Ko Jin-Hyuk

From the beginning, he follows Ri Ju-yeong 's orders, but he appears to be conflicted between his duty as a soldier and his personal conscience, such as when he rebels against Ri Ju-yeong's attempt to punish the traitor's family under the pretext of guilt by association, or when he frowns in conflict over the order to execute even the innocent residents in the village where the traitor was hiding.[4] During the Sun Palace coup, he becomes disgusted with Lee Ju-yeong after witnessing the Lee Ju-yeong faction brutally murder Lee Seung-ho .[5][6] Afterwards, starting with helping the South Korean military that crash-landed in North Korean territory, he betrayed Ri Ju-yeong and joined the final mission to infiltrate the Presidential Palace, appearing to defect to South Korea.

However, after killing Ri Ju-yeong, Go Jin-hyeok does not board the helicopter returning to South Korea. When Park Hyun-jun approaches him and asks if he really intends to stay, Go Jin-hyeok expresses his determination to remain in North Korea, stating, "This is my homeland, and I cannot abandon the country I love." Afterward, Park Hyun-jun bids farewell and leaves, and Go Jin-hyeok smiles as he watches him depart. The scene concludes with a shot of Park Hyun-jun's squad's helicopter heading somewhere as it departs. People's Army: You bastards are the real disgrace to the people...! Member of the White Ghost Unit: They’re going to open their mouths eventually! Your leader is no exception! People's Army: General Ko Jin-hyok is the only leader...! I'm going to blow every single one of your heads off...!!! White Ghost Unit Member: Your head comes first! DMZ Mode Prologue Mission, Conversation between a North Korean soldier and the White Ghost Unit interrogating him in the ideological re-education facility shower room

Although his story activities after the campaign are not detailed, it is mentioned in the DMZ prologue mission that the North Korean regime has completely collapsed, effectively resulting in a state of anarchy. Taking advantage of this, the "White Ghost Unit," the main enemy force of the DMZ mode, has taken over Hajin through unilateral action and is currently searching every corner of the village to find Go Jin-hyuk. Given that the White Ghost Unit kills even fellow North Korean soldiers in the process, and that Go Jin-hyuk cooperates with the player operator by directly communicating mission objectives via radio in some story missions (such as the Changsan Air Base mission), it appears that he is also cooperating with the South Korean and US forces to eliminate them.

There has been much debate regarding the smile he makes to himself while watching the South Korean soldiers leave after reversing his decision to defect to South Korea following his final mission, stating that he would remain in North Korea. In particular, since this smile appears to be more of a "rotten smile" rather than a positive one, there are many opinions interpreting it as a teaser for a sequel. However, given that Go Jin-hyuk consistently showed reactions and remarks throughout the work suggesting he was disgusted by the oppressive and cruel North Korean regime, along with depictions of him being enraged by Ri Ju-young 's evil deeds, some interpret it as him genuinely having a sincere intention to defect, and that the smile he gave was actually a gesture of sending off Park Hyun-jun, who fought alongside him as a comrade, but the smile appeared significant due to the actor's intense presence and facial capture issues .

Some argue that Go Jin-hyuk displays quite a few significant actions throughout the series, making it difficult to view him as a purely good character. Considering that he is portrayed as if he will completely defect and go to South Korea only to remain in North Korea at the end, that he was involved in killing Ri Seung-ho (albeit under Ri Ju-young's orders), and that he himself volunteered for the operation to kill Ri Ju-young, it leads to the interpretation that his demeanor in front of the South Korean military was all an act, and that the series of events was part of Go Jin-hyuk's plan to eliminate the entire North Korean leadership and take over the country for himself.

However, if we closely examine his actions within the story, it is highly unlikely that Go Jin-hyuk genuinely intended to seize control of North Korea or harbored selfish motives. Throughout the series, he displayed a character that rejected unnecessary harm to civilians, and[7] In particular, it is depicted that he harbors deep loyalty toward his superior, Lee Seung-ho, even though he could not bring himself to tell the truth due to his position as an aide during their first meeting.[8]

Above all, even amidst the extreme circumstances of the coup, he personally killed elite coup troops to save Ri Seung-ho and even managed to safely evacuate him to an air raid shelter while evading the coup forces' surveillance. Considering that the coup forces were acting under Ri Ju-young's orders at the time, if Go Jin-hyuk had been merely a participant acting on Ri Ju-young's orders, he could have simply escorted Ri Seung-ho to Ri Ju-young upon discovering him. There would have been absolutely no reason to go out of his way to deceive his own allies to take him to the shelter. Furthermore, his subsequent lament and sobbing upon witnessing Ri Ju-young brutally execute Ri Seung-ho via the shelter's CCTV, as well as the cold attitude he displayed toward Ri Ju-young upon returning to the North Korean military base after expressing his intention to defect to Park Hyun-jun's group, all point to this.[9] By taking all of this into account, his true intentions can be understood. It is highly likely that although Ko Jin-hyuk initially followed Ri Ju-young’s orders out of obligation as a soldier, he gradually became disillusioned by Ri Ju-young’s excessive evil deeds and solidified his resolve to eliminate her for the future of North Korea.[10]

Even if his intent to usurp the shattered North Korean leadership was genuine, it is highly likely that the difficulty would not be easy. Although the leadership is currently vacant, there are still other generals in the Korean People's Army who could become Ko Jin-hyuk's rivals, and the North Korean people are already aware that the Supreme Leader is dead. Therefore, even if Ko Jin-hyuk intends to take over the power vacuum, the path will not be easy unless he cooperates with the South Korean government. Furthermore, this would be even more difficult if there are still many people who know that Ko Jin-hyuk was involved in the deaths of Ri Seung-ho and Ri Ju-young. However, given that the Party Central Committee was purged due to Ri Ju-young's coup and the Ri Ju-young faction was annihilated by the decapitation operation of the US and South Korean forces, it is highly likely that almost no one knows that Ko Jin-hyok was involved in their killings. Even if there were, there is a possibility that he would brazenly insist on his position based on his authority as a close aide to Ri Seung-ho and Ri Ju-young, and instead treat the informant as a reactionary causing internal strife to use the situation for internal control.[11]

For now, regardless of Go Jin-hyuk's true intentions, since he chose to stay in North Korea[12] It is highly likely that he is operating behind the scenes to create the Korea that Ri Seung-ho wanted to change, utilizing his status as a high-ranking general to contribute to resolving the chaotic situation in North Korea and his experience cooperating with the South Korean military.[13]

There is also a line in which Lee Ju-yeong mentions that he has personally shown loyalty to the Lee family for generations. [2] There are two opposing views. One is that West, a different character in the game from the U.S. military, is a First Lieutenant rather than a Lieutenant General; yet, during the decapitation operation meeting in the neutralization mission cutscene, he uses the exact same "Lt." as Ko Jin-hyuk (Lt. Ko Jin Hyuk, Lt. West, R.). Furthermore, unless it is a mistake, a Lieutenant General is typically written as "Lt. Gen" rather than omitting "Gen," and "Lt." is commonly used to denote a First Lieutenant, as is listed as "Lieutenant Ko Jin-Hyuk" on the English Wikipedia. Additionally, if Lee Ju-young is a General, a company-grade officer is usually assigned as his aide-de-camp. Finally, although precise confirmation is impossible due to it being obscured by a backpack, the rank insignia on his shoulder is presumed to be that of a company-grade officer. Therefore, the opinion that he is a First Lieutenant is one point; the other is that, considering Ko Jin-hyuk's authority and influence within the game, he is likely a military officer of at least the rank equivalent to a General. However, since errors in historical accuracy have been confirmed regarding the rank insignia in this work, it is difficult to definitively determine his rank. This is because in the case of Ri Ju-yeong, he wears both a captain's shoulder epaulet and a sergeant's insignia on his collar, revealing that he wears rank insignia different from that of the real-life North Korean military. [3] In fact, although he followed Lee Ju-young's orders in the story, he was shown ruthlessly massacring high-ranking members of the National Defense Committee. The reason this does not contradict Go Jin-hyuk's character is that, since the high-ranking members actually plotted a coup, from Go Jin-hyuk's perspective, they are serious traitors who cannot be compared to the villagers who died unjustly. [4] When interrogating villagers, he repeatedly emphasizes to the soldiers that "there is no need to use violence," and when a nearby North Korean soldier suggests, "Wouldn't they listen if we shot them in the leg?" he strongly shouts, "Damn it, I told you not to do that!" [5] Judging by Ri Ju-yeong's dialogue in the isolation mission where she questions Go Jin-hyeok about his actions during the coup, it is highly likely that Go Jin-hyeok believed the coup forces were remnants of the High Committee. [6] Ri Ju-yeong may have formally feigned ignorance while ordering his brother to protect him from the coup forces and safely escort him to the bunker. It appears that Ri Ju-yeong would have preferred Ri Seung-ho to be killed by the coup troops for the sake of future management, but he decided to deal with him personally when Ri Seung-ho unexpectedly and tenaciously survived and actually reached the bunker. In this scenario, there is also a possibility that Ri Ju-yeong intended to eliminate Go Jun-hyeok, who had shown signs of rebellion against him, along with Ri Seung-ho . [7] During the interrogation scene, the North Korean soldier controlled by the player instructs the player not to injure civilians, and if they are killed, he becomes furious and reprimands them for unnecessary killing. Additionally, at the end of the chapter, he opposes Ri Ju-yeong's order to massacre the villagers, arguing that the warnings have been sufficient and that the civilians should be spared. [8] The decisive factor that led Go Jin-hyeok to betray Ri Ju-yeong was also witnessing Ri Seung-ho's death. [9] He returns under the pretext that he might be suspected if he does not return to the base. During a private meeting with Ri Ju-yeong, there is a dialogue option where he directly confronts Ri Ju-yeong, who is questioning his responsibility for Ri Seung-ho's death, by asking , "Didn't you kill him? " Of course, if you choose this option, Ri Ju-yeong says, "You are very honest, Comrade," and executes him on the spot. Although it is a trap option that ends in a game over, it can be considered another piece of evidence supporting his true intentions, as it directly reflects Go Jin-hyuk's true feelings and heightened emotions of being unable to tolerate the evil deeds committed by Ri Ju -yeong. [10] Given that the main narrative of this work is "one must keep the line," it can be interpreted that Go Jin-hyuk executed Ri Ju-young because she crossed the line . [11] In other words, it can be seen that he remained to purge the remaining Lee Ju-young faction. [12] It appears that he initially intended to leave for South Korea, but upon seeing the burning building, he changed his mind, realizing that leaving would only condone the suffering of the people and allow a vicious cycle of a second Ri Ju-young to be born. [13] Even if he remains in North Korea, its future remains bleak. This is because the entire leadership has been purged by Ri Ju-young, making it difficult to know where to start over. Furthermore, in DMZ mode, Watcher-2 (a CIA handler) explicitly stated, "But the regime is gone," confirming that North Korea is on the brink of complete chaos following the campaign. On top of that, since Ko Jin-hyuk attacked South Korea, he cannot escape responsibility for war crimes. However, Ko Jin-hyuk is in a relatively better position, as he cooperated in eliminating the mastermind behind the attack and has witnesses to attest to this.