Sung Jin-Woo’s Best Friends in Solo Leveling

Summary

• Sung Jin-Woo’s journey in Solo Leveling isn’t exactly packed with friends.
• Characters like Esil, Woo Jin-Chul, and Song Chi-Yul have earned Sung Jin-Woo’s respect and camaraderie.
• Cha Hae-In stands out as Sung Jin-Woo’s purely considerate friend, eventually becoming his wife in the side story.

The Solo Leveling series features the rise of Sung Jin-Woo, the world’s weakest hunter, who eventually comes to be known as the world’s strongest. On his journey to the top in Solo Leveling, Sung Jin-Woo comes across many individuals — some allies and some enemies — but very few friends.

While Sung Jin-Woo had very few individuals who could be considered pure friends, he developed close relationships with some of his allies for a plethora of reasons. Moreover, he gave his all to protect them, even at the cost of his life or fighting national-level hunters like Thomas Andre. While Sung Jin-Woo might not be the most friend-making of individuals, there are a few people whom he wouldn’t mind giving his all.

Updated January 28, 2025, by Oluwatokiloba Folami: The Solo Leveling series, as it’s titularly named, heavily emphasizes the ‘solo’ aspect, as Sung Jin-Woo is hardly seen developing any pure and lasting friendships. As a necromancer, Sung Jin-Woo has no need to fight in teams or groups, as his Undead army proves to be much more capable and sufficient. Despite his cold outlook and overall solitary nature, the protagonist of the Solo Leveling series has come to befriend a few individuals—some who are outright family and others who serve as his allies throughout the many tribulations he faces. Aside from characters like Cha Hae-In and Yoo Jin-Ho, Sung Jin-Woo looked favorably upon others like Woo Jin-Chul and Song Chi-Yul due to their various interactions.

This list contains a spoiler in the last entry. Proceed with caution.

10

Esil Radiru

From Enemy To Ally In The Demon Castle

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 101

Unlike many of Sung Jin-Woo’s friends and allies, Esil stands out as the non-human one. She encountered Sung Jin-Woo on the 80th floor of the Demon Castle and was initially dispatched to kill him. In a stroke of events, Esil’s troops were easily slaughtered by Sung Jin-Woo, and she pleaded for mercy, offering her help as a guide to proceed to the later floors. During this period, she and Sung Jin-Woo had many interactions, and they went from enemies, to at the very least, not enemies.

Moreover, during Sung Jin-Woo’s final battle against Baran, Esil proved useful by distracting the Demon King, allowing Sung Jin-Woo to deliver the final blow. With Baran conquered and the other inhabitants of the Demon Castle slaughtered, Esil’s clan became the reigning clan, and she established a somewhat amiable relationship with Sung Jin-Woo.

9

Song Chi-Yul

A Hunter Defined By Principles, Not Power

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 2

Despite being a simple C-rank hunter, Song Chi-Yul proved himself to be a man of principles many times. He was the team leader of the group that encountered the Double Dungeon along with Sung Jin-Woo and tried to take responsibility for the occurrences despite it being out of his control and a team decision.

Moreover, the other times he meets Sung Jin-Woo, such as the dungeon incident involving Kang Taeshik, he is glad Sung Jin-Woo is alive, respects him for his past sacrifices, and even offers to keep his secret. Despite his personal losses, he made few complaints and forged forward. This always makes him favorable and likable in the eyes of Sung Jin-Woo and fans alike.

8

Yoo Soohyun

Hunters With A Celebrity Connection

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 56

Despite being an A-rank hunter, a rank that many covet, this female hunter had no interest in pursuing a career or a name as a hunter. On the contrary, she actively pursued her career as a model, and because of this, she was the prime candidate to become the third member of Sung Jin-Woo’s then-two-member guild.

Initially, Yoo Soohyun had no interest in joining the Ahjin Guild after Yoo Jin-Ho called upon her; however, with the famous Sung Jin-Woo being the Guild Master, it became a different ball game entirely. As both hunters were considered celebrities, they got a lot of attention, with some even speculating that she could be Sung Jin-Woo’s love interest.

7

Woo Jin-Chul

Sung Jin-Woo’s Unlikely Steward

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 8

Throughout the Solo Leveling series, Woo Jin-Chul played various roles and even indirectly saved Sung Jin-Woo’s life by redirecting the attention of threats such as Hwang Dongsuk before Sung Jin-Woo could take them on.

As a character, Woo Jin-Chul started as the Chief Inspector of the Korean Hunters Association’s Surveillance Team and came in dangerous contact with S-rank hunters many times despite him being A-rank. Perhaps simply because of his straightforward and genuine nature or because he resembled the Chairman in many ways and even succeeded him, Sung Jin-Woo took a liking to him, and they respected each other as fellow hunters and allies.

6

Han Song-Yi

A Friend Of Sung Jin-Woo’s Sister

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 37

While Han Song-Yi debuted in the Solo Leveling series quite early, her interactions with Sung Jin-Woo came a bit later. Han Song-Yi is a friend of Sung Jinah, Sung Jin-Woo’s sister, and like Jinwoo, she awakened as an E-Class hunter. Despite being a lower-ranked hunter, Han Song-Yi decided to drop out of school and pursue a career as a hunter. As a hunter, Han Song-Yi came across Sung Jin-Woo on one of his raiding missions, and after finding out that she was a child, student, and friend of his sister, Sung Jin-Woo was asked to convince her to drop being a hunter.

However, knowing that hunters never let go of their fantasies of gold and riches until they experience the horrors of being hunters firsthand, Sung Jin-Woo simply followed her into a dungeon, protected her, and began to care for her.

5

Lee Joohee

Lee Joohee Was With Sung Jin-Woo In His Early Days

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 1

At the beginning of the Solo Leveling series, Lee Joohee and Sung Jin-Woo were up to something. As the weakest-ranked E-rank hunter, Sung Jin-Woo was often in situations where Lee Johee, a B-rank hunter, would heal him. Despite being a B-rank hunter, Lee Johee never looked down on Sung Jin-Woo, and she harbored romantic feelings for him.

Unfortunately, after the double dungeon event, Lee Johee became traumatized and eventually had to retire from being a hunter. With all the dungeons and treacherous events that they faced together, Sung Jin-Woo and Lee Johee cared about each other and often helped each other to the best of their abilities whenever they could. However, after Lee Joohee’s retirement and Sung Jin-Woo’s awakening, their paths rarely ever crossed, but their feelings of gratitude and appreciation towards each other never changed.

4

Go Gun-Hee

Sung Jin-Woo And Go Gun-Hee Share Mutual Respect For Each Other

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 78

The chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, Go Gun-Hee, is a man who shares a special bond with Sung Jin-Woo. Their bond is one of mutual respect and admiration for each other. Upon meeting Sung Jin-Woo, Go Gun-Hee admired the young man’s spirit and strength, while Sung Jin-Woo admired the depth present in the S-rank hunter. It is later revealed that Go Gun-hee is the brightest fragment of brilliant light; however, his old age prevents him from showcasing his full power.

As the series progressed, Go Gun-Hee and Sung Jin-Woo shared many moments, and their mutual respect turned into a peculiar type of friendship. Despite being retired as a hunter, Go Hun-Hee commanded a lot of respect from other hunters, and after his death, Sung Jin-Woo swore to kill the one responsible with his own hands, and he did.

3

Yoo Jin-Ho

Sung Jin-Woo Fought A National-Level Hunter To Save His Vice Chairman

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 37

After Sung Jin-Woo gained power, he first began exploring B, C, and D-rank dungeons with his status as the world’s weakest E-rank hunter. On one of those many expeditions, Sung Jin-Woo came across Yoo Jin-Ho, the son of Yoo Myunghan, the chairman of the prestigious Yoojin Construction Company.

While Yoo Jin Ho was a weak D-rank hunter, his father’s influence and money allowed him to afford high-ranked equipment that would at least give him a chance of survival. When Yoo Jin-Ho and Jinwoo went on an expedition together, Jin-Ho, thinking Sung Jin-Woo was weak, tried to protect the latter, but after Sung Jin-Woo displayed his prowess, Yoo Jin-Ho and Sung Jin-Woo entered a partnership. Developing trust in Sung Jinwoo’s potential, Yoo Jin-Ho eventually abandoned his father’s wealth and status to become the vice chairman of Sung Jin-Woo’s one-man Ahjin guild.

2

Sung Jinah

Sung Jin-Woo’s Sister Is Irreplaceable

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 8

As Sung Jinah is not just a friend to Sung Jin-Woo but his actual sister, her place in his life is obvious. Right from when Sung Jin-Woo became a hunter, Sung Jinah continually supported him, even though he always came back with injuries when other hunters were fine. Moreover, after the double dungeon event, Sung Jinah told her brother that if he got injured again, she would leave school to get a job so he wouldn’t have to be a hunter anymore.

In response to Sung Jinah’s care for her brother, Sung Jin-Woo is extremely protective of her. She was among the first individuals he always maintained a shadow soldier on to make sure she was safe. Moreover, Sung Jin-Woo is firmly against Sung Jinah becoming a hunter, even if she does awaken.

1

Cha Hae-In

From Fellow Hunter To Friend To Wife

• Debut Appearance: Chapter 81

Solo Leveling delves more into action, adventure, and the end of the world than it does into romantic relationships. However, even the cold and aloof Shadow Monarch eventually develops a romantic interest. Initially, Cha Hae-In simply found Sung Jin-Woo intriguing, as he was the first hunter who didn’t smell bad.

However, she eventually became mesmerized by him, while he only thought little of her. After the duo interacted many times, their feelings became mutual. Of all Sung Jin-Woo’s friends, Cha Hae-in is the only one he considers purely a friend, neither because of familial relations nor business transactions/alliances. Eventually, in the side story of Solo Leveling, Cha Hae-In becomes Sung Jin-Woo’s wife, proving her to be one of his closest companions.