Who is Kim Chul in Solo Leveling? Identity explored

Solo Leveling season 1 gave fans one of the coolest major characters in anime. Sung Jin-Woo is a character in the mold of Sasuke from Naruto, Rukawa from Slam Dunk, and Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. Apart from the steely main character, fans of Solo Leveling were also blessed with amazing and annoying characters.

This trend continues in season 2, in which fans are introduced to more unforgettable characters. One of those characters is Kim Chul, an A-rank hunter with a narcissistic and sociopathic personality. While Solo Leveling has many characters who act like Kim Chul, his character has a different outcome than most in the series.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinion and may contain spoilers from Solo Leveling.

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Who is Kim Chul in Solo Leveling?

Kim Chul's superiority complex clouds his decision-making and leads to his teammate's dying (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Kim Chul is an A-rank hunter with a strong personality. Due to his rank, he views others weaker than him as inferior and disposable. His guild, the White Tiger Guild, also contributes to his superiority complex and enables him to continue his behavior.

In episode 13, Kim Chul is tasked with entering a C-Rank gate, and from the beginning, he is annoyed that Sung Jin-Woo and Han Song-Yi are tagging along. His annoyance is due to their E-Rank status, and he hates having to look after someone he considers weak.

The C-Rank gate changes to a Red Gate once Kim Chul and other members of the White Tiger Guild enter. A Red Gate doesn’t allow any other Hunter to enter or leave until the Boss of that Dungeon is defeated. Once Kim Chul notices this, he separates the top-ranked hunters from the lower-ranked ones to boost his chances of survival and dispose of the smaller ones.

Kim Chul’s group is attacked first by the Ice Bears and then by the Ice Elves. He is the sole survivor of the attacks. Despite boasting that he will protect his group, he flees like a coward.

When Kim Chul returns to the group he abandoned, he sees them well-fed, which infuriates him. He thinks they hoard resources and attacks them in a fit of rage. Jin-Woo intercepts his attack, which results in his death. Jin-Woo resurrects Kim Chul as part of his Shadow Army and uses him to fight Baruka, the Dungeon Boss.

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Kim Chul’s powers and abilities

Kim Chul is a stereotypical tanker with enhanced strength and increased durability (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Kim Chul was the stereotypical A-Rank Tanker. Tankers in Solo Leveling are known for immense physical strength and high durability. This durability allows the Weakest Tankers to withstand damage from S-Rank hunters and survive. Tankers can also use the Taunt ability to induce monsters into fighting them without thinking.

Kim Chul could easily use Tanker Type abilities and was one of the top A-Rank Tanker type hunters in his guild. However, he wasn’t immune to the drawbacks of being a Tanker. One drawback is reduced agility compared to the Fighter and Assassin Types, which are quick and mobile.

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Final thoughts

Kim Chul becomes Iron, a Shadow Soldier in Sung Jin-Woo’s army. His death helps viewers understand how strong Sung Jin-Woo has become and how Solo Leveling’s world is unfair to those of a lower rank.

While Kim Chul doesn’t go out of his way to harm weaker rankers like Kang Taeshik and Hwang Dongsuk, his actions in the Red Gate would have resulted in the same thing. His actions are typical of strong rankers in every country, as shown in Solo Leveling.

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