Ryu Tok-hun
Ryu Tok-hun is the son of an intellectual who was aligned with the Seoul faction of Korean Communists during the Japanese occupation period, but after liberation quickly moved to support the Kim Il-sung faction when the political winds began to blow in a new direction. Ryu was raised in a household devoted to the Great Leader and his works, and through his father’s political connections was able to secure a placement at the prestigious Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang. More pedantic than intelligent, he rose to become a Professor of History, specializing in ancient Korean kingdoms and in particular the so-called ‘Taedonggang Civilization’, which the DPRK claims as a cradle of civilization to rival those of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and Yellow River.
His academic views tended towards the revisionist, and he wrote a number of papers detailing his theories that many ancient Chinese kingdoms and individuals were actually of Korean descent. Though pleasing to Pyongyang, these views eventually created a problem when a Chinese exchange student at the university posted translations of Ryu’s works on a Chinese online message board, creating a controversy that spread into local media. Beijing put pressure on Pyongyang to rein Ryu in, and Pyongyang felt sufficiently embarrassed to consider ways to remove or relocate him out of his position.
An opportunity arose through Office 44’s request for a academic to take charge of the translation program at the Unyakmun Publishing House, which Ryu was pressured to accept. Despite assurances that this represented a promotion of sorts, Ryu felt bitter and angry about losing his prestigious position at the university. He despises Paek Kum-ae for her background and superstition, though he fears her weird and unnatural powers. He vents this frustration on the translation team that work below him, who he frequently berates and forces to work late into the night and on short, harrowing schedules. He makes a point to fully proofread all translation work done by his team, and heaven help the translator who makes a mistake in spelling, grammar or comprehension.
This regular exposure to translated Mythos works has slowly taken a toll on Ryu’s sanity and has had an effect on the historical research that he engages in during his spare time. His already revisionist theories have become ever more esoteric and bizarre. He has gone beyond linking ancient Korean kingdoms with merely ancient Chinese dynasties, but has begun to work on a personal thesis linking the Korean civilization with the ancient names from old myth cycles, such as Leng, Irem and Kadath. He works every night on his thesis in his cramped office surrounded by obscure texts and scrolls, and his views on Korean supremacy and purity have pervaded most of the document. He hopes that by proving his theories, he will be able to regain his position as a respected scholar and visionary.
Ryu Tok-hun
The Emperor of Unyakmun, age 67
Nationality: North Korean
STR 9 CON 10 SIZ 8 INT 10 POW 12
DEX 11 EDU 16 HP 9 App 9 SAN 43
Magic Pts: 5
Damage Bonus: none
Education: Doctorate in History from Kim Il-sung University
Occupation: Director of Unyakmun Publishing Company
Skills: Anthropology 20%, Archaeology 40%, Computer Use 20%, Cthulhu Mythos 17%, Geology 10% History 90%, Library Use 90%, Occult 25%, Party Standing 50%, Persuade 40%, Psychology 15%
Languages: Korean 95%, Russian 50%, Chinese 40%, English 25%
Appearance: Ryu Tok-hun is a short, perpetually frowning man who looks older than his age and went bald at an early age. He wears a pair of rounded glasses that he doesn’t actually need, he peers over them with beady, jaundiced eyes when intimidating or berating his students or underlings. He is perpetually dressed in a dark gray suit, with a large pin bearing the faces of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the breast. When he gets angry, which is often, his round face turns bright red and his voice becomes high-pitched and shrill.