Brian Character Analysis in The Girl with Seven Names

A white Westerner from the United States, and Hyeonseo’s eventual husband. Hyeonseo meets Brian in South Korea through an organization called PSCORE (People for Successful Corean Reunification). Brian is the first completely free mind Hyeonseo has ever met, and they quickly fall in love. When Mother and Min-ho first meet Brian, they believe he is an “American bastard,” but they finally come around, and Mother even accompanies Hyeonseo and Brian to Chicago in the United States. Mother and Min-ho’s initial dislike of Brian reflects the effectiveness of the ideological indoctrination of North Koreans by the Kim regime, which conditions North Koreans to despise all Americans.

Brian Character Timeline in The Girl with Seven Names

The timeline below shows where the character Brian appears in The Girl with Seven Names. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea Theme Icon

...meets several male Westerners, who remind her of Dick Stolp. At one meeting, Hyeonseo meets Brian, a kind young man from Wisconsin in the United States. They soon begin dating, and... (full context)

When Hyeonseo introduces Brian to Mother and Min-ho, they instantly believe he is “an American bastard.” Some convictions, Hyeonseo... (full context)

...for the rights of North Koreans until it does. In the meantime, Hyeonseo’s relationship with Brian strengthens, and she soon asks Mother for her blessing to marry him. (full context)

...in North Korea, of course, but she too is adjusting. Mother even accompanies Hyeonseo and Brian to Chicago in America. If only Grandmother could see them now, Hyeonseo thinks, she wouldn’t... (full context)