At the beginning of Solo Leveling, we were introduced to Sung Jinwoo’s family, which comprised his mother Park Kyung-Hye and his sister Sung Jinah. Jinwoo’s father was missing from the picture, and we didn’t learn anything else about him for a long time. However, a new character named Sung Il-Hwan appeared later in the story. He is all set to make his appearance in Solo Leveling Season 2, the Sung in his name must have already hinted at his connection with Sung Jinwoo. If you did not catch it, you can learn more about Sung Jinwoo’s father Sun Il-Hwan in this guide.
Spoiler Warning: This post includes spoilers for the Solo Leveling manhwa and anime. So, please proceed with caution.
Sung Il-Hwan is Sung Jinwoo’s Father
The father of a main character remaining a mystery is a rather common trope in manga as well as manhwa. It is the same story with Solo Leveling as Jinwoo’s father was missing at the start of the story. The newly introduced character, Sung Il-Hwan, was the missing father of Sung Jinwoo. He was presumed dead all this time as he got stuck inside a dungeon during a raid but he returned to this world now.
Sung Il-Hwan used to be a firefighter and that was when he met and lost his heart to Park Kyung-Hye. Then, the couple gave birth to Sung Jinwoo and Sung Jinah. Around this time, Il-Hwan was bestowed the gift of magical awakened powers when the gates spawned across the world. Thus, Il-Hwan left his firefighter job and became a hunter.
During this period, there was no proper ranking system for hunters in place. It is said that Sung Il-Hwan possessed the strength to be considered an S-Rank hunter. However, he was never recognized as one as there wasn’t a ranking system like in modern times.
How Did Sung Il-Hwan Survive?
As mentioned earlier, Sung Il-Hwan unfortunately got trapped in a dungeon while hunting. That was the reason why he was declared dead, but in reality, the Rulers saved him from his imminent death by starvation. Similar to Sung Jinwoo and a few national-level hunters, Sung Il-Hwan also became a vessel of a ruler.
They entrusted him with godly powers to save him, but in exchange, he had to carry out a duty for them. This duty was none other than to assassinate the Shadow Monarch who was about to be reborn on Earth. Little did he know that his son would be the one to be chosen as the next Shadow Monarch.
Sung Il-Hwan’s Powers & Abilities
As the vessel of a ruler, Il-Hwan was considered to be at the same level as a national-level hunter. In fact, it was noted that he was the second greatest hunter in this realm next to his son. That said, here are the powers and abilities of Sung Il-Hwan, as revealed in the source material:
Physical Abilities
- Superhuman Strength: Just like his son, Il-Hwan was built differently, possessing unreal levels of strength. Il-Hwan’s fight against Hwang Dongsoo was a testament to his superhuman level of strength in the story.
- Lightning Quick Agility: Sung Il-Hwan was also one of the hunters blessed with incredible agility. He was seen moving at unbelievable speeds during his battle as if he was teleporting.
Magical Powers
- Stealth Specialist: Jinwoo’s father was an expert when it came to stealth as his powers enabled him to become invisible.
- Ruler’s Authority: In line with other vessels, Sung Il-Hwan also had the telekinesis ability.
- Spiritual Body Manifestation: It was also mentioned in the manhwa that Il-Hwan had the power to conjure the ruler’s body via transformation. This was the most powerful form of the vessel as they borrowed the powers of the rulers.
Sung Il-Hwan’s Death in Solo Leveling
During the Monarch’s war, Il-Hwan couldn’t bring himself to kill his son to complete the mission given by the rulers. Fortunately, the arrival of Monarchs made the rulers change their minds about Sung Jinwoo. He was their beacon of salvation against the vile Monarchs, therefore, the rulers turned Il-Hwan to be the protector of Jinwoo.
In the same war, Il-Hwan wore himself down to the bone against the Monarchs as his body wasn’t attuned to the levels of the ruler’s powers. Hence, in the original timeline, Jinwoo’s father Sung Il-Hwan burnt himself out to death to protect his son.
However, Sung Jinwoo was able to save his father in the revised timeline by reversing time using the Cup of Reincarnation in the epilogue.
So, that’s everything you need to know about Jinwoo’s father, Sung Il-Hwan, in Solo Leveling. You will meet him soon in the second season of the anime. In the meantime, let us know if you have any doubts about his character in the comments below.
