The Girl with Seven Names Characters

The protagonist of The Girl with Seven Names. Hyeonseo is born in Hyesan, North Korea, where she and her younger brother, Min-ho, grow up believing their country is the greatest in the world… read analysis of Hyeonseo Lee

Father’s wife, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s mother. After Mother divorces the man from Pyongyang and marries Father, he immediately accepts Hyeonseo as his own. Mother comes from a rather large family of exceptionally… read analysis of Mother

Mother’s husband, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s father. Father first meets Mother on a train to Pyongyang in 1977, and they immediately fall in love. He is a member of the North Korean air… read analysis of Father

Hyeonseo’s “uncle,” Father’s cousin, and Aunt Sang-hee’s husband. Uncle Jung-gil lives in Shenyang, China, where he defected during the Korean War. When Hyeonseo defects to China from North Korea, she goes to… read analysis of Uncle Jung-gil

Hyeonseo’s brother, and son to Mother and Father. Min-ho is several years younger than Hyeonseo, and once Hyeonseo learns that the man from Pyongyang is her biological father and Min-ho is only her… read analysis of Min-ho

A young North Korean defector living in Shenyang, China, with her South Korean boyfriend. Hyeonseo befriends Soo-jin while working in the Shenyang restaurant, and even shares her defector status with her. One day, Soo-jin disappears… read analysis of Soo-jin

Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, and the North Korean dictator and leader of the Kim regime from 1948 until his death of a heart attack in 1994. Kim Il-sung is a cruel… read analysis of Kim Il-sung/The Great Leader

One of Mother’s Chinese business contacts and Mrs. Ahn’s husband. Mr. Ahn lives across the Yalu River from Hyesan in Changbai, China, and when Hyeonseo defects from North Korea, she goes to Mr… read analysis of Mr. Ahn

Hyeonseo’s grandmother. Grandmother is an ardent communist, and she secured her family’s high songbun during the Korean War when she hid the family’s Communist Party identification cards instead of destroying them when the Americans… read analysis of Grandmother

Hyeonseo’s South Korean boyfriend. Hyeonseo first meets Kim in Shanghai, where he is on a business trip from Seoul, and they immediately begin spending time together. Hyeonseo and Kim date for several years, and… read analysis of Kim

Uncle Jung-gil’s wife. Like Uncle Jung-gil, Aunt Sang-hee welcomes Hyeonseo with opens arms after she defects from North Korea and comes to Shenyang, China. Sang-hee is kind, and she helps Hyeonseo adjust to living… read analysis of Aunt Sang-hee

Mother’s oldest sister, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s aunt. Aunt Old is a sad and lonely woman, and after Father is detained by the North Korean government when returning from a business trip to… read analysis of Aunt Old

Kim Il-sung’s son, Kim Jong-un’s father, and the North Korean dictator and leader of the Kim regime from 1994 until his death in 2011. Like his father, and later his son, Kim Jong-il… read analysis of Kim Jong-il/The Dear Leader

The owner of a “salon” in Shenyang, China. Hyeonseo meets Miss Ma in the streets of Shenyang after Hyeonseo runs away from Uncle Jung-gil and Aunt Sang-hee’s house, and she offers Hyeonseo a job… read analysis of Miss Ma

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… read analysis of Brian

Hyeonseo’s good friend and a fellow North Korean defector. Hyeonseo first meets Ok-hee in Shenyang, where they both work waiting tables in a restaurant, and they later reconnect in Shanghai. Ok-hee seeks political asylum… read analysis of Ok-hee

Mr. Ahn’s wife. When Mr. Ahn falls ill and eventually dies, Mrs. Ahn takes over helping Hyeonseo and her family. Mrs. Ahn is a Chinese woman living across the Yalu River from Hyesan in… read analysis of Mrs. Ahn

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… read analysis of Geun-soo

A North Korean border guard assigned to the Yalu River near Hyeonseo’s home in Hyesan. Chang-ho is of the absolute highest songbun, and he quickly falls in love with Hyeonseo and even asks… read analysis of Ri Chang-ho

Kim Jong-il’s son, Kim Il-sung’s grandson, and the current dictator of North Korea and leader of the Kim regime. Kim Jong-un comes to power after the death of his father in 2011, and… read analysis of Kim Jong-un

Mother’s brother, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s uncle. As his name suggests, Uncle Opium is an opium dealer. Opium is illegal in North Korea, but since other medications and pain killers are hard to… read analysis of Uncle Opium

One of Mother’s sisters, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s aunt. Aunt Pretty, who is known for her beauty, lives in Hamhung, and like Mother, she makes her living smuggling illegal foreign goods into North… read analysis of Aunt Pretty

Mother’s brother, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s uncle. Uncle Poor falls in songbun after he marries a woman from a collective farm. He is a talented artist, and he could paint the portraits of… read analysis of Uncle Poor

Mother’s brother, and Hyeonseo and Min-ho’s uncle. Uncle Cinema lives in Hamhung and owns the local movie theater. Hyeonseo and Min-ho are sent to stay with Uncle Cinema when Father is hospitalized with… read analysis of Uncle Cinema

Mother’s first husband and Hyeonseo’s biological father. Grandmother arranges the marriage between Mother and the man from Pyongyang; however, Mother leaves him not long after Hyeonseo is born. Grandmother tells Hyeonseo about her… read analysis of The Man from Pyongyang

Geun-soo’s mother and Aunt Sang-hee’s friend from her Korean-Chinese social circle. Mrs. Jang owns a chain of local restaurants in Shenyang, and she encourages Hyeonseo to marry Geun-soo. Mrs. Jang is very upset… read analysis of Mrs. Jang