Is Woo Jinchul Sung Jinwoo's ally in Solo Leveling? Relationship explored

The Solo Leveling anime series has been progressing smoothly, with each episode satisfying fans with a proper progression and aesthetic animation style. Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist, recently got trapped inside a dungeon by his teammates, so the future is set to be interesting for him.

But besides Sung Jinwoo, many other characters are yet to make the spotlight in the series. These characters will also be important to the story of Solo Leveling, and one of these characters is Woo Jinchul, Chief Inspector of the Korean Hunters Association's Surveillance Team.

He becomes wary of Sung Jinwoo after he returns alive from the A-ranked dungeon (where Jinwoo fights God), thinking he might have gone through a second awakening. He later supports Jinwoo in every decision he makes, but can he be considered an ally of Jinwoo?

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Solo Leveling manhwa series.

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Solo Leveling: Exploring the relationship between Sung Jinwoo and Woo Jinchul

Woo Jinchul is an A-ranked Korean hunter who was introduced in the first episode of the Solo Leveling anime and chapter 11 of the Solo Leveling manhwa. His first appearance was him reporting to the Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, Go Gunhee.

After Sung Jinwoo came out alive from the A-rank dungeon (potentially S-rank), Jinchul visited him at the hospital for a reappraisal, thinking he might have undergone a second awakening. Unfortunately, their appraisal machine couldn't detect anything, and they left, but Jinchul remained suspicious.

Woo Jinchul (right) entering Sung Jinwoo's hospital room (Image via A-1 Pictures)

After getting released from the hospital, Sung Jinwoo takes part in a quest with Hwang Dongsuk, a C-rank hunter. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a lizard and betrays Jinwoo during the quest. Fortunately, Jinwoo comes out of the quest alive and kills him. After completing the quest, Woo Jinchul takes control of the situation (as a hunter's death causes an uproar).

He crosses paths with Jinwoo, who looks completely different compared to before. He assumes that Sung Jinwoo killed Hwang and warns him about his brother Hwang Dongsu (an S-rank hunter), who will come after his life now. After this incident, Jinchul becomes almost sure that Sung Jinwoo has undergone a reawakening. Fortunately, he was re-appraised and revealed to be an S-rank hunter.

Sung Jinwoo is not pursuing evil or doing bad things with his new powers, which urges Jinchul to become a helping hand for him in hard times. Be it leaking the location of some monster gates or being there for Jinwoo when he needed someone as a messenger.

Woo Jinchul as seen in the manhwa (Image via DUBU/Chu Gong)

So, Woo Jinchul could be considered Sung Jinwoo's ally, as he was there to help whenever he wanted. But this relationship can't be considered the other way around, as Sung Jinwoo preferred to operate in secret. He hardly had anyone who knew what he was thinking for the future. Fortunately, Jinchul never tried to meddle with his business, making him very reliable. But the relationship is one-sided, with Jinchul filling his part.

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Final thoughts

With the pace at which the current season of Solo Leveling anime is progressing, the relationship between Woo Jinchul and Sung Jinwoo might not be explored much.

Fans have shown their sadness over the '12 episode' announcement of the series, considering how the source material completed its airing last year. It is advised to enjoy the current season and hope for the best in the future.