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 to marry her. Hyeonseo declines Chang-ho’s advances, but they remain friends, and he even helps her to escape over the river and into Changbai, China. Ri Chang-ho is always kind to Hyeonseo and her family, and he is further proof that kindness does exist in North Korea, even though it may be difficult to see it.
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Ri Chang-ho Character Timeline in The Girl with Seven Names
The timeline below shows where the character Ri Chang-ho appears in The Girl with Seven Names. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 18: Over the Ice
...to the stretch of river where their house sits, a handsome young man named Ri Chang-ho. Chang-ho is six years older than Hyeonseo and of the absolute highest songbun. One day,...
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Hyeonseo takes the letter to Chang-ho’s mother in Hamhung, who smiles at her with amusement after reading it. When Hyeonseo returns...
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...she is going to a friend’s house and walks out to the river. She finds Chang-ho and tells him she going to Shenyang to visit relatives. He tells her crossing the...
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Chapter 21: The Suitor
...Aunt Pretty in Hamhung, but the banjang was with the inspectors and knew the truth. Chang-ho told Mother that Hyeonseo had crossed the river, and it wasn’t long before rumors started...
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