Most Cowardly Squid Game Characters

The hit TV show Squid Game is centered on a series of deadly games in which participants can either win a lot of money or die trying in the process. Even though the players were not made aware of their violent nature when they signed up, they still need to be as brave as possible, or otherwise they risk dying abruptly and/or unfairly.

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This is not always the case, as several Squid Game characters have proven to be quite cowardly, which has often led others, or even themselves, to their inevitable demise. Curiously enough, there are a lot of memorable players whose cowardice has negatively affected their performance in the games, but the following are the worst ones so far.

8

Cho Sang-Woo

A Different Type Of Coward

• Player: 218
• Death: One Lucky Day (Season 1, Episode 9)

At first glance, Cho Sang-woo may not seem like a stereotypical coward, but he has still shown a frustrating level of subtle cowardice that has frustrated countless viewers. For example, before entering the games, he scammed all of his clients out of their money and even used his mother’s shop as collateral.

Furthermore, once inside, Sang-woo constantly tricks his “friends” to take advantage of them, he pushes another contestant to his death to try out one of the glass panels during Glass Stepping Stones, he murders a wounded and defenseless Kang Sae-byeok, and he even killed himself the moment Gi-Hun defeats him at the very end. Cho Sang-woo is an especially malicious character because he combines his fear with his intelligence to try and come out on top in every situation.

7

Park Yong-Sik

Keeps Putting His Mother In Danger

Season 2 introduced two new characters with an interesting dynamic: a young man named Park Yong-Sik and his elderly mother, Jang Geum-ja. He initially comes off as relatively brave, because he’s willing to play with her, but he’s actually quite cowardly. In reality, Yong-Sik is drowning in gambling debts and insists on playing these deadly games just because he’s scared of what the loan sharks will do to him if he ever goes back to the outside world.

This means that he’s putting both himself and his mother in danger just because of this fear, and isn’t capable of assuming responsibility for his actions. On top of that, when he was separated from Geum-ja during Mingle, he couldn’t even be bothered to fight back to retrieve and help her, and she would have ultimately died if it wasn’t for the actions of Gi-Hun and Oh Young-il.

6

Seon-Nyeo

A “Shaman” That Relies Way Too Much On Her Gods

Seon-Nyeo is one of the weirdest characters of Season 2, as this self-proclaimed shaman always acted antagonistic toward the other players, deeming herself superior because she had the powers of the Gods by her side. However, she eventually showed her true colors during the Six-Legged Pentathlon.

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When it was time for Seon-Nyeo to play Spinning Top for her team, she immediately began failing. Instead of continuing to try, she began crying and praying to her gods, a cowardly behavior that cost them precious seconds, and they would have all died there if it wasn’t for Cho Hyun-ju’s leadership and resolve. Seon-Nyeo kept trying to act tough after that, but it wasn’t working anymore, and almost nobody took her seriously after that moment.

5

Jang Deok-Su

Hiding Behind His Violent Gangster Persona

• Player: 101
• Death: VIPS (Season 1, Episode 7)

Jang Deok-Su was one of Season 1’s most ruthless antagonistic figures, as this former gangster killed multiple people in cold blood, including his henchmen. But this was just a huge façade since he was actually a cowardly man who constantly harmed others just to survive.

This was perfectly exemplified on two separate occasions: when he begged for his life during Red Light, Green Light, and when he froze in fear during Glass Stepping Stones and refused to move ahead. He even displayed his huge levels of cowardice when he was confronted by Han Mi-nyeo during the aforementioned fifth game, which eventually led to both of their deaths.

4

Kang Dae-Ho

His Trauma Completely Ruined The Rebellion

Since Season 2 of Squid Game abruptly ended in the middle of the story, there are a lot of questions about its characters that were left unanswered, with two of them being: Was Kang Dae-ho actually part of the Marine Corps? and, does he have PTSD? Without any concrete answers, his character seemed like a total coward in the final episode of the season.

During Gi-Hun’s climactic rebellion against the Pink Soldiers and the Front Man, Dae-ho was tasked with going back to the dormitory to collect more ammunition. However, he was completely overwhelmed by the hectic situation and suffered a panic attack that prevented him from going back to help his friends and allies. Unfortunately, many good people ended up dying and the entire rebellion failed due to this one fearful decision.

3

Kim Young-Mi

She Just Wanted To Go Home

• Player: 095
• Death: O X (Season 2, Episode 6)

Kim Young-mi is the perfect example of the fact that the contestants are not fully aware of what they signed up for until it’s too late. She was a cowardly and timid woman who, upon realizing the true nature of these games, kept voting to leave and even cried out that she just wanted to go home.

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She managed to survive the first two games and even formed a close friendship with other players (like Cho Hyun-ju and Jang Geum-ja), until she was abruptly killed during the third game, Mingle. This is a real shame because, despite all of her fears and anxiety, Young-mi was becoming braver with each game, but she tragically died due to a small accident.

2

Kang Mi-Na

Ruined Everything Just Because Of One Small Bee

• Player: 196
• Death: 001 (Season 2, Episode 3)

Squid Game is quite an unpredictable show, and this was perfectly exemplified by the character of Kang Mi-na and her unexpected fate. It initially seemed like she was going to be one of the protagonists of Season 2, thanks to her unique appearance and her funny interactions with Thanos.

Nevertheless, just when it seemed like Gi-Hun’s actions were going to save everyone from dying in Red Light, Green Light, Mi-na got scared of a bee that landed on her, making her move when the doll was looking at her, so the Pink Soldiers immediately shot her. She was the first person to die in the 2024 games, and her shocking death caused a mass panic among the players, which resulted in even more deaths. It’s incredible to think that all that chaos and despair was caused by just one small bee.

1

Park Min-Su

A Pushover Who Couldn’t Even Save His Only Friend

Park Min-Su is one of the most pathetic characters in all of Squid Game. This shy, timid, and submissive young man spent all of Season 2 beside Thanos and Nam-gyu, following the orders of these sadistic bullies who constantly mistreated him. Curiously enough, however, his personality attracted the attention of Se-mi, a young woman who tried to defend him from the bullies.

Despite Se-mi being the only person who treats Min-su like a normal human being, he still decides to betray her during Mingle and opts to go through one of the doors with Thanos and Nam-gyu instead. And if that wasn’t extremely cowardly enough, he later had the perfect opportunity to save her from Nam-gyu’s ruthless attacks during the special game, but he was too scared to do anything about it. The avoidable death of Se-mi, coupled with his spineless actions, has resulted in Park Min-su becoming one of the most hated Squid Game characters.

Squid Game

Release Date

2021 – 2024

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Hwang Dong-hyuk

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  Lee Jung-jae

  Seong Gi-hun / ‘No. 456’

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  Park Hae-soo

  Cho Sang-woo / ‘No. 218’

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