In Bloodhounds, Gun-woo meets Hong Woo-jin during the Rookie of the Year boxing tournament and forms an unexpected bond with him. Lee Sang-Yi plays Woo-jin.
Woo-jin is the cocky boxer who gets defeated by Gun-woo during the final match of the Rookie of the Year boxing tournament. After the match, Gun-woo asks him whether he wants to go out with him to eat.
An initially hesitant Woo-jin accepts the invitation, and the two kick off their friendship. Woo-jin relates to the hardships Gun-woo has been through. Therefore, when Gun-woo faces someone like Myeong-gil, he sticks by Gun-woo’s side and fights with him till the end, even if it means sacrificing his life.
Woo-jin’s past and his Marine Corps Pride
Much like Gun-woo, Woo-jin has seen a fair share of what life is like. Before joining the Marine Corps, he was a bit of a thug himself back in Incheon. Meeting nice and honest people in the Marine Corps changed Woo-jin forever. That’s the reason he is proud of being a Marine.
Even today, he misses his days as a Marine, and whenever he meets someone who was a Marine, he can’t help but get to know them more and where they served.
If the Marine is his senior, he tends to salute them and only stands down when the Marine gives him a salute back. Many times in the show, he shows respect to the likes of Gun-woo, Mr. Moon, and Hwang Yang-jung, who are his seniors.
When it comes to his boxing career, Woo-jin first wore boxing gloves when he was in the sixth grade. Woo-jin’s father, Hong Seong-geun, was on the national team and was the Barcelona bronze medalist.
However, Woo-jin isn’t close to his father anymore because, no matter what Woo-jin does, his father is never satisfied. Woo-jin’s father judges his son based on his own accomplishments.
Since he won a bronze medal when he was 27 years old, he expects his son to do the same or better. That’s why Woo-jin grew distant from him. When he was in desperate need of money, he even opted to join the money-lending business.
In the fifth episode of Bloodhounds, Woo-jin also reveals that he was once a restaurant YouTuber. He quit since his channel didn’t receive many subscribers.
Woo-jin & Gun-woo’s friendship
Meeting and understanding Gun-woo gives Woo-jin a new mission. He joins Gun-woo in his attempt to stop Myeong-gil, a loan shark who preys on the weak and destroys their livelihoods for his own profits.
Woo-jin sees Gun-woo’s heart of a boxer, which makes him stay. He even almost dies once when Myeong-gil and his goons attack Mr. Choi’s house.
Even after coming close to death, Woo-ji doesn’t abandon Gun-woo. By the end of Bloodhounds, the two, together, defeat Myeong-gil and manage to get him arrested, thus fulfilling their purpose.
Also Read: Hyeon-ju: Bloodhounds character explained