The following tropes list the characters for Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds:
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Kim Ja-hong
Played by: Cha Tae-hyun
A firefighter that sacrificed his life in the line of duty. He is named a paragon for his selfless action, but must still undergo seven trials to determine his ultimate fate.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Ja-hong gets on his knees and begs the guardians not to destroy the vengeful spirit. At first it's because he thinks that the vengeful spirit is his mother. Then it turns out that the vengeful spirit is his brother. Even so, he asks that no harm comes upon his brother.
- The Atoner: Ja-hong's constant self-deprecation comes from his intense feelings of guilt over planning his family's murder 15 years ago. He had planned on killing his chronically-ill mother, then his brother, then himself, but ultimately couldn't go through with it. He ran away from home and spent the next 15 years working himself to the bone to support his family.
- Dead to Begin With: Ja-hong perishes at the beginning of the movie, although he isn't aware of it initially.
- Driven to Suicide: Reached this point as a teenager. He almost committed a murder-suicide, but was stopped by his brother.
- Fainting: He's overworked himself so much in the past that's he's fainted from exhaustion, complete with a nosebleed.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic. He's selfless and dedicated to the well-being of his family, but prone to frequent self-deprecation.
- Friend to All Living Things: He's shown to have risked his life to save not just human lives, but also animal lives.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ja-hong sacrifices his life to save a little girl from a burning building, thus setting up the rest of the movie.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Ja-hong continually insists that he is not a paragon. He rejects this idea to the point of nearly sabotaging his trials multiple times. As the film progresses, we learn that it seems to stem from guilt.
- Humble Hero: Ja-hong is this when he isn't being self-deprecating.
- Momma's Boy: Ja-hong is very dedicated to his chronically ill mother, working multiple, often dangerous, jobs in order to make sure all of her medical bills can be paid and that she, as well as his brother, can live comfortably. He spends the majority of his trip through Hell worried about her. His brother Soo-hong shares similar sentiments.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He beat the crap out of his brother as a teenager after the latter stopped him from smothering their mother in her sleep.
- Workaholic: Not only is he a firefighter, Ja-hong also takes a variety of jobs on the weekends. The only rest that he's gotten in 15 years is death.
Gang-lim
Played by: Ha Jung-woo
The head of the three guardians in charge of Ja-hong's defense team.
- Badass Longcoat: Wears a long coat and is a capable swordfighter.
- Big Damn Heroes: Although not physically present, Gam-ling saves Ja-hong from getting his tongue cut out during a trial. Gam-ling possesses Deok-choon in order to deliver a crucial counter-argument at just the nick of time.
- Cool Sword: His Whip Sword that can also function as a Flaming Sword.
- Consummate Liar: When investigating the identity of the vengeful spirit, Gang-lim pretends to be a grieving man saved by Ja-hong. He's able to flip from calm to teary-eyed and back in a split-second. Ja-hong's mother is completely convinced.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Implied through the brief flashbacks that we see of his past.
- Determinator: Goes really far out of his way to give Soo-hong's vengeful spirit closure, even though he's not allowed to interfere with the living world. He faces a lot of obstacles during his investigation into Soo-hong's death, but refuses to give up.
- Flight: He can zip around the sky in the living world, allowing him to chase down the vengeful spirit.
- Flashback: Suffers these throughout the course of his investigation into Soo-hong's death.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic. Stern and unemotional, Gang-lim leads his team with a level head and a will of steel.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gam-ling is stern and doesn't take Ja-hong's self-deprecation well. He rips Ja-hong a new one when the latter's ill-timed self-deprecation almost costs them a trial. Despite this, Gam-ling goes out of his way to help Ja-hong and Soo-hong get closure. Instead of just incinerating Soo-hong's angry spirit and calling it a day, Gam-ling goes out of his way to capture him and locate his body so that he can be properly buried. He also personally delivers Ja-hong's rice cooker and letter to his mother after Ja-hong is allowed to reincarnate.
- Identity Amnesia: Averted. He's the only one of the guardians to remember his human life.
- Invisible to Normals: He's invisible to the living most of the time, but can choose when to become visible. People that're close to death can see him all the time though.
- The Leader: Gang-lim is the oldest and most experienced member of his team. He directs the assistant guardians and the defendant throughout their journey through the seven hells.
- Master of Illusion: Can create illusions in the living world that allows him to blend into whatever environment he's currently in.
- Psychic Link: Shares one with Deok-choon, allowing them to communicate over long distances. Gam-ling can also use it to temporarily possess Deok-choon's body.
- Time Master: Of a sort. He can rewind time in a certain area in order to view past events.
Haewonmak
Played by: Ju Ji-hoon
A sardonic assistant guardian that works under Gang-lim.
- Badass Longcoat: Sports an ankle-length coat and is a very capable fighter. He's responsible for defending Ja-hong and Deok-choon while Gang-lim is absent.
- Cool Sword: TWO cool swords at that! He can combine them into a spear.
- Deadpan Snarker: Haewonmak's Establishing Character Moment is asking if Ja-hong really believed he could survive the height he jumped from the burning building. Sometimes his snark provides some much-needed Comic Relief.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric. Outspoken and action-oriented, but also insensitive and harsh.
- Hot-Blooded: Haewonmak has a tendency of acting on impulse, something that his superior is very much aware of. He is the most likely to act on his emotions out of the three guardians, blurting out his thoughts and throwing himself into action without a second thought.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Haewonmak is snarky and irreverant, often complaining about having to defend Ja-hong. He wants to hurry up and finish his work so that he can reincarnate as the son of a rich man. Despite his jaded attitude, he still does his utmost to defend Ja-hong and ensure that Deok-choon is protected from the various hazards that they encounter.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Haewonmak is very disillusioned with his occupation and is the first to suggest calling it quits when things start going south. He'll still do all he can to protect Deok-choon and defend Ja-hong unless ordered otherwise.
- The Lancer: Contrasting the professional Gang-lim and cheerful Deok-choon, Haewonmak is rather cheerfully sarcastic and irreverent. He's the first to bring up objections to plans and the most open about his apathy towards his job.
- Not So Above It All: Moved to tears during Soo-hong's last conversation with his mother.
- Only in It for the Money: He's only acting as a guardian in order to earn reincarnation. He couldn't give less of a crap about the spirits that he defends.
- Sand In My Eyes: Haewonmak is seen tearing up during the finale as well as trying and failing to be discreet about it (shaking/twitching your head's not going to make the tears go back in, dude), evoking this trope without saying anything.
Lee Deok-choon
Played by: Kim Hyang-gi
A cheerful and supportive assistant guardian that works alongside Haewonmak.
- Character Tics: Giving thumbs-up.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine. Cheerful and friendly, she is usually the one to conduct the defense during trials.
- Genki Girl: A downplayed version. Deok-choon is the most enthusiastic of the guardians. She happily congratulates Ja-hong on his status as a paragon and remains consistently supportive of him throughout their journey.
- The Heart: She's the most morally upright member of the guardians. She opposes morally dubious actions, like lying to Ja-hong about the identity of the vengeful spirit.
- One Head Shorter: Than most of the male characters.
- Seers: Deok-choon can gain insight into the crimes of a spirit, allowing her to more efficiently conduct an argument in trials. She's vulnerable while she does so though, since she must sink into a trance to do so.
Kim Soo-hong
Played by: Kim Dong-wook
Ja-hong's estranged brother, Soo-hong is enlisted in the army. He cares deeply for his mother and plans to move back in with her after being discharged from the military.
- Accidental Murder: A victim of this. Soo-hong is accidentally shot in the stomach by Private Won, but survives. What REALLY kills him is being buried alive.
- Blow You Away: Creates a huge tornado in an attempt to kill First Lieutenant Park.
- Body Horror: The skin on his face looks like it's made of cracking mud, with bits drifting off everytime he moves his face. His bloodshot eyes stand out next to the drab grayish-brown of his face, giving him an unhinged look.
- Buried Alive: He wasn't dead when Private Won and First Lieutenant Park buried him. His anger over being buried alive turns him into a vengeful spirit.
- Dead Person Conversation: Appears to his mother in a dream, allowing him to say goodbye before being taken to the afterlife.
- Ghostly Chill: Inflicts this on Private Won.
- Heel–Face Turn: After Private Won delivers a map showing the location of Soo-hong's body, Soo-hong calms down and agrees to cooperate with Gang-lim. It's only when First Lieutenant Park hurts his mother that he reverts to being a vengeful spirit. In the end, Soo-hong is declared another paragon, becoming the guardians' 49th paragon defendant.
- Momma's Boy: Dearly loves his mother. He planned on moving back in with her and caring for her before his untimely death. He prevented his brother from smothering her, suffering a fierce beatdown as a result.
- Nice Guy: When he was alive. He earned the respect and friendship of many of his fellow soldiers by lending a supportive shoulder whenever it was needed. He was also dedicated to his chronically-ill mother.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Subjected to this by his brother when they were teens. Soo-hong prevents his brother from smothering their mother in her sleep, causing Ja-hong to lash out and beat him up.
- Poltergeist: Possesses the power to manipulate the living world. He uses his powers to try to kill Private Won.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Blames Won for his death, causing him to become a vengeful spirit. Soo-hong haunts Won, preventing him from sleeping and attempting to kill him.
- Vengeful Ghost: Becomes this after dying. He haunts Private Won, the cause of his death.
Private Won Dong-yeon
Played by: Do Kyungsoo
A nervous young soldier that worked alongside Soo-hong, he suffers significant trouble in the military.
- Accidental Murder: Accidentally shoots Soo-hong in the stomach. He then helps First Lieutenant Park bury Soo-hong (alive, as it turns out).
- Driven to Suicide: Soo-hong's vengeful spirit eventually drives him to try hanging himself. Fortunately for him, Soo-hong's spirit had calmed down by then and talks him out of it.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Seen drinking heavily after burying Soo-hong's body.
- Ghostly Chill: Constantly shakes from the cold given off by Soo-hong.
- The Insomniac: Suffers insomnia due to Soo-hong's spirit haunting him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Won goes into shock after accidentally shooting Soo-hong. He's barely coherent for days afterwards. The guilt nearly drives him to hang himself.
- Reckless Gun Usage: Honestly, any soldier, even a relatively inexperienced one, should know better than to fidget with a gun's safety. A soldier should also know how to properly hold a gun (i.e. not pointed at your friend and superior).
- Redemption Equals Death: Narrowly averted. Won tosses Soo-hong's mother a map marked with the location of Soo-hong's body. This is enough to earn him Soo-hong's forgiveness, who prevents Won from committing suicide.
First Lieutenant Park Moo-shin
Played by: Lee Joon-hyuk
Private's Won's superior and Soo-hong's friend.
- Hide the Evidence: He hides the evidence surrounding Soo-hong's accidental murder instead of reporting it. He's so focused on doing this that he doesn't notice Soo-hong's fingers twitching, signalling that the latter was still alive.
- It's All About Me: Instead of reporting Soo-hong's death, he decides to hide it and orders Won to secrecy. He does this so that his upcoming promotion is not jeopardized. Some friend.
- Would Hit a Girl: Violently throws Soo-hong's mother to the ground after she breaks into the army base. This causes Soo-hong to revert back into a vengeful spirit.
Ja-hong's mother
Played by: Ye Soo-jung
The mother of Ja-hong and Soo-hong, she raised them alone despite struggling with frequent illness and an inability to speak.
- Delicate and Sickly: Older than most examples. She often suffers from debilitating illnesses, even ending up in the hospital several times.
- Good Parents: From what we see, Ja-hong and Soo-hong's mother did her best to raise her two sons alone. They're both extremely fond of her and place her well-being above anything else.
- No Name Given: Her name is never revealed, not even in the credits.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: This whole time Ja-hong's mother knew that he had tried to kill her, and she would have let him because she didn't want to burden him and Soo-hong any longer.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: She considers herself a bad mother for burdening her children. So much so that she decided to let Ja-hong kill her, forgiving him for it before he even did it. Fortunately, Ja-hong couldn't go through with it.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She loses Ja-hong AND Soo-hong within days of each other.
- The Speechless: She cannot speak, but she can hear. She communicates in sign language.
- Suddenly Voiced: Gains the ability to speak when Soo-hong visits her in her dream.
God of Murder
Played by: Jung Hae-kyun
The God that oversees the Hell of Murder and its relevant trials. A gaunt, white-faced man who sits high in his volcanic court, he would listen grimly to arguments from both sides before deciding whether to drop the defendant into the hellish cauldron below or not.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: he really doesn't like it when people upsets order in his court, such as trying to rescue punished souls from the pit, or threatening witnesses who are still alive.
- Fire and Brimstone Hell: his respective hell, which is a ginormous cavern where souls who are murderous in life are boiled in lava.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: although coming off as grave and unforgiving, he is actually very just and would not be easily swayed by arguments compared to the more temperamental judges such as the Goddess of Indolence and the Goddess of Deceit.
Goddess of Indolence
Played by: Kim Hae-sook
The Goddess in charge of the Hell of Indolence, this elderly lady sets up her court in a bamboo-woven pavilion/funaya. She is very sentimental and easy to please, but one wrong word in front of her and you can look forward to being tossed into a lakeful of hungry, human-faced fish.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: appears to be all kind and cuddly, but she can and will give rash, emotional decisions of damning an otherwise virtuous soul over the slightest sign of defiance.
- Morton's Fork: the main dilemma for the suffering souls in her domain. Which one do you prefer: be forced to run from a spinning stone wheel forever, or give up running and be swept into fish-infested waters where you become their snack?
