Park Gyu-young

Park Gyu-young (; born July 27, 1993) is a South Korean actress and model. She is best known for her roles in the Netflix series Sweet Home, for which she was nominated for Best New Actress, and season 2 and 3 of Squid Game (2024–2025).

She made her debut in the music video "Crosswalk" in 2016, and subsequently took on mostly supporting roles. Following a second lead role in the International Emmy-nominated drama It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), she transitioned to leading roles in Dali & Cocky Prince (2021), Celebrity (2023), and A Good Day to Be a Dog (2023).

Early life and education Park Gyu-young was born on July 27, 1993, in Busan. She attended Busan Foreign Language High School. Park left her hometown of Busan and began living in Seoul in 2013 when she entered Yonsei University's Department of Clothing and Environment. She graduated in 2020.

Career

Beginning Park began training to become an actor after she was discovered by JYP Entertainment in 2015, after they saw her on the cover of a college magazine called . She made her acting debut in Jo Kwon's music video "Crosswalk" in 2016.

Breakthrough roles In 2020, she landed her first main role in a television series in the tvN drama It's Okay to Not Be Okay, starring Kim Soo-hyun and Seo Yea-ji. The New York Times named the show one of "The Best International Shows of 2020" and it received a nomination for Best TV Movie or Miniseries at the 49th International Emmy Awards in the Best TV Movie or Miniseries categories.

That same year, Park was cast in the Netflix series Sweet Home as Yoon Ji-su, a troubled bass guitarist who moves into Green Home after her boyfriend's suicide. A skilled survivor, her character wields a baseball bat and also plays the acoustic guitar. She reprised her role for seasons two and three. Later, Park admitted she did not have high expectations of being cast, but recalled, "as soon as [she] left the audition set, the director called [her] and said to leave with a script." Park and her fellow actresses were praised for breaking stereotypes of female characters. For her performance, she earned a nomination for Best New Actress – Television in 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.

Transistioning to leading roles and Squid Games In 2021, Park starred as Yoon Soo-hyun, a police detective and childhood friend of Kim Ga-on (Park Jin-young), in the mystery legal drama The Devil Judge. Later that year, she took on her first leading role in a terrestrial drama, Dali & Cocky Prince. She portrayed Kim Da-li, a visiting researcher at the Saint Müller Museum who eventually becomes the director of the Cheong-song Art Museum. Dali is knowledgeable in many areas, speaks seven languages fluently, and has a pleasant personality, but she struggles with household tasks, including cooking. It aired on KBS2 from September 22 to November 11, 2021.

In 2023, she starred in the Netflix original series Celebrity. She acted as Seo Ah-ri, a humble door-to-door make-up saleswoman who finds herself thrown into a life of fame, wealth, and desire as she explores the world of social media influencers. The same year she also starred in the series A Good Day to Be a Dog alongside Cha Eun-woo, based on a Naver webtoon of the same name by Lee Hye. Park acted as Han Hae-na/Mak-soon, a high school Korean language teacher who turns into a dog when she kisses someone for the first time.

In 2024, it was announced that Park had been cast in the Netflix series Squid Game season 2 and season 3. Production for the second season began in July 2023 and it was released on December 26, 2024. The third and final season was filmed back-to-back with the second season and was released on June 27, 2025. She plays Kang No-eul, a North Korean sniper whom director Hwang Dong-hyuk described as having "no reason left to live." To prepare for the role, she worked hard on the emotional acting requested by director Hwang and trained to embody the physicality of a soldier. The role further expanded her international prominence. The July 2025 Luxury Issue of Elle India featured Park as the first Korean actress to appear on the print cover.

Park stars as Shin Jae-yi, a former training partner and rival to Mantis, in the 2025 Netflix action thriller film Mantis. Directed by Lee Tae-sung, the film is a spin-off of Kill Boksoon and features Park alongside Yim Si-wan and Jo Woo-jin. The film was released on September 26, 2025 on Netflix. Park's upcoming project also includes the crime mystery series Unfriend, which is slated to premiere as a TVING original. Filmed in 2023, the series, co-starring Kim Seon-ho, was held for a 2026 launch. Co-directed by Kim Jee-woon and Park Bo-ram, the project is a joint production by Yong Film, Anthology Studio, and SK Global Entertainment, adapting Chan Ho-kei's crime novel Second Sister.

Endorsements Park's career in advertising began in 2016 with commercials for 11th Street, Ajinomoto's Bono Soup, and Korea Yakult's Super 100. In 2017, she continued to work with major brands, including I'M MEME, The Face Shop, and Korea Shiseido, and in 2018, she endorsed Sameson.

Following her breakthrough acting roles, her advertising portfolio grew significantly. From 2019 to 2021, she had campaigns for SK Planet's OK Cashbag, Dongseo Food, and fashion brands like Just Wonder. In 2021, also collaborated with 100LABS, Polham, National Geographic, and Carrier air conditioner. she continued her partnership with Carrier and also became a muse for Clio's Goodall skincare and the face of MINE Beauty.

In 2023, Park's partnerships continued with LG Electronics, and in September, she was named the first muse of fashion brand Satur. The following month, she was appointed a global ambassador for Gucci, having previously attended the Gucci Ancora Spring 2024 show as a guest, which was under new creative director Sabato De Sarno. Her ongoing deals with Skinny Lab and Recipe Group also began in 2023. In March 2024, she was appointed a global ambassador for AHC. She also became the face of Emface in December. In 2025, she was featured in campaigns for BTIL Korea and Calvin Klein underwear.

Personal life Having attended Busan Foreign Language High School, Park is fluent in English. She has also spoken about creating her own routine to maintain balance as an actress. Park stated, "I focus on my character while acting, but I also think of it as a routine to quickly return to myself on my off days." She added that regardless of her schedule, she has established her own routines, such as going to ballet twice a week or the gym three times a week.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2017 Dear Ho-jung Short film Close Encounters of the Third Kind Gyu-young Short film

Television series + Year Title Role Notes 2016 Bring It On, Ghost Lee Se-in 2017 Suspicious Partner Park So-young Cameo (episode 13, 17–19) Buzzcut Love Ji Yool's sister 2018 Queen of Mystery 2 Jang Se-yeon Cameo (episode 11–13) The Third Charm On Ri-won 2019 Romance Is a Bonus Book Oh Ji-yul Nokdu Flower Hwang Myung-shim 2020 It's Okay to Not Be Okay Nam Ju-ri 2020–2023 Sweet Home Yoon Ji-soo Season 1–2 2021 The Devil Judge Yoon Soo-hyun 2023–2024 A Good Day to Be a Dog Han Hae-na 2024–2025 Squid Game Kang No-eul Season 2–Season 3 2025 Nine Puzzles Lee Seung-joo 2026 Shin Ga-young Fall in! LoveDok Sae

Web series + Year Title Role Notes 2016 Touching You Customer Cameo (Episode 7-8) 2017 Magic School Yoo-ri 2018 Miss Independent Jieun Kim Ji-eun Why Are Girls Always Angry? Kyu-young

Web show + Year Title Role Notes 2018 Nemo Travel: Western Australia Cast member NPIO YouTube Channel 2019 Nemo Travel: Southern France

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 2016 "Crosswalk" Jo Kwon 2017 "Remains" Kwak Jin-eon "I Like You" Day6 2018 "You're the Reason" Urban Zakapa "As I Wished" 2020 "I Will" Lee Seung-gi 2021 "Beautiful Night" Yesung

Hosting + Year Title Notes 2023 2023 MBC Drama Awards with Kim Sung-joo

Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2023 Best Couple Award Park Gyu-youngA Good Day to Be a Dog Baeksang Arts Awards 2021 Best New Actress – Television Sweet Home KBS Drama Awards 2021 Best New Actress Dali and the Cocky Prince Best Couple Award Park Gyu-youngDali and the Cocky Prince MBC Drama Awards 2023 Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries A Good Day to Be a Dog Best Couple Award Park Gyu-youngA Good Day to Be a Dog

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Cine21 2018 Rising Star Actors in Korean Movies in 2018 Placed 2020 New Actress to watch out for in 2021 5th 2021 New Actress to watch out for in 2022 6th