SPOILER ALERT!
This article contains manga details that are not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled. |
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Kanji | スウォン |
Rōmaji | Suwon |
Alias | Won |
Characteristics | |
Gender | Male |
Age | 18 |
Height | 185 cm (6'1)[1] |
Weight | 70 kg |
Birthday | February 3 (Aquarius)[2] |
Hair Color | Dark Blond |
Eye Color | Aqua Blue |
Professional Status | |
Occupation | King Head of the Kouka |
Partner(s) | Kye-Sook |
Previous Partner(s) | Yona Hak |
Personal Status | |
Status | Alive |
Relatives | Yu-Hon (Father) Yong-Hi (Mother) Emperor Il (Uncle) Kashi (Aunt) Yona (Cousin) Joo-Nam (Paternal Grandfather, Deceased) Mei (Paternal Grandmother, Deceased)[3] |
Debuts | |
Manga Debut | Chapter 01 |
Anime Debut | Episode 01 |
Portrayal | |
Japanese Voice | Yuusuke Kobayashi Nozomi Yamamoto (Child) |
English Voice | Micah Solusod |
Image Gallery |
Soo-Won (スウォン, Suwon) is the current king of Kouka Kingdom. He is the son of the deceased General Yu-Hon, the older cousin of Yona, and the childhood friend of Hak. He murders his uncle, Emperor Il to avenge the foul murder of his father.[4] Currently, he is resolving the internal conflicts of Kouka in order to bring the country back to the strong nation it used to be.
Appearance
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Personality
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Soo-Won is a kind, gentle, and friendly person who is always seen with a calm demeanour. Despite being composed most of the time, he displays moments of naivete and acts childish whenever he sees fit. He has a habit of changing the topic if someone notices his lies or questions his intentions.
Ever since he was little, he has been sociable. He can approach anyone as he never judges a person on their appearance.[7] Thanks to this, he is able to establish connections with various people, even with those who appear to be crude. Due to his uncanny charisma[7] he often forms bonds based on his hidden intrigue. However, despite all his socializing, he is still clueless about love.[8] He fails to see someone else’s feelings towards him and when he does notice, he dismisses it as a misunderstanding.[9] Ironically, he does understand how adult interactions work as seen when he stated to Yona that he can no longer do the things he usually does with her when they were kids. Oddly enough, this makes Soo-Won similar to Yona in this department.
With his frail looking build and lack of appearance in combat, he is viewed by some as weak and is often contrasted with his childhood friend Hak, a fighting protege.[10] In truth however, he never shows his real strength unless he needs to. When he does display it, he is seen to be a swordsman even capable of threatening Lee Geun-Tae. He can also produce effective battle strategies that will lead his men efficiently and manipulate his enemies effortlessly. Moreover, he has a highly determined attitude, such that he will even challenge divine will if he needs to.[11]
He holds great admiration towards strong people, especially his father, Yu-Hon,[12] and aspires to be just like him. However, after his father was killed, he was devastated. Afterwards he became a more secretive person and schemed revenge for years. For this reason, he was willing to tear himself away from his friends and destroy his relationships with Yona and Hak to pursue his ambitions. Despite his heartless actions towards them, he still genuinely cares for them, as was made evident when he learned of Yona’s apparent death[13] or how he was rendered unable to unsheathe his sword after seeing the anger and pain with which Hak attacked him.[14]
It is known that Soo-Won deeply cares for his childhood friends, Yona and Hak, despite everything that has happened. In Chapter 90 of the manga, it shows that Soo-Won still cared for Yona. He readily defended Yona from arrows, which shows how much he still cares for her. Even though Yona and Hak seem to despise him very much, he does not retaliate, which also shows how much he cherishes them.
Although very handsome and having a great amount of charisma, Soo-won appears to have some problems with having relationships with women, and becomes easily abashed when he is insinuated to have had one in Awa. As of now, he doesn't appear to be thinking about finding a wife, and even refused (somewhat vigorously) when his generals suggested that he marry An Lili, the Water Tribe general's daughter.
Background
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Soo-Won as a child.
When he was nine,[17] his father was murdered by Emperor Il, though the murder was covered up as an accident.[18] Since then, he harbored a secret hatred of the emperor and plotted his revenge in order to fulfill his father’s dying wish to become the king.[18] Knowing that this desire of his would eventually tear him, Yona, and Hak apart, he remained silent about his plans and continued as if nothing had changed until the day he could carry out his plan. At some point Emperor Il told him that Yona was the reincarnation of King Hiryuu and that he (Soo-Won) was different.
Synopsis
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Fugitive Arc
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Soo-Won becomes the current King of Kouka.
When Soo-Won was informed that Yona and Hak were 'dead', he carried on with his plans to become king whilst remembering how he killed Emperor II, betrayed his best friends and trampled over them for his goals. He is shown to regret his feelings after being motionless and clutches Yona's hair tightly in guilt, but after coming so far and doing so much- he knows he cannot fail his goals, otherwise his ambitions were pointless in the first place. He therefore, continues with his coronation and becomes King.
Abilities
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As the King of Kouka, he has the power to rule over the people and land. He has full control of the kingdom. Soo-Won is able to excellently wield a sword and other weapons. Son Mundok taught him how to use a spear at a young age. This is confirmed in the anime when he shows surprising ability in the mock battle against Geun-Tae, a general known for his skills in battle. Su-won also demonstrates great political competence when dealing with the five generals as well as skill in strategy as seen in the mock battle.
Soo-Won is a highly intelligent and cunning individual; these traits made him one of the best - if not the best - strategist shown so far in the series. One of the most recent exemples of his ability was dress his soldiers' horses like tigers to scare the enemies this tactic gave his men time enough to attack before the opponent could even react. His intelligence and charisma, as well as his skills as a warrior were enough to gather the support of four of the Five Tribes (with the Wind Tribe remaining as the only exception due to their loyalty to Hak) and consolidate his authority as the ruler of the kingdom. Politics seem to be his preferred ground, and he showed amazing skills in dealing with people; that does not mean, however, that he is not a great warrior himself.
Relationships
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Yona
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Soo-Won and Yona's relationship back in their childhood.

Soo-Woon thinks about Yona
Some time later, after literally bumping into each other in Awa, Soo-Won hides Yona from his men by covering her with his robes and preventing them from knowing her identity. During the confrontation with them, Yona, still hidden, reaches for his sword and Soo-Won stops her. When his men leave, Soo-Won asks her if she wants to kill him, saying it was only natural that she did, but there something he had to do first, so he couldn't die just yet. He bids her farewell and leaves, creating the speculation within the fandom that Soo-Won has developed feelings for Yona.[21]
Hak
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Soo-Won and Hak back in their childhood.

Soo-Woon agrees with Hak
Yu-Hon
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Soo-Won and his father overlooking the Hiryuu Castle.
Yu-Hon is usually a strong and strict person, but is noted to be acting differently when it comes to Soo-Won. When he was still alive, he encourages Soo-Won, even to the point of telling his son to beat his sickness to death. Due to his strength and intelligence, Soo-Won looked up to him and dreamt that he could fight by his side someday.
Lee Guen-Tae
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Lee Guen-Tae is the general of the Earth clan. Soo-Won goes to the Earth clan in order to help their impoverished land and to show off Guen-Tae as an admirable leader, who could boost morale very quickly. At first, Guen-Tae compares Soo-Won to Hak, saying that Hak is a better fighter, comparing Hak to a tiger. Although he compares Hak to a tiger, he compares Soo-Won to a rabbit for his skinny arms and to the fact that he has never seen Soo-Won fight. In the end, Guen-Tae has seen Soo-Won's strength and follows him as a leader and acknowledging him as king. During the meeting of the Tribes to save Lili, he teases Soo Won for developing feelings for her and considers the rescue mission as an excuse for Soo Won and Lili to get married.
Quotes
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- "It does not matter to me if there is someone watching us from the Heavens because what I want is not the power of God, but the strength of the people. If anyone or anything gets in my way, even if it’s divine intervention, I will hold them down."[25]
- "Kindness is not a crime. But sometimes it awakens the weakness and greed in others."[26]
- (To Yona) "You're safe and sound. That must be because even now, he's [Hak] risking his life to the end to protect you."[27]
- (To Yona) "Do you want to kill me? It's only natural that you do. But I cannot die right now, because there is something I must do."[28]
- (To Kija) "I have no desire to sit on the throne."
- (To Kye-Sook) "What I want isn't power of gods. It's power from the people."
- (To Lord Kushibi In the manga) "We, with a 'mere handful of troops,' triumphed over a thousand soldiers"
- (To Kija) "I have but one goal, to make this country strong."
- “I cannot stop now. I must keep this kingdom alive.”
Trivia
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- He ranked 9th in the character popularity poll conducted by Hana to Yume in December, 2014. He scored 389 votes in total.[29]
- Soo-Won is the 11th person from the Sky Tribe to be heralded as the king.[30]
- He and Mizuho Kusanagi share the same birthday.[31]
References
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- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Volume 17
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Fanbook
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 2, Page 13
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 6
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Anime: Episode 1
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 61, Page 9
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 48
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 46
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 45, Page 11
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 11, Page 19
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 2, Page 11
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 10, Pages 28-29
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 92, Page 27
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Pages 20-21
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 4, Page 23
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 61, Page 3
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 12
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 47
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 1, Page 49
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 39, Page 26
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 11, Pages 7-8
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 75, Page 25
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 61, Pages 26-27
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 11, Pages 18-19
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Anime: Episode 9
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 39, Page 8
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 39, Page 17-19
- ↑ Hana to Yume (花とゆめ), 2015/1 edition
- ↑ Akatsuki no Yona Manga: Chapter 11, Page 14
- ↑ Mizuho Kusanagi - Anime News Network profile