Character Analysis of Sangwoo

Since the hiatus is almost over and I have nothing better to do I've decided to take the time to really look into our favorite Korean Norman Bates and over-analyze the Hell out of every part of his character. Buckle up everybody, because this is gonna be a long one.

Let's start with Sangwoo and completely take Bum out of he equation for a little bit. Sangwoo is a serial killer who only targets women. He's superficially charming and has a lot of people surrounding him who he uses as camouflage but outside of his mother I do not think anyone has ever connected with Sangwoo emotionally before. He's isolated socially and I think for the most part he was okay with that.

Now, that's not because Sangwoo is emotionless or even that he finds relationships with others unnecessary, I actually believe that before Bum came into the picture Sangwoo was lonely. No one around him knew the real him and no one around him would accept him if they knew the real him. Everyone around Sangwoo is in love with the mask he puts on. Bum is the first [and only] person who has continued to "love" him after he revealed his true nature.

I think what Sangwoo really wants is for Bum to wholehearedly accept and even join in on his serial killing life-style. This might stem from possibly being rejected by his mother when he killed his father or when she rejected him some other way. Sangwoo has serious abandonment issues and gets murderously angry every time he thinks that Bum has attempted to escape from him. His abandonment issues are also shown quite plainly when Bum attempts suicide. Sangwoo is scared then. He doesn't know what to do and is shown temporarily regressing into an almost childlike state as he tries to stop the bleeding.

I believe that while his abusive father may have been part of the reason he ended up the way he did, his mother actually had a much larger part in creating the monster we know today. I believe that while his mother wasn't physically abusive she was emotionally and sexually abusive. I admittedly have more evidence for the emotional abuse than the sexual abuse but one bit I think shows evidence of sexual abuse is the way he reacted when Bum told him about his uncle. I think he was projecting heavily there. I don't think Sangwoo viewed his mother in a negative light, even if she did sexually molest him. He's hyperfixated on her to the point of being creepy and it's heavily implied that one of the main reasons he's sexually attracted to Bum is because he reminds him of his mother.

Now let's return to his relationship with Bum. I believe that Sangwoo is as emotionally dependent on Bum as Bum is on him. Whenever he thinks Bum has left him, whether it be by running away or committing suicide, he either breaks down into a semi-murderous rage or regresses into a state of childlike fear. I think it is safe to say that Sangwoo has grown too attached to Bum to kill him. He's using Bum as a replacement for his deceased mother who he was heavily emotionally dependent on. He sees Bum as the only one who will never truly reject him no matter what he does to him.

Anyways, sorry for the long and rambly probably nonsensical rant but I have a lot of thoughts on this character. Feel free to comment if you disagree with any of my opinions!