Geun-soo Character Analysis in The Girl with Seven Names

Mrs. Jang’s son. Aunt Sang-hee introduces Hyeonseo and Geun-soo after Hyeonseo defects to China from North Korea, and she encourages them to date, and later to marry. Geun-soo is very kind, and he treats Hyeonseo well, but she isn’t attracted to him, and she certainly doesn’t want to marry him. Geun-soo obtains the new ID card for Hyeonseo, which claims she is a Korean-Chinese woman named Jang Soon-hyang, and he is devastated when she leaves him and runs off to Xita. Hyeonseo never sees Geun-soo again, but she does call him to apologize. Hyeonseo later hears that he has married another woman and started a family.

Geun-soo Character Timeline in The Girl with Seven Names

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

...but a young man she doesn’t recognize is at the door. Sang-hee introduces him as Geun-soo, and he bows deeply, handing Hyeonseo flowers without looking at her. (full context)

Geun-soo is the son of Mrs. Jang, one of Aunt Sang-hee’s friends from her Korean-Chinese social... (full context)

Geun-soo takes Hyeonseo to meet his mother, Mrs. Jang, who soon talks about opening a new... (full context)

...could be caught, and then they will all be implicated. Hyeonseo knows she can’t marry Geun-soo. In the summer of 2000, with the wedding just weeks away, Hyeonseo walks out of... (full context)

...claims it is at home, but she still has the number memorized from the ID Geun-soo gave her. (full context)

...to see Hyeonseo. Hyeonseo repaid her debt to them years before, and she learned that Geun-soo had since married. It is clear to Hyeonseo that Aunt Sang-hee has forgiven her for... (full context)