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American Legation
Choi Yoo-Jin/Eugene Choi
Eugene Choi
Actor: Lee Byung Hun
A Joseon slave who escaped to America and became a U.S. Marine officer. He returns to Joseon for a secret misson, but he ends up falling in love with Go Ae-shin.
Tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Growing up in America was tough, as his roots and appearance lead to him being bullied by other American children.
- Born into Slavery: He was born a slave to a wealthy noble family before he escaped.
- Byronic Hero: Eugene is noble and brave but his cruel experiences have made him pragmatic and cold. He clearly feels empathy but rarely puts it to use.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was born a slave and had to work extremely hard everyday. When his family tried to escape, they were caught, and his father was beaten to death. His mother helped him escape, but she drowned herself so she wouldn't get caught. He had to evade slave-catchers. After escaping to America, he was relentlessly bullied and robbed by other American children.
- The Gunslinger: Displays remarkable marksmanship with a revolver, and a quick-draw as well.
- Immigrant Patriotism: Eugene considers himself an American rather a Korean after escaping to America with the help of a missionary.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's cold and aloof, but he will do the right thing.
Kyle Moore
Kyle Moore
Actor: David Lee Mc Innis
Eugene's direct supervisor and friend in the U.S. Marines.
Tropes:
- Eagleland: He is an excellent example of the dichotomy, with his cheery ignorance prompting him to ask dumb and often offensive questions (“Eugene, how do Joseon women see color with black eyes?”), but his inherent sense of fair play prompting him to help Joseon at great personal inconvenience and risk, in their hour of need.
- Innocently Insensitive: He may ask dumb or offensive questions, but unlike many of the other characters in this show, it's simply out of ignorance than malice
- Nice Guy: He treats Eugene more like a friend than a subordinate, and he doesn't hesitate to help a young girl being harassed by a Japanese soldier.
Righteous Army
Go Ae-shin
Go Ae-shin
Actress: Kim Tae-ri
A Joseon noblewoman who is a sniper in the Righteous Army. On one of her missions, she meets Eugene, and eventually falls in love with him.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Trains to be a sniper in the Righteous Army.
- Blue Blood: She is of the Joseon aristocracy.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She is a Joseon noblewoman who wants to protect her country, and does so by serving in the Righteous Army. She's known in the village for being very kind, and for good reason. As a child, she helped Dong-mae, a lowly butcher, escape because "every life matters".
Musin Society
Goo Dong-Mae
Goo Dong-Mae
Actor: Yoo Yeon-seok
A ruthless Musin Society samurai who fights for anyone that pays him. As a child, he was saved by Ae-shin, and harbors feelings for her.
Tropes:
- Berserk Button: Talking bad about Ae-Shin, or bringing up his past as a butcher.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He was a child of butchers, who were considered "unclean" and harrassed by the locals.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a deep affection for Ae-Shin.
- His Musin Society are fiercely devoted to each other. He even calls them "family" at one point.
- Freudian Excuse: He was born a butcher, one of the lowest classes in Joseon. He and his mother were regularly abused by their masters. When his mother kills a man trying to rape her in self-defense, she kicks him out, even stabbing him to make sure he stays away from them. While hiding, he watches his parents get beaten to death for murder, even if it was just self-defense.
- Friendly Enemies: Despite the fact that Eugene and Dong-mae are natural enemies, being from rival countries and in love with the same woman, their conversations always instantly de-escalate from “menacing subtext” to sounding more like two old friends just taking the piss out of each other.
- Love Makes You Dumb: He is very awkward around Ae-Shin. When he sees her eating candy, he buys the exact same type of candy just to be like her.
- Morality Pet: He has a pretty-but-mute fortune-teller living with him named Hotaru; she is slavishly devoted to him, and he treats her with uncharacteristic gentleness. Similarly, he has a strangely Platonic friendship with the beautiful Hina. They consult with each other on their business ventures, and are comfortable enough to walk into each other's rooms unannounced.
- Yakuza: Musin society are essentially this, even known for extorting vendors in Japanese-controlled areas.
Japanese Legation
Hayashi
Hayashi
Actor(s): Jung In-kyum
The minister of the Japan legation in Joseon.
Tropes:
Takashi Mori
Takashi Mori
Actor(s): Kim Nam-hee
Eugene's unassuming Japanese neighbor in New York. Or so it seems....
Tropes:
- Asshole Victim
- Ax-Crazy: He shoots his own soldiers if he fails them, he hangs a woman's dead body over a bridge, he laughs while torturing people, he throws tantrums if things don't go his way. This guy is absolutely unhinged.
- Dirty Coward: He uses his own wife as a Human Shield when Eugene tries to assasinate him.
- Walking Spoiler: Everything about his true nature is a spoiler.
Joseon Government
Emperor Gojong
Gojong
Actor:Lee Seung-joon
The last emperor of Joseon.
Tropes:
- Humble Hero: For an emperor, he is extremely humble. He's one of the few characters in the show that isn't concerned about Eugene's past as a slave, and he even bows before Go Sa-hong's grave, in front of all of his citizens.
- The Lost Lenore: His reformist wife was assassinated and hit him rather hard.
Kim Hui Sung
Kim Hui Sung
Actor: Byun Yo Han
The heir to a wealthy Joseon aristocratic family.
Tropes:
- Blue Blood: He is a member of the Joseon aristocracy.
- Hidden Depths: As mentioned below.
- Sins of Our Fathers: As aristocrats, his family has screwed over many commoners over the years thus many of the victims see him as a reminder and even take out their anger at him. He is aware of this though; never once does he raise his voice or get mad at said commoners. And in episode 6 when Eugene not-so-subtly implies the Kims hurt him, his only response is to drop his smile and resignedly ask which of his forefathers was the one.
- Stepford Smiler: He maintained a facade of a happy person, but isn't.
Lee Wan-ik
Lee Wan-ik
Actor: Kim Eui-sun
A pro-Japanese Joseon man who eventually becomes the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He schemes to topple Joseon.
Tropes:
- 0% Approval Rating: Absolutely no one in Joseon likes him. Even his allies, including Mori, can barely stand him. His death passes by unmourned.
- Asshole Victim: He's ruthlessly assassinated by Ae-shin, but absolutely no-one, not even his own allies, mourn him. His daughter, Hina Kudo, even states that he died with no mourners and with no country.
- Berserk Button: Bringing up his injured leg or his past as a tenant farmer.
- Evil Old Folks: Age hasn't impeded his greed or ruthlessness.
- Hate Sink: Possibly one of the biggest in the drama, and that's saying something. He's a traitor who kills or organizes the murders of several people, including Ae-shin's parents, he sells off his daughter to a wealthy Japanese man, and he destroys Ae-shin's house, which indirectly leads to Go Sa-song's death. Even at Go Sa-hong's funeral, he mocks the emperor for mourning him, and then he sends his man to attack the funeral mourners.
- Jerkass: He doesn't give a rat's ass about anything: from his home country, to his own daughter.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: He gets away with betraying Joseon to the United States and with murdering Ae-Shin's parents. More than 30 years later, he's murdered by Ae-shin.
- Karmic Death: He shoots Go Sang-hwanand Kim Hui-jin, killing them. Years later, he's shot to death by Ae-shin, their daughter.
- Kick the Dog:
- He mocks the Joseon soldiers captured by the U.S., proclaiming that Joseon abandoned the.
- He mocks Eugene for the death of Joseph (a death he ordered), and has Joseph framed.
- He decides to build the Japanese railroad right over the Go family's house out of sheer spite. He orders his men to knock down the house, indirectly leading to Sa-hong's death.
- He mocks the Emperor when he bows down to Go Sa-Hong's grave (it should be noted that he indirectly caused Sa-hong's death), and then he sends him men to attack the mourners at the funeral.
- Rags to Riches: He came from a middle-class origin, which his rise to the upper strata fueled his ambition.
- Would Hurt a Child: When he catches a young student spying on him, he sets a trap to lure the other students to him. When the trap fails, Wan-ik has the student shot.
