Celebrity 
Lee Ga-kyung
“Just because I was born in Joseon, does that mean I have to join the independence movement? What has Joseon ever done for me, anyway?”
Gyeongseong’s finest pickpocket. A woman who can deceive others with lies without batting an eye. And... a woman whose dream is to save enough money to leave Joseon for good.
She is beautiful. Her clear, fresh face and bright, smiling eyes melt the hearts of everyone around her. Seeing her clean appearance and neat attire, people assume she lives—if not in a modern villa or a new-style apartment—at least in a decent row house, and perhaps works as a "department store girl," a profession known for its many beauties.
But they are all wrong. Ga-kyung has never set foot in a school and lives in a shantytown made of makeshift huts. The respectable, tidy clothes others see her wearing are borrowed from a fence’s pawnshop—the very place where she offloads her stolen goods. She wears neat Western-style clothing because it makes her less likely to be suspected of pickpocketing. She couldn't even apply for jobs like "department store girl" or waitress because she lacked the necessary education. Yet, she has no complaints. After all, her income from pickpocketing is double that of a department store girl earning twenty won a month.
She possesses a natural talent for lying and acting.
She is particularly gifted at deceiving others without batting an eye. Her lies, told with such nonchalance, sound incredibly sincere! It is impossible not to be taken in by her clear, innocent face and sparkling eyes.
She possesses a fierce competitive spirit—a quiet, steely tenacity—that ensures she achieves any goal she sets for herself. As a pickpocket, Gagyeong never fails to steal from a chosen target or deceive someone she has set her sights on. If a job doesn't go right the first time, she gets fired up, tries again, and ultimately succeeds. That same competitive drive is now channeled into saving money.
Gagyeong’s goal is to save up enough money to go to America as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, she has no family to support and no lover to drain her funds on frivolous expenses; she simply needs to work hard, live frugally, and save on her own.
Whenever she enters Gyeongseong Station carrying a decoy suitcase for her pickpocketing, she imagines the day she will board a train—clutching a genuine ticket and a real suitcase—on her way to catch a passenger ship bound for America. Someday, she, too, will leave Gyeongseong Station. She will leave Joseon and travel far across the sea to America.
Then, she receives an offer that is hard to refuse.
"What was that? You’ll send me to America if I become a spy?"
Kim Tae-ung / Sato Hideo
“Even though I knew it was a lie, I found myself wanting to believe it.”
The adopted son of Sato Shinichi, the Director-General of Political Affairs at the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and a newly appointed English interpreter for the administration. Although born in Korea, he currently lives as a Japanese man named Sato Hideo; his Korean name is Kim Tae-ung. He caught Sato’s eye while pickpocketing on the street as a child and was subsequently adopted.
Not long after the adoption, his father took a Korean woman as his wife.
People whispered that his father had married a Korean woman merely to comply with the policy of "Naisen Kekkon" (marriage between Japanese and Koreans). But Tae-ung knew the truth: his father loved his mother.
At first, his mother was younger than his father. Although she was clearly Korean, she never spoke the Korean language to Tae-ung. Yet, Tae-ung liked her from the start; he simply didn't care for the word Okāsan (the Japanese word for "Mother"). So, he asked, "Mother... may I call you Eomeoni instead of Okāsan?" She seemed surprised for a moment but soon replied, "Yes. You may." From that day on, the house with its tatami floors—which had previously felt so uncomfortable—began to feel like a true home. Tae-ung was happy that the mother who loved him was Korean, just like him.
However, his mother left the house immediately after giving birth to a daughter. Devastated, his father took Tae-ung and the baby and left for Japan right away. Tae-ung felt pity for his father; like Tae-ung himself, his father had been abandoned.
From then on, Tae-ung strove tirelessly to become his father's true son. Abandoned by his birth parents and then by the adoptive mother who had first shown him affection, Tae-ung lived in fear that his father, too, would cast him aside—leaving him all alone once more. Driven by that fear, he gritted his teeth and studied hard, eventually entering the Imperial Japanese Army Academy as his father desired.
Yet, in truth, he had no wish to be a soldier. No matter that he lived under the Japanese name Sato Hideo, he could not bring himself to wear a uniform bearing the Rising Sun flag and kill people—specifically, Koreans. Then, fate intervened. Just before graduation, Tae-ung contracted pulmonary tuberculosis; the lingering aftereffects meant he ultimately could not become a soldier. His frail health from childhood had held him back. Though he hovered between life and death several times, Tae-ung was actually... relieved. He was glad he hadn't become a soldier. His father was deeply disappointed, of course, but he could hardly blame Tae-ung for the situation.
After leaving the academy, Tae-ung entered Tokyo Imperial University. Japanese students called him Chosenjin (a derogatory term for Koreans), while Koreans in Tokyo scorned him as Jjokbari (a slur for the Japanese). Tae-ung ignored all the hostile gazes and was on track to graduate at the top of his class. Around that time, his father—appointed as the Administrative Superintendent, the second-highest official in the Japanese Government-General of Korea—suggested they return to Korea together.
Mother. At that moment, his mother came to mind. He had thought he had forgotten her, yet he realized he had never truly let her go for even a single moment; he longed to see her.
Harboring a secret resolve to find his mother, Tae-ung returned to Korea after more than a decade. There, however, he encountered a very... peculiar woman at the Government-General.
"Have you ever told the truth—without any lies?" I am asking if you have ever spoken from the heart—even just once.
Yoo So-ran
“I will kill Sato, and I will gladly die myself.”
She was an ordinary woman who simply wanted to live a humble, happy life—at least until that event in April 1919.
She was born to poor tenant farmers in the countryside of Gyeonggi Province during the turbulent final days of the Joseon Dynasty. At sixteen, she married a man she had never even seen before. Just ten days after the wedding, her husband returned to his school in Gyeongseong. Then came the news that the nation had fallen to Japan, followed by a letter stating that her husband had joined the Righteous Army. Illiterate, So-ran could not even read that letter.
Years later, the country had fully come under Japanese rule. Then, one day, her husband returned. He built a school in the village and began teaching the children. A daughter was born. Her husband named the child Seo-hee—using the characters for "dawn" (*seo*) and "hope" (*hee*). It signified a wish for a bright dawn to come to their lost nation.
On March 1st of the year the King passed away, a Manse independence movement broke out in the village, and her husband was dragged away as a ringleader. Shortly after, Japanese soldiers forced So-ran and Seo-hee to kneel in front of the school her husband had built. "Name your accomplices," they demanded, "or we will shoot your daughter dead." Her husband met So-ran’s gaze, then turned his head away.
“Seo-hee’s father!”
Yoo So-ran
“I will kill Sato, and I will gladly die myself.”
She was an ordinary woman who simply wanted to live a humble, happy life. That is, until the events of April 1919.
She was born to poor tenant farmers in the countryside of Gyeonggi Province during the turbulent final days of the Joseon Dynasty. At sixteen, she was married off to a man whose face she had never even seen. Just ten days after the wedding, her husband returned to his school in Gyeongseong. Then came the news: the country had fallen to Japan. Soon after, a letter arrived stating that her husband had joined the righteous army of resistance fighters. Illiterate, Soran could not even read the letter herself.
Years passed, and the nation came fully under Japanese rule. Then, one day, her husband returned. He built a school in the village and began teaching the local children. A daughter was born. Her husband named the child Seo-hui—using the characters for "dawn" (*seo*) and "hope" (*hui*). It signified a wish for a bright dawn to break over their lost nation.
On March 1st of the year the King passed away, a Manse independence demonstration broke out in the village, and her husband was dragged away as a ringleader. Shortly thereafter, Japanese soldiers forced Soran and Seo-hui to kneel in front of the school her husband had built. "Name your accomplices," they demanded, "or we will shoot your daughter dead." Her husband’s eyes met Soran’s, but he turned his head away.
"Seo-hui's father!"
Philip Yu
“If you keep doubting me, I’ll have no choice but to write an article about today’s incident.”
A Korean-American born in Hawaii. He serves as the Gyeongseong correspondent for the U.S. news agency WWP (Washington World Press) and is a member of the Gugukdan (National Salvation Corps).
He was the firstborn son of first-generation immigrants who worked on a sugarcane plantation; they welcomed him into the world shortly after arriving in Hawaii. In a foreign land far from home—where the water and language were unfamiliar—his parents named him Philip (*Pil-lip*). Philip. It signified their conviction that Joseon would inevitably achieve independence.
His education was always secondary to his parents; their top priority was saving money to fund the independence army. Having grown up watching not only his own parents but countless other Korean immigrants in Hawaii go hungry to save dollars for the independence movement, joining the Gugukdan was a natural step for Philip. While people believe he was introduced to the Gugukdan during his time as the WWP’s Shanghai correspondent, the truth is that he applied for the Shanghai post specifically to join the organization.
He registered a marriage with Soran—who was disguised as a Chinese national for the operation to assassinate Sato—and secured travel documents for the U.S. Because Philip is known for his cool-headed nature, everyone assumes this sham marriage is merely part of the mission.
But... he loves Soran.
He knows she is older than him and that she had a husband back in Joseon. Yet, what does it matter? He has no intention of revealing his feelings anyway. After all, the independence of his homeland is the absolute priority. He did not join this operation out of personal feelings for Soran; he is the type of man who finds joy simply in knowing he can play a part in the cause of Joseon’s independence. But on nights when Soran weeps silently, Philip doesn't know what to do.
I am not her real husband, so I cannot hold her. Yet... right now, that woman—my comrade, the woman I love—is crying. What am I supposed to do?
Once the operation to assassinate Sato is over, I want to live in this house with Soran for a long, long time. For that to happen, Soran must survive—unlike her plan to kill Sato and then take her own life.
You are looking for a place to die, but I am looking for a place for you to live.
