Yona of the Dawn Chapter 14
The Chosen Door
Welcome to Yoon's backstory and an elaboration on how he fits with Hak, Yona, and the story as a whole. Also an explanation for his overall behavior and rudeness towards Yona.
This chapter always trips me up. Whenever I do a reread and try to articulate my thoughts, it makes me pause. And not in a good way. I'm sorry, Yoon! I love you, truly I do! And I recognize that his backstory is important. It can just really emphasize the pitstop energy of this section. I love a good backstory, I love backstory woven into the story and how it adds context to or re-contextualizes the present, but a pattern has been set here. We saw this in earlier chapters with Hak and Yona too–the ball gets rolling, shit is happening and then: pause, backstory time.
THAT BEING SAID there is good stuff in here. And following Yona's decision to embrace her fate/utilize the path it offers her, we get Yoon embracing what is essentially framed as his fate. So once again: welcome to Yoon's backstory and an elaboration on how he fits with Hak, Yona, and the story as a whole.
Hak is an orphan but was raised by the General of the Wind Tribe and Yona the sheltered princess of Kouka. Hak is positioned below Yona, but he is still from a prestigious family. As a kid, he declared that he hates royalty and the nobility and all the selfish motives and sneaking around they do, but he ends up as Princess Yona's bodyguard and the leader of the Wind Tribe.
His tribe and status as a warrior means he has been exposed to more of the realities of life, but he has still spent most of his time, at least in the past three years, at the castle. Yoon echoes Hak's sentiments towards royalty and nobility, but his exposure to their behavior is different. Hak saw it up close, while Yoon faced its effects as a poor orphan child in the Fire Tribe. Furthermore, the harsh realities Yoon experienced as a child are things Yona only experiences after having to flee the castle.
Previously, Yona's dreams centered on Soo-Won, really only desiring his happiness and being by his side. She never sought anything beyond the palace. Hak likewise dreamed of Yona's happiness, wanting to spend his life dedicated to her and Soo-Won. Their dreams weren't very ambitious and were focused on individual people. Yoon is a different case.
"I want to get out of this town as soon as I can. I want to see the capital and foreign lands!"
He is used to a kill-or-be-killed mindset and the daily struggle of survival, yet he dreams big.
He has a kind heart but has only been exposed to hardship. That is, until he meets Ik-Soo, who responds to his rough behavior and violence with baffling, unaffected kindness (kind of like how Yona will react to his jabs 👀).
More than that, Ik-Soo teaches Yoon skills and brings him knowledge and all of this flips Yoon's world upside-down.
"I learned something from him...'Pay me back by teaching me more things.' That was so much fun. I wanted to keep talking to him. There were questions I wanted to ask him. I'm used to being alone. But ever since we met...I can't shake this lonely feeling."
Through Yoon's backstory, we learn more about the people of Kouka and how they suffer as well as what drives and comprises Yoon. He is in part a result of his circumstances.
He is kind but not always nice. He is sassy. He thirsts for knowledge and picks up skills easily. And he is extremely dedicated to the people he cares about. All of this was clear before this chapter, but Kusanagi loves a good elaboration in the form of a flashback. I think she is very good at establishing character without the flashbacks, but even if they can be frustrating in how they impact story momentum, they show up at appropriate times and are used effectively.
Living one's life for another is something Yona explores over and over again. Hak is our first example and then we get Yona dedicating her life to him in turn, wanting to protect him. And now we get Yoon, who decides to join Ik-Soo even though, as Ik-Soo says: "But...I can't travel much. I can't go to the capital. I-I don't even have any books..."
"So? That's fine! I don't have to go to the capital! I don't need any books! You can teach me. Besides... it's too dangerous to let you wander around on your own!"
It's the idea from Chapter 13 stated again.
"You really know everything, huh?" "Can't help it. I'm a genius. I automatically memorize everything I read. But there are so many books out there, and I've read so few. There are tons of books I've never even heard of. It's annoying. But...for now...this ratty old book is all I need."
Yoon will take one ratty book over all the books in the world to be with Ik-Soo. He has all this untapped potential but puts Ik-Soo first.
But it's not like he gets nothing out of being with Ik-Soo, Ik-Soo becomes his guardian and gives Yoon perhaps what he really needs–companionship and love. And now with Yona and Hak, Yoon is presented with the opportunity to experience both companionship and a chance at his dreams.
Ik-Soo telling Yoon that he should go with Yona and Hak, in addition to Yoon's reflections on the past, lead him to realize he's been somewhat unfair to Yona:
"I told that princess that she's ignorant about the world. But the truth is, while I have a lot of knowledge...I probably don't know the first thing about the real world."
Though on opposite ends of the spectrum, both Yoon and Yona have been isolated and sheltered. And like the reader, they need to learn more about Kouka and the world (and become our vessels to acquire that knowledge!)
And then again, Yoon overlaps with Hak and the idea of dedicating oneself to another, Yoon tells Ik-Soo "You might not realize this...but I'll always act on what you tell me. So if you...order me to go...I will." This is reminiscent of Mundok's farewell to Hak as well. There are lots of interesting plays on hierarchy and family dynamics and the blurring lines between serving and caring for someone.
Yoon's backstory also adds more to the exploration of religion within Yona. We've got Yona, who will accept the existence of the gods, going as far as using their power and not being against doing so, but embodies Ik-Soo's statement of "heaven can only show you the path. You must choose to walk it," perhaps working as a happy medium in the arena of gods vs. humans. Hak, meanwhile, thinks all this god stuff is a myth. He won't believe it until he sees it. Soo-Won, of course, rejects the gods in favor of the people and Ik-Soo "[trusts] what the gods tell [him]" and uses that information (or did previously use that information) to "help [people who need encouragement] rediscover the courage to live their lives."
Yoon, upon learning about Ik-Soo's occupation, reflects "'But God...doesn't exist.' God isn't real. But...[Ik-Soo] doesn't seem like a liar." He's again more in the Hak camp, but seems to recognize that at the very least, the existence of god functions as a truth in Ik-Soo's eyes. There's also something to be said for how Yoon's life thus far has factored into his lack of belief in a god. And even if he doesn't believe in a god, he believes in Ik-Soo (which overlaps with the Soo-Won religion camp a bit).
Yoon meeting Ik-Soo spotlights priests specifically as well and expands on the exploration of humankind. Ik-Soo traveled and tried to help people, but people were selfish and stole from him. As he tells Yoon, "when I had that gold, it brought out something ugly in the people around me." That, the persecution of priests, and his inability to help everyone he wanted to pushed Ik-Soo into hiding. It harkens back to the story of the Crimson Dragon King and is something of note in the conversation on the morality of gods and humans.
