Lee Joo-sil (photo), born on March 8, 1944 in Bucheon, South Korea, was known for roles in the film Train to Busan and The Uncanny Counter, a Korean television drama that ran for two seasons from 2020.
Her career began in Korean theater in 1965, and her stage roles included local productions of Death of a Salesman and Macbeth. Her other major roles include the K-drama Someday, where she appeared in 16 episodes in 2006, playing Choi Sim-deok in Loving You a Thousand Times in 55 episodes, and her role as a North Korean spy in the 2013 film thriller Commitment.
One of her last roles was in the Netflix series Squid Game, in which Joo-sil played the mother of undercover detective Hwang Joon-Ho (Wi Ha-joon) and the stepmother of Hwang In-ho (Lee Byang-hun).
According to Korean media, Joo-sil was first diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 1993, but she managed to escape expectations and live for more than three decades. But in November 2024, Joo-sil suffered a recurrence of cancer, leading to her brief battle and her death just before her 81st birthday over the weekend.
