'Squid Game' star Jung Ho-yeon says she lost 6 pounds in the week the show became successful: 'I couldn't eat'

• "Squid Game" star Jung Ho-yeon told The Hollywood Reporter that she couldn't follow the show's success.
• Jung, who made her debut in "Squid Game," said she "lost 6 pounds" after the show was released.

"Squid Game" star Jung Ho-yeon told The Hollywood Reporter that she lost 6 pounds in the week after the series was released on Netflix.

"Squid Game," a Korean drama series about people who take part in children's games with deadly twists for money, became Netflix's most-watched series ever in October.

The series quickly become a pop culture sensation after being released on the platform with costumes from the show being used for protests, YouTubers and other groups recreating the games in real life, and new memes and Tiktok trends inspired by the games within the show.

"Squid Game" stars Jung Ho-Yeon, Lee Jung-jae, and Park Hae-soo spoke to THR about the reaction to the success of the show. In the interview, Jung, who plays North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, said she realized the show was going to be a big the week after it was released.

"I think [I knew] a week after it opened," Jung, whose first acting role was in "Squid Game," said. "I couldn't follow the speed of the growth of the 'Squid Game' success because, since COVID, I think everything is faster and even online, it happens just so quick."

The Korean actress and model added: "It was hard to follow. I lost 6 pounds in a week when it became successful. I couldn't eat — it wasn't stress, I just didn't know this feeling. 'What's going on out there, who am I?' I was kind of losing myself.

"Now, I feel very comfortable with the 'Squid Game' team, so I can slowly get used to this success with people. But when I was at home by myself watching this growth, I was like, 'What?'"

Whilst Park said that he had expectations for the show being successful after seeing the ensemble cast, Lee, who played the series protagonist Seong Gi-hun, said that he was in the same boat as Jung.

"I don't know how to deal with this," Lee said. "I don't know what this is. Even though I have [more acting] experience. … Even in Korea, it was very popular and the show was getting a lot of responses from people that they really enjoyed it."

The creator of the hit series has confirmed that the show will have a second season. Hwang Dong-hyuk told Variety after the initial success of the show that he's in no rush to make a second season due to the stress of making the first one. Hwang said in an interview with THR that he lost six teeth during the production of making the show.