Human Acts Characters

Dong-ho, the central character in Human Acts, is a middle schooler in Gwangju at the time of the 5:18 uprising. After Dong-ho’s best friend Jeong-dae is killed, Dong-ho begins volunteering at the Provincial Office… read analysis of Dong-ho

The writer, closely based on Human Acts author Han Kang herself, is a novelist. The writer was born in Gwangju, living in a hanok there until she was nine. When the writer’s father moved the… read analysis of The Writer

Jeong-dae is Jeong-mi’s little brother and Dong-ho’s best friend. Like Dong-ho, Jeong-dae is small for his age, and the novel often emphasizes that the trackpants he always wears are far too big for… read analysis of Jeong-dae

Jeong-mi is Jeong-dae’s sister. She and her brother rent out the annex in Dong-ho’s hanok. Jeong-mi is remarkably stubborn, bossing her brother around and pushing herself to her limits in factory work… read analysis of Jeong-mi

Jin-su is the unspoken leader of the student organizers during the 5:18 uprising. He is also a boss, mentor, and support system for Dong-ho, Eun-sook, and Seon-ju. Jin-su advises Dong-ho to leave… read analysis of Jin-su

The unnamed narrator is one of the oldest student protestors working at the Provincial Office during the 5:18 uprising. The narrator is imprisoned alongside Jin-su and Yeong-chae and forced to share her meager portions of… read analysis of The Narrator

Yeong-chae is the youngest person imprisoned alongside Jin-su and the unnamed narrator. In his youth and bravery, Yeong-chae reminds Jin-su (often painfully) of Dong-ho. Yeong-chae tends to waver between adult strength and childlike… read analysis of Yeong-chae

Seon-ju is one of the students who worked in the Provincial Office, dealing with the corpses left by the Gwangju massacre and protesting against Chun Doo-hwan. Unlike most of the other protestors, Seon-ju’s… read analysis of Seon-ju

Seong-hee is a prominent labor activist in the 1970s, as well as a close friend (and mentor) to Seon-ju. By the 1990s, Seong-hee has become a hero to progressive South Koreans like Park Yeong-ho… read analysis of Seong-hee

Dong-ho’s mother is the mother of the older brother, the middle brother, and Dong-ho. She is also married to (and then eventually widowed by) Dong-ho’s father. Decades after Dong-ho’s death, Dong-ho’s… read analysis of Dong-ho’s Mother

The older brother is the eldest child of Dong-ho’s father and Dong-ho’s mother; he is a few years older than the middle brother, and 11 years older than Dong-ho. The older brother… read analysis of The Older Brother

The middle brother is the second child of Dong-ho’s father and Dong-ho’s mother. He is not as successful as his older brother, who moves to Seoul, and he struggles with survivor’s guilt following Dong-ho… read analysis of The Middle Brother

Dong-ho’s father is married to Dong-ho’s mother, and he is a parent to the older brother, the middle brother, and Dong-ho himself. The novel generally suggests that Dong-ho’s father is sweet… read analysis of Dong-ho’s Father

President Chun Doo-hwan ruled South Korea as a military dictator from the fall of 1980 to the winter of 1988. After being primed for office by his equally dictatorial predecessor, Park Chung-hee, Chun seized power… read analysis of President Chun Doo-hwan

The interrogator works at Eun-sook’s local police station. When he learns that Eun-sook has worked with the wanted translator to publish a controversial play in Korean, he slaps her seven times, startling her with… read analysis of The Interrogator

The translator is a mild-mannered man who helps translate the controversial play Eun-sook is working on into Korean. The translator is wanted by South Korean authorities in Chun Doo-hwan’s regime, but he has thus… read analysis of The Translator

The publisher is Eun-sook’s boss at the publishing house. He is depicted as a somewhat cowardly man, as he lets Eun-sook take the blame—and the violence that comes with it—for working with the criminalized… read analysis of The Publisher

Mr. Seo is the producer of the controversial play Eun-sook is trying to get published. Though he shares Eun-sook’s despair at the state’s censorship of the play—entire pages have been blotted out with ink-rollers—he… read analysis of Mr. Seo

The professor, later revealed to be named Yoon, is working on an oral history of the Gwangju uprising (what he calls a “psychological autopsy”). The professor is slowly interviewing all the surviving student protestors, though… read analysis of The Professor/Yoon

Park Yeong-ho is Seon-ju’s boss at the activist environmental organization where she now works. Yeong-ho is younger than Seon-ju, and he looks up to her because he knows she used to organize and protest… read analysis of Park Yeong-ho

Jeong-dae’s father, also father to Jeong-mi, arrives in Gwangju soon after he hears the news that his children have disappeared. Though it is evident to everyone that Jeong-dae and Jeong-mi have been killed… read analysis of Jeong-dae’s Father

The writer’s father is a creative writing teacher in Gwangju. Though he moves the writer and the rest of her family to Seoul just a few months before the Gwangju uprising, the writer’s father… read analysis of The Writer’s Father