Comparing characters who I find similar in writing: Yoojin from Lookism and Kim Taehoon from Castle
(This post is just for me to ramble about my fav Kim Taehoon and convince ppl to read Castle😘🫶)
This post contains light spoilers for both manhwas
I. Similar aspects:
•Both characters fall into the trope of character who doesn't fight with their fist but rather their intelligence and influence:
-Yoojin with his position as one of Charles Choi 10 geniuses and head of Workers
-Kim Taehoon with his position as Chairman of Hasung group
•They're both antagonist turned allies with the main character in order to pursue a common goal
-Yoojin having an alliance with Daniel in order to take down Gun in the Hunt for Gun arc
-Taehoon allying with Kim Shin to take down Castle with Kim Shin wanting to destroy the organization while Taehoon wished to bring Hasung away from the underground world
•Despite being seemingly dangerous in the underground business, they both care deeply about the people around them
-Yoojin having Mandeok and Yuseong around him. The three of them all appreciate each other, shares the same trauma and stick together till the end in order to pursue their ideal. Yoojin holds a lot of trust for both of them. He was also see convincing Mandeok and Yuseong to pull away and stop fighting for him in case things gets too dangerous. However, they kept on fighting for him, putting their life on the line for Yoojin
Yuseong is his twin brother and despite his mental instability, Yoojin holds his brother dear regardless. Yuseong himself was also seen caring for Yoojin and constantly shielding him from danger
With Mandeok, Yoojin has a lot of trust in him and appointed him as vice president of Workers. In a small flashback of Yoojin's past, Mandeok was seen to be giving up everything, yet Yoojin not called out to him, urging him to not give up on their ideal world. This shook Mandeok's heart and from then on, he swore to devote himself solely for Yoojin
-Taehoon had Oh Ji In and Ryu Jihak by his side as his personal bodyguards, the two ppl who started out as somebody who served under his mother that quickly becoming his two most valuable sword. Taehoon also treats both of them as his equal rather than underlings, especially Ji In (this becomes much more obvious at the end of Castle ss1)
Ji In loyalty to both Taehoon and his mom was absolute and remains unchanged. Her feelings for Taehoon started out as admiration due to his position but it quickly turn into something more when witnessing his vulnerable side (according to her character profile). The two arent just colleagues, they're friends who will forever hold a lot of sentiment for one another
As for Jihak, he only served him as that was what Taehoon's mother wanted. However, after Taehoon kneel down and promised him that he would continue his mother's legacy, he become loyal to Taehoon and continuously assist him in many matters. Taehoon was also the one who taught Jihak what it's like to feel resentment and they both have an understanding of each other's capabilities
II. Different aspects:
•Upbringing and how it relates to their goals
-There isn't much known about Yoojin's past, but it's highly likely that him and his twin are neglected (or possibly orphaned) and in school, he's a victim of extremely cruel bullying.
This motivates him to build Workers, to create an ideal world for people like him to live in. By creating Workers, he voluntarily involves himself and the people he cares about in the underworld in order to achieve his goal
-Unlike Yoojin, Taehoon was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Everything he owns, his mother was the predecessor. But thanks to his mother's hard work, building Hasung group from scratch, he grew up lacking nothing
However, that means everything is handed to him, so Taehoon never learn what it's like to having to dirty his own hands to achieve something, somebody is always doing things for him. He is also constantly the subject of his father's jealousy
Taehoon also wishes to continue what his mother had wanted-bringing Hasung group out of the underground world. He hates gangsters by nature as his mom was killed by Castle. But his father being the honorary chairman, spat on her work and gets involve with countless gang activities.
•Their current fate and the aftermath of their people (MAJOR SPOILER)
-Yoojin after the HFG arc had managed to achieve what he wanted. However, it resulted in both of his most valuable people being gravely injured. The secret that is also the weakness of Workers have possibly been meddled with by James Lee.
But his status as Workers' president is unaffected and he still have the chance to grow it and even reach a higher peak. Until Mandeok and Yuseong recovers entirely, he still had many strong members from his affiliates to stand by his side and assist him.
-Taehoon however, lost absolutely everybody. Ji In was killed while protecting him. Jihak was also killed trying to reach him and Hyun Seok, a strong member of Hasung he had just managed to convinced to side with him is also dead.
Due to siding with Kim Shin to take down Castle, the organization is out for his blood, his comrades had fallen while being on his side and he now has nobody to protect him. And in order for the destruction of Castle to come about, he had to give up his position as Hasung chairman and is currently running to take down a dirty politician with death constantly hovering over him. He went from an somebody who has everything to a fugitive running away from people who wants his his head
Sure, by the end of the story, he might live and take back what was rightfully his, he might manage to rebuild what his mother had left behind and his beloved would continue to live on in his heart. But the guilt and loneliness will hold on to him forever. It's deserving but at the same time it's not