Hoonie

The son of an aging fisherman and his wife from a small island in Korea, Hoonie is the only child of three to survive to adulthood. Hoonie was born with a cleft palate and club foot, and he doesn’t get married until quite late in life. The result of Japan annexing Korea is broad destitution, so Hoonie’s family, who have not had to spend much on marriages, are enough to please the matchmaker in Hoonie’s village.

Yangjin

Hoonie’s wife, Yangjin is the fifteen-year-old daughter of a poor farmer when the two marry. She is the youngest daughter and, to a father who has lost almost everything, has become a burden.

Sunja

The daughter of Hoonie and Yangjin, Sunja helps her mother run the family’s boardinghouse after her father dies of tuberculosis. Sunja’s actions are the catalyst for her family eventually migrating to Osaka, Japan.

Koh Hansu

Koh Hansu is an older man who impregnates sixteen-year old Sunja out of wedlock. He turns out to be a wealthy businessman who is already married, although he does try to help Sunja in her life for many years.

Baek Isak

Sunja must escape the shame of having become pregnant outside of marriage. To do, so she marries Isak, an empathetic Christian minister with a married brother in Japan. The two move in with Isak’s brother in Osaka despite the horrible anti-Korean sentiments there.

Yoseb

Yoseb is Isak’s brother, who works as a foreman at a factory in Osaka. Sunja and Isak live with him and his wife after they move to Japan.

Kyunghee

Kyunghee is Yoseb’s wife and Isak’s sister-in-law. She and Sunja become close friends and go into business together selling kimchi and pickles.

Noa and Mozasu

Noa and Mozasu are Sunja’s sons. Noa is the child of Koh Hansu, although Sunja tries to hide his paternity from him. The two boys are very different, and their lives diverge greatly as they grow into adults. Both, however, end up working in the pachinko business.