A South Korean actress known for her role in the Netflix show Squid Game has died. She was 81.

Lee Joo-Sil died three months after she was diagnosed with stomach cancer.

The veteran actress was known for her role in the second season of the immensely popular survival drama Squid Game, which revolves around a deadly, high-stakes contest involving children's games.

'Squid Game' actress

In the show's second season, released in December, Lee played the mother of undercover detective Hwang Joon-Ho (Wi Ha Joon).

Born in 1944, Lee began her acting career on the stage, appearing in Death of a Salesman and Macbeth before becoming a staple in South Korean TV and film.

She made her screen debut in 1980's Jeonwonilgi before receiving a crushing stage four breast cancer diagnosis in the 1990s. She was given one year to live but defied the odds and went on to have a long and successful career.

"I overcame it well because I have children," she said in a 2023 podcast.

"Everyone becomes stronger when faced with a crisis,” she said of her previous illness. “If you let everything go, you become helpless. When I was contacted by a film company to work with them, I said, ‘I’m sick,’ and they said, ‘That’s an illness, and we’re working.’ I was grateful for that kind of thinking."

In addition to Squid Game, she was known for appearing in the popular zombie apocalypse movie The Last Train To Busan opposite Gong Yoo.

Tributes pouring in

Her other movie roles include the action film Commitment, A Single Spark, and Sikgaek (Le Grand Chef), among others. Lee also appeared in TV shows like The Uncanny Encounter, It’s Beautiful Now, Lady President, Ordinary Love, Stormy Woman, Treadstone, and The Witch's Diner. 

Tributes have started to pour in for the veteran actress from fans and colleagues in the film industry.

"I still remember the warmth with which she encouraged and guided me when I was young," wrote actress Shim Eun-kyung in a post.

Lee was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November, not long before the second season of Squid Game was released the next month. She went into cardiac arrest on Sunday and was pronounced dead at St. Mary’s Hospital in Uijeongbu.

Her funeral service is scheduled for February 5 at Severance Hospital in Seoul.