Lee Joo-sil (Korean: 이주실; 8 March 1944 – 2 February 2025) was a South Korean film, television and theatre actress. She was known for playing Hwang Jun-ho's mother in the second season of the South Korean dystopian survival thriller action television series Squid Game.
Lee began her acting career in live theater in 1965. At the 24th Baeksang Arts Awards, she won a Baeksang Arts Award in the category Best Theatre Actress. She earned her doctorate degree in public health from Wonkwang University in 2010.
In 1993, Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer but recovered ten years later. She died from stomach cancer at her family's home in Uijeongbu, on 2 February 2025, at the age of 80, having been diagnosed with the disease three months prior.
Filmography
A Single Spark (1995) - Tae-il's mother
The Uninvited (2003) - Ms. Song
Face (2004) - Hyun-min's mother
Blossom Again (2005) - In-young's mother
Running Wild (2006) - Do-young's mother
The City of Violence (2006) - Seok-hwan's mother
Hot for Teacher (2007) - Headmaster Nun
Black House (2007) - Vice Principal
Punch Lady (2007) - Ha-eun's mother
Le Grand Chef (2007) - Han's mother
Sunny (2008) - Mother-in-Law
Antique (2008) - Jin-hyuk's grandmother
Hello, Schoolgirl (2008) - Laundromat mother
The Sword with No Name (2009) - Ja-yeong's mother
The Tower (2012) - Mrs. Jung
Commitment (2013) - Hwang Jeong-sook
The Chosen: Forbidden Cave (2015) - Dol-soon's mother
Oh My Ghost (2015) - Bong-sun's grandmother
Tomorrow Victory (2015 – 2016) - Park Bok-soon
Train to Busan (2016) - Seok-woo's mother
Chang-ok's Letter (2017) - Chang-ok
Bad Thief, Good Thief (2017) - Kim Soon-Cheon
Notebook from My Mother (2018) - Ae Ran
Sunkist Family (2019) - Grandmother
Goo-hae-jwo (2019) - Sung Ho's grandmother
Mystic Pop-up Bar (2020) - Lee Kkeut Sun
Voice (2021) - Park Eun Soo's grandmother
Hospital Playlist (2021) - Brain tumor patient
The Witch's Diner (2021) - Lee Bok Nam
Would You Like a Cup of Coffee? (2021) - Ms. Hwang
Happiness (2021) - Ji Sung-Sil
It's Beautiful Now (2022) - Jung Mi-Young
Divorce Attorney Shin (2023) - Yang Bok-sun
The Good Bad Mother (2023) - Jung Gum-ja's Mother-in-law
The Uncanny Counter (2020 – 2023) - Jang Choon Ok, So Moon's grandmother
Squid Game (2024) - Hwang Jun-Ho's mom
