi Ha Joon) and the stepmother of Hwang In-Ho (Lee Byung-Hun).
Lee Joo-Sil Battled Cancer in the Past
According to The Chosun Ilbo, Lee was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in her fifties and given just one year to live. In a July 2023 broadcast, the actress revealed that she had undergone 13 years of treatment for the disease, which ultimately proved successful, according to the outlet.
“I found out at the end of stage 3 and it soon became stage 4,” Lee recalled then. “I overcame it well because I have children.”
“Everyone becomes stronger when faced with a crisis,” she added. “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.”
Lee’s acting journey began in 1964 in acclaimed stage productions like Death of a Salesman and Macbeth. On TV, she starred in the K-drama The Uncanny Counter. Meanwhile, genre fans know her for her appearance in the 2016 horror hit Train to Busan.
As reported by JoongAng Ilbo, Lee earned a doctorate in Public Health from Wonkwang University in 2010. She also earned the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 2023 Wildflower Film Festival.
A funeral service in her honor will take place on Feb. 5 at Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul.