Min Ho - a Character Study

Welcome to part 2 of me exploring the characters from XO Kitty. Let me know who you want next! I’ve tried to avoid my own biased feelings in this exploration but it likely sneaks through at times:

In episode 1 we learn a few things about Min Ho: - He’s closed off and a little frosty to new people (no English, rolling eyes at Kitty) - He’s skeptical about real romantic relationships (Dae has literally been dating Kitty for 4 years at this point and he refuses to call her anything but his penpal, and thinks it’s fine he’s with Yuri now) - He’s a little melodramatic (pulling covers off Kitty, acting like he needed to protect himself with a laptop ha) - He’s likely from money (we don’t learn too much of this immediately, but he knows Dae’s suit is super expensive, and he’s clearly well-dressed and has a rich kid attitude)

Min Ho’s character growth takes a bit of time because despite clearly being a central character of the show he is a bit sidelined for the first few episodes. That said, I’d argue he’s actually the character that is most fully realized in the show both in back story and character depth. Even from the beginning though we see that he cared deeply about the people in his life (even going on a hike because he thinks Dae isn’t spending enough time with him), and has a strong moral code to do with honesty and integrity. He’s even the one to point out that Kitty’s roommate is filming her and is clearly uncomfortable with that concept.

Min Ho’s familial relationships are likely a large part of why he is the way he is. We learn that his parents are divorced, and and that he’s much closer to his mother than his dad though it seems that his relationship with his mother isn’t nearly as close as he’d like it to be. He’s very attached to her and proud of her (he even crashes Q’s date with Florian to talk about her), and clearly feels comfortable confiding in her (like when he called her from the camping trip) but she doesn’t seen to be physically or emotionally available to him. Although his parents’ divorce wasn’t as dramatic as the media made it appear, they were no “perfect couple” and Min Ho therefore previously had a pattern of unstable romantic relationships which led him to considering himself a playboy. We do see though that he doesn’t struggle to become close to friends and he’s fiercely loyal once someone becomes close to him. His extreme loyalty is also why he takes to monogamy so easily once he opens his mind to the possibility through Kitty. I think it's likely he never really was a playboy, and rather just never took his relationships to the step of being serious, because of his familial trauma. On the note of familial trauma, we don’t actually know how many siblings he has, but I suspect on his dad’s side his (known) half siblings are all older, and on his mother’s he’s the only child. There’s some characterization tropes consistent with this, in addition to there being a large age gap between his parents (the actors are almost 20 years apart).

Some may argue that Min Ho betrayed Dae in confessing love to Kitty on the plane, but I’d argue this was actually a response to what he believed was Dae betraying Kitty. Due to Dae’s behaviour (you lied and lied and lied), as far as he’s concerned Dae has lost the opportunity to be with Kitty so she’s fair game. He still cares about Dae, but since he also cares about Kitty he’s able to get past the bro code side of things and just focus on his love for Kitty because he thinks he’d be a better fit for her. This was obviously still an example of him being impulsive and privileged but it’s less of a betrayal than it looks on the outset. It will be interesting to see what happens if (when!) he and Kitty actually get together though, because Dae has made it very clear that his actions in this context still feel like a betrayal and matches what he sees (rightfully) as a pattern of negative and privileged behaviour.

One of my favourite things about Min Ho’s loyalty is that he actually puts loyalty to his friends above his feelings for them in that moment. In S2 going to support Kitty in Bukjeoung even when he’s mad at her, expecting nothing in return, is actually a really big deal. He knew that his friend needed help, and he knew that this fight was just a blip in their relationship. At this point he’s not trying to date her and is loyal to Stella (hence his anger at Kitty in the first place) but he cares, and he sacrifices his own needs in the moment to help a friend. For all his sarcasm, privilege, and weird upbringing, he actually has a lot integrity, and honesty and reliability matter to him. I also think that the duality of Min Ho’s personality is quite interesting. He’s a bit frosty when you first meet him, but his actual relationships are very playful, and deeply loyal, and he’s actually quite emotionally available and attuned to how others are feeling.

I don’t know exactly what I hope for Min Ho in season 3. I’m not convinced that he has a strong sense of self outside of his relationships, so getting to better know his skills and desires may be helpful for him as he gets older. Given that I am a Moon Covey shipper, of course I hope he and Kitty get together, but in a lot of ways I feel his character is already mature enough and ready for a relationship, as long as he opens himself up to getting hurt again. He’s more tentative than the old Min Ho now that he realizes that love leaves him vulnerable, and being vulnerable is a hard place to be. He’s already relatively vulnerable with Kitty, but we still see him clear his throat to break tension and change subjects frequently, so I hope to see him comfortable to be his full, complete, glorious self.