( kim go-eun, cis woman, she/her ) HAERIN "RIN" JUNG in new york city! heard theย THIRTY-FIVEย year old belongs toย THE SIGNALย as aย JOURNALIST. word on the streets is that they can be CUNNING, DETERMINED, but they can also be UNETHICAL, SELF-DESTRUCTIVE.
๐ dossier โบ
full name โธป haerin jung. nickname(s) โธป rin. age โธป thirty-five. birthday โธป september 15 gender identity โธป cis woman. orientation โธป bisexual. pronouns โธป she/her. hometown โธป busan, south korea. current occupation โธป journalist (for the signal) character inspiration โธป camille preaker (sharp objects), fleabag (fleabag), rachel goldberg (unreal), eve polastri (killing eve), dory sief (search party), mavis gary (young adult), sarah wilder (palm springs), darlene alderson (mr. robot), rory gilmore (gilmore girls)
๐ about โบ
haerin jung was born in south korea and raised in a pressure-cooker environment where success was treated as both duty and currency. expectations were high, emotions were private, and failure was certainly not an option. her parents were wealthy and well-connected, but they were also involved in corruption and crime, leading haerin to live a very secretive life. she was a bright, disciplined student and was praised for her intelligence, reliability, and restraint. still, she didn't have much of a childhood.
at fourteen, she was sent alone to new york to attend brearley, an elite all-girls private school on the upper east side. as it turned out, giving a tightly-wound fourteen-year-old an apartment in manhattan with no adult present was not the best idea. once the other girls found out, her place became somewhere to drink and have parties. yet rin knew how to lock in at school, keeping her social life separate. and she did excel. she later earned admission to harvard, studying journalism.
at harvard, rinโs grades were immaculate; her life was not. she procrastinated constantly, drank heavily, and left damage in her wake. she fell out with friends over ambition, wrote controversial pieces, even got pregnant before ghosting her then-boyfriend entirely. her work was sharp and uncompromising; her interpersonal skills were, frankly, shit.
after graduating, rin moved to chicago and built a strong reputation as an investigative reporter, known for relentless sourcing and abrasive instincts. at thirty, a scandal ended her career there. the public story was professional misconduct. she returned to new york, checked herself into a rehab program, and was approached by the signal at her lowest point. they placed her at channel 212 and she owes her career to them. rin entered journalism to expose corruption and now works inside it. it's a contradiction that quietly eats at her.
๐ headcanons โบ
she speaks fluent korean, english, spanish, conversational chinese, latin and basic russian and italian. she loves telling dumbass men she's a polyglot and them thinking she's talking about being polyamorous.
keeps meticulous digital and handwritten notes. color-coded, cross-referenced, backed up twice. deletes nothing, just archives.
does and always has used questionable and unethical tactics to gather information like manipulating and/or seducing sources, misrepresenting her identity/intentions, using fake credentials, bribery, trespass, or blackmail.
drinks SO MUCH coffee. an obscene amount. she often forgets to eat until she realizes she's hungry. and she's a functional alcoholic lowkey, so she certainly drinks way too often.
she's a huge cynic and doesn't believe in anything spirituality/religion-wise. but she understands why people do.
her style is deliberately unremarkable. she dresses to disappear. a lot of oversized sweaters, crewnecks, hoodies layered under worn jackets, and utility outerwear. she's usually in jeans or slacks and sneakers. her only accessory is the messenger bag that she always carries her laptop and notebooks around in.
she doesn't know how to interact with kids. she's not one of those people that hates children, and she tries to be nice to them but genuinely has no idea what to....do?? as such, she has no real desire to be a mother. she also has Mommy Issuesโข so she prolly shouldn't.
she's the queen of a pity party. she's not unfeeling by any means, and she has a lot of guilt for the way she's treated people in the past for the sake of a story or just because she gets depressed and does stupid things and is AVOIDANT as HELL. yet she turns around and makes the same mistakes all over again so is she really sorry??
๐ wanted โบ
opps and angst and drama pls. people she fucked over for a story. or wrote an unfavorable story about them. she lied to them to get info. she got close to them with ulterior motives. she led them on. ex friends she fell out with. romantic partners she ghosted the list goes ON
drinking buddy
sources...maybe in the government or police
the wholesome plots bc it can't all be doom and gloom even tho rin is a mess gjkfkfjg. friendships, people she looks out for, the angel on her shoulder, good influences, etc.













