[theqoo] THE PRO-JAPANESE MALE LEAD IN '100 DAYS OF DECEPTION' IS DRAWING CRITICISM FOR FAILING TO SHOW ANY REMORSE OR PERSONAL GROWTH, EVEN AS THE SERIES NEARS ITS 10TH EP.

Character description

"Kim Tae-woong / Sato Hideo

"Even knowing it was a lie, I kept wanting to believe it."

The adopted son of Sato Shinichi, the Government-General of Korea's Director-General of Political Affairs. He is a newly appointed English interpreter for the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Although he was born in Joseon, he now lives as a Japanese man under the name Sato Hideo. His Korean name is Kim Tae-woong.

As a child, he was caught pickpocketing on the streets and caught Sato's attention, eventually becoming his adopted son.

Not long after his adoption, his father married a Korean woman.

People whispered that his father had married a Korean woman to comply with the *Naeseon Marriage* policy (the colonial policy promoting marriages between Japanese and Koreans). But Tae-woong knew that wasn't true. His father genuinely loved his mother.

At first, he found his mother even more difficult to approach than his father. Although she was clearly Korean, she never spoke Korean to him. Nevertheless, Tae-woong liked her from the very beginning, and somehow, he didn't like calling her "Okāsan" (mother in Japanese).

So he asked her, "Mother, would it be okay if I called you 'Eomeoni' instead of 'Okāsan'?"

She seemed momentarily surprised before answering, "Of course. You can."

From that day onward, the tatami-floored house that had always felt uncomfortable to him began to feel like home. Tae-woong was happy that the mother who loved him was Korean, just like him.

However, his mother left the household shortly after giving birth to a daughter. Deeply devastated, his father immediately took Tae-woong and the baby and returned to Japan. Tae-woong felt sorry for his father. Just like him, his father had also been abandoned.

From then on, Tae-woong worked tirelessly to become his father's true son.

Having been abandoned by his biological parents and then by the adoptive mother who had first shown him affection, he was terrified that his father would abandon him too, leaving him all alone once again. So he gritted his teeth, studied hard, and enrolled in the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, just as his father wanted.

But honestly, he never wanted to become a soldier. No matter how much he lived as the Japanese Sato Hideo, he couldn't bring himself to wear a uniform bearing the Japanese flag and kill people, especially Koreans.

Then, as if heaven had intervened, Tae-woong contracted pulmonary tuberculosis shortly before graduating from the military academy. Due to the lasting complications, he ultimately *couldn't* become a soldier. His frail health from childhood had finally caught up with him.

Although he came close to death several times, the truth was... he was actually relieved. He was glad he hadn't become a soldier. His father was deeply disappointed, but there was nothing he could blame Tae-woong for.

After graduating from the military academy, Tae-woong entered Tokyo Imperial University. Japanese students called him a "Chōsenjin" (a derogatory term for Koreans), while Koreans living in Tokyo looked down on him as a "Jjokbari" (a derogatory term for Japanese people).

Tae-woong ignored everyone's judgment and was on track to graduate at the top of his class. Around that time, his father, who had been appointed Director-General of Political Affairs, the second-highest-ranking official in the Japanese Government-General of Korea, invited him to return to Joseon with him.

Mother... At that moment, he thought of her. He had believed he had forgotten her, but he had never gone a single moment without remembering her. He missed her.

With the secret hope of finding his mother tucked away in his heart, Tae-woong returned to Joseon for the first time in over a decade.

But there, at the Government-General, he encountered a very... strange woman.

"Have you ever actually told the truth instead of lying? Have you ever spoken from your heart, even just once?""

The male lead is the adopted son of the second-in-command at the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and he is a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and has lived his entire life as a pro-Japanese collaborator.

He works as an interpreter at the Government-General, following in his father’s footsteps.

He is not a secret agent or an undercover operative; he is genuinely a collaborator of Korean descent who works for the colonial administration.

It’s not as if he’s a character who lacks perception or awareness.

Furthermore, despite working within the Government-General, he acts as if he’s only just learning about the massacres his father was involved in, a display of that classic, naive, "oblivious" Japanese persona.

Since he is the male lead, not just a secondary love interest, and has yet to show any remorse, reflection, or a change of heart, it has become a point of contention. To make matters worse, he is involved in a romance with the female lead, who is actually an operative for the independence movement.

Some are even arguing that if he were to suddenly have an "awakening" later on, it would feel completely out of character.

original post" here

1. I’ve watched up to ep. 8, and there were signs of him wavering even back then...

2. Are we even watching the same show? It’s a 16-episode series and they’re currently in the middle of the build-up, what are you talking about?

3. Well, the drama and the actors must be doing really well, considering posts like this are popping up ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

4. Honestly, it is a bit disappointing. The romance is already underway, but the male lead is still a pro-Japanese collaborator. I thought he’d have a change of heart by the end of ep. 8, but he ended up going in the complete opposite direction... It’s a shame, for sure. I’m just pinning my hopes on the preview for next week

5. Huh? Someone who actually watches the show wouldn’t say something like that

6. Must be their first time watching a drama. Don’t they know the classic plot arc: wavering, turning to the dark side, having an awakening, and then regretting it all bitterly?

7. I don’t watch the show, but from what I’ve gathered from the posts, it seems to portray history quite well. Why are you guys so worried?

8. I'm watching ep. 9 and I don't really mind it....

9. Stop hating on our Tae-woongie. Just wait and see, seriously

10. You guys must have thought it was a 12-episode series instead of 16 ep.

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