Who Won Squid Game: The TV Show
Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae, won Squid Game Season 1 by surviving the final game and choosing to share his prize money. The South Korean survival drama follows 456 heavily indebted players who compete in lethal childhood games for a large cash prize; Gi-hun’s victory delivers both personal catharsis and unresolved emotional consequences. This evergreen explainer covers the winner, the structure of the games, key players, and the lasting impact of the show’s ending.
Season 1 Winner and the Final Game
In the Season 1 finale, Gi-hun faces the titular Squid Game, a multi-stage childhood game that tests speed, precision, and nerve. After the last player remaining besides Gi-hun is eliminated, he completes the course and is declared the winner. He chooses to take the prize money and walks away, later returning for Season 2. The win is definitive within the canon of Season 1, though the show’s subsequent seasons and specials expand the universe without altering this outcome.
Outcome Table: Key Players and Fates
| Player | Actor | Result in Season 1 | Source Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) | Lee Jung-jae | Won the game and prize | Show narrative |
| Il-nam (Player 001) | Oh Young-soo | Dies during the games | Show narrative |
| Sang-woo (Player 218) | Woo Do-hwan | Dies during the games | Show narrative |
| Ali Abdul (Player 199) | Anupam Tripathi | Dies during the games | Show narrative |
| Gi-hun’s mother | Kim Sun-young | Survives; family reconciliation subplot | Show narrative |
Structure of the Squid Game Competition
Forty-five six players, all indebted, are recruited to Squid Game with the promise of life-changing money. They must survive a series of six deadly games based on Korean playground games. Players voted to continue after each game; those who refused were eliminated. The structure is designed to test physical ability, strategy, and psychological resilience. The final game is the only one in which the winner is decided by successfully completing the course, not by a vote among remaining players.
Game Sequence at a Glance
- Red Light, Green Light — mass elimination based on movement discipline
- Honeycomb — precision carving under time pressure
- Tug of War — teamwork and balance; significant casualties
- Marbles — paired elimination with emotional stakes
- Glass Bridge — risk and probability under lethal conditions
- Squid Game — final course blending running, defense, and resolve
Notable Details Around the Winner
Gi-hun’s win is complicated by guilt, trauma, and the money’s consequences. He returns the cash in a later season and donates anonymously to charity, illustrating themes of responsibility and redemption. The show consistently links the games to systemic inequality and personal choice. While Gi-hun is the clear winner of Season 1, the series uses time jumps and ensemble storytelling to explore how wealth, trauma, and moral decisions shape each survivor differently.
The Prize and Its Uses
The prize is stated as ₩45.6 billion (roughly USD $38 million in the show’s context). Gi-hun initially lives extravagantly and recklessly, then attempts to atone through gifts and charitable acts. The money functions as a narrative device to examine class struggle and the limits of wealth in healing personal wounds. Subsequent seasons revisit how the prize alters relationships, attracts danger, and complicates the idea of winning.
Cultural Impact and Legacy
Since its global release, Squid Game has become one of the most-watched non-English series, sparking discussions about economic disparity, survival, and global entertainment. The winner, Seong Gi-hun, is portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, who accepted an Emmy on the show’s behalf, marking a milestone for international recognition. Viewer interpretations of the ending vary, but the canonical outcome remains that Gi-hun wins Season 1 and retains the prize unless narrative choices in later content alter his path.