All Sung Jinwoo’s Love Interests in Solo Leveling, Ranked

As Jinwoo levels up in Solo Leveling, it’s not just his skills and abilities that get stronger, his physique and aura of confidence follow suit. As a result, many of the women in his life take notice, and it doesn’t hurt that he becomes increasingly more successful as his Hunter Rank goes up as well. Unfortunately, Jinwoo himself is a bit absent-minded in matters of the heart, so he tends to be completely oblivious to how women view him to a degree that hinges on parody.

Jinwoo could easily have many more love interests than he does in Solo Leveling, as a plethora of women take interest in him, but his single-minded focus prevents him from making many close connections, let alone romantic ones. That just makes the few genuine love interests he has even stronger. Jinwoo’s most lasting love interests tend to be those who not only come to admire his drive, but also whom Jinwoo himself admires and respects for one reason or another. Sung Jinwoo may level up solo, but he need not be alone for long.

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6

Han Songyi Has a High-school Crush on Jinwoo

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: Best Friend to His Sister, Sung Jinah

Han Songyi is by far the worst potential love interest in Solo Leveling, but it’s at no fault of her own. Jinwoo is just outside of her age range. Songyi is a good friend to Sung Jinwoo’s sister, Jinah, but the first time they meet, Jinwoo has no idea of their mutual personal connection. Instead, Songyi joins Jinwoo’s temporary strike squad along with Yoo Jinho. Even then, the two don’t ever get very acquainted. It’s only after Jinah’s teacher requests that Jinwoo try to convince Song Yi not to be a Hunter that the two formally meet.

From their earliest interactions, Songyi has an admiration for Jinwoo due to his strength and protective nature, and that only grows stronger after he helps her survive the Red Gate. From that point on, Songyi seems to develop a bit of a crush on Jinwoo; a fact that isn’t missed on Yoo Jinho, much to his discomfort. Being that Songyi is a minor, there’s thankfully no reciprocation on Jinwoo’s part, but that doesn’t change the fact that Songyi has a special adoration for her mentor.

5

Jinwoo’s Nurse is an Early Indication of the Physical Changes He Undergoes With the System

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: His Nurse After The Double Dungeon

After his physical and symbolic rebirth as the Player thanks to the System, Jinwoo understandably finds himself in the hospital. During his period of rehabilitation, Jinwoo has his earliest encounters with the System’s Daily Quests, and he learns both the benefits of completing them, and the penalties for failing to do so. Within a short period, Jinwoo’s Daily Quests pay off in a major way, and his leveling up isn’t a purely statistical one.

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Not only does Jinwoo gain in stats, he also sees a dramatic physical transformation in a short period of time – and his nurse is one of the first to notice. Upon seeing the incredible gains Jinwoo has made, his Nurse can’t help but shoot her shot with the newly reawakened Player. As Jinwoo is set do be discharged, his Nurse requests his phone number. While Jinwoo innocently gives it to her, assuming that she needs it for medical purposes, it’s more than apparent that she’s hoping to call him for purely personal reasons.

4

Soohyun’s Relationship With Jinwoo is All Business

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: Secretary of His Guild

When Yoo Soohyun meets Sung Jinwoo for the first time, she’s utterly starstruck, as Jinwoo’s reputation precedes itself at that point in the series. Likewise, Jinwoo is actually surprised to see Soohyun, because she’s a famous celebrity herself. As much as they’re impressed by each other’s reputations, Soohyun and Jinwoo don’t tend to have too many moments of clear romantic attraction. While Soohyun does insist that she take a selfie with him for her social media page because Jinwoo is the latest hot topic after his second awakening, there’s almost nothing else to suggest the two have feelings for one another beyond platonic ones.

Nevertheless, fans often ship the pair simply because they’re both attractive, independent and successful people. If anything, Jinwoo and Soohyun would probably only get together to make headlines and increase their respective celebrity statuses in a mutually beneficial partnership. But there’s no indication that they have very much in common that would bring them together in a long-lasting relationship.

3

Esil’s Admiration For Jinwoo is Borderline Obsessive

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: His Companion in the Demon’s Castle

Esil Radiru is a short-lived character in Solo Leveling who only sticks around for around half of a single arc. However, she made a strong impression on fans in that short period thanks to her interesting relationship with Jinwoo. While Jinwoo never reciprocates, Esil very clearly develops strong feelings for Jinwoo. As a demon, Esil admires Jinwoo’s strength, and it also helps that Jinwoo protects her from the indiscriminate attacks of her fellow demons.

In a brand-new Webtoon for Solo Leveling: Arise, Esil’s feelings for Jinwoo are expanded on even further. The Webtoon details her strong emotional connection with him, with the ending even suggesting that Esil finally reveals her feelings to him. Even though the lessons Jinwoo learned from his time with Esil in the Demon Castle were very real, it’s debatable whether Esil ever existed at all given the nature of the Demon Castle as a simulation created by the System to train Jinwoo. This makes her potentially one of the most tragic characters in the series, but her return in the Webtoon at least gives an indication of what could’ve been for the two.

2

Joohee and Jinwoo Grow Apart as They Grow Up

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: His Close Friend and Party Member

Throughout the introductory arcs of Solo Leveling, the most likely candidate for a major relationship with Sung Jinwoo is Lee Joohee. Joohee is a B-Rank Healer who often takes on lower-ranking raids as she dislikes the danger and risk associated with higher-ranking raids. That’s how she ended up meeting and befriending Sung Jinwoo, whose own weakness prevented him from attempting a more serious raid. Jinwoo’s propensity for getting mortally injured on nearly every mission ensured that he and Joohee would interact often, as she was forced to save Jinwoo’s life more than once.

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Jinwoo showed courage in his willingness to put himself in danger to provide for his family, and it’s seeing a trait in Jinwoo that Joohee herself generally lacked which likely caused her to develop feelings for him. Joohee also seemed to like having something to fix, as Jinwoo needing her apparently gave her a sense of purpose. However, after the incident in the Double Dungeon, Jinwoo no longer needed her in that capacity, and Joohee’s own fears prevented her from moving forward. The two ended up organically parting ways as they followed the separate trajectories of their lives. The series had no issue ripping off the bandaid for this pair, leading many fans to view it as unexpected that they didn’t end up together. Intended or not, it was an impressively realistic take on how relationships can sometimes drift apart without warning.

1

Cha Haein is a Love That Transcends Time

Relationship to Sung Jinwoo: His Wife

While he encounters a number of potential love interests throughout the series, Cha Haein is the one Jinwoo ends up with in the end. Cha Haein is an S Rank Hunter who Jinwoo first meets in one of his final raids before his Rank Retesting outs him as an S Rank himself. While she doesn’t quite put together his true identity yet, the one thing that stands out to Haein is Jinwoo’s lack of a foul smell. Haein has the unique ability to smell a person’s mana, so she can immediately sense there’s something different about Jinwoo from the moment the two pass by.

This is a motif for the pair that comes full circle at the end of the series. After losing her memories of their past, Cha meets Jinwoo again, somewhat recognizing him by his scent, bringing a romantic conclusion to the pair’s arc. Jinwoo and Haein go on to get married and even have a son together named Suho, who is himself the lead protagonist of the Solo Leveling sequel series Solo Leveling: Ragnarok. Despite her only ending up being introduced later in the manhwa and playing a fairly minor role throughout the series, the anime adaptation has gone through pains to make Cha Haein a constant presence throughout the early arcs. This will hopefully lead to an even more fulfilling payoff when their happily ever after inevitably comes in the anime.

Solo Leveling is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

In a world of gifted hunters and monsters, a weak hunter Sung Jin-Woo gains extraordinary powers through a mysterious program, leading him to become one of the strongest hunters and conquering even the strongest dungeons.

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Studio

A-1 Pictures

Creator

Chugong

Writers

Noboru Kimura

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

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