Ji-Ah

**Ji-Ah** is one of the main characters in *Lovecraft Country*. She is portrayed by Jamie Chung.

She is a seemingly naive nursing student who is thrust into active service when war breaks out, and a rash of soldier disappearances suggests she is more than what she seems. In reality, she is a kumiho who developed a relationship with Atticus until he discovered her true nature.

## History

### Biography

Ji-Ah was born in South Korea to a single mother, which caused their family great shame and disgrace. And when she was younger, she was repeatedly raped and molested by her stepfather, who was later killed by the kumiho that currently possesses Ji-Ah.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

#### Sundown

Ji-Ah gets a call from Atticus, who has returned home against her advisement. Even though he doesn't speak on the phone, she tells him that he shouldn’t have left.

#### Whitey's on the Moon

Atticus is spelled by the Braithwhites. He hallucinates being attacked by Ji-Ah. She emerges from a closet, firing several shots at Atticus. He disarms her of her guns, and she resorts to her knives, slashing at Atticus, even driving the blade into his shoulder. Atticus disarms Ji-ah again and knocks her through a table. Atticus proceeds to get on top of Ji-ah and snap her neck.

#### Strange Case

Ji-Ah gets a call from Tic. He asks how she knew. She tells him that he should’ve listened to her. He asks her what she is. Ji-Ah doesn’t reply. She hangs up the phone instead.

#### Meet Me in Daegu

Fall, 1949, Daegu, South Korea. Ji-Ah watches a film in the local movie theater and dances in the aisle. She then goes home with her mother Soon-Hee. Their family has been disgraced. Ji-Ah believes that when she graduates from nursing school that she’ll be able to restore her family's honor. Soon-Hee argues that the only way for their family to be whole again is for Ji-Ah to bring home men.

Ji-Ah attends the mee-ting after class in hopes of finding a man to bring home, but she doesn't get a single match. Young-ja invites Ji-Ah to join her as she's going to get some coffee with one of the men she met at the mee-ting. However, Ji-Ah doesn’t wish to be in the way. Young-ja explains that her date is boring and that she doesn’t want to be alone with him. Ji-Ah can’t return home without a man, but Young-ja doesn’t believe her expectations are realistic. She tells Ji-Ah how sometimes mothers want what’s best for themselves with no concern for anyone else.

Ji-Ah meets a man named Byung at a bar. She brings him home to have sex. After Byung climaxes, nine tails emerge from Ji-Ah’s body and penetrate Byung. She sees his every memory before killing him — his body completely exploding, leaving nothing behind but a pool of blood. Soon-Hee enters and says "Ten more."

Summer of 1950, the American army arrives in South Korea. Soon-Hee makes tteokguk in celebration of Ji-Ah’s birthday. The meal is made with anchovies, which was Soon-Hee’s husband’s favorite. Ji-Ah knows this because when she absorbs a soul, she sees their entire life before they die. All of their memories are in her. Soon-Hee asks that she never speak of him again and then scolds Ji-Ah for not bringing anyone home within the last month. She suggests that Ji-Ah lure an American soldier over. All Ji-Ah has to do is absorb two more souls and the memories she’s collected will be gone forever. This is what the shaman said when Soon-Hee asked her how to summon the kumiho spirit. Should she absorb 100 souls, the kumiho spirit within her will leave and Ji-Ah will be human again.

Ji-Ah goes to work at the hospital alongside Young-ja. They are given an unruly patient; a soldier whose leg was badly wounded during an attack. He fears they’re going to cut his leg off and twists Ji-Ah’s wrist. Young-ja injects him with a sedative and frees Ji-Ah from his grip.

Ji-Ah and Young-ja walk home together. Ji-Ah inquires about II-sung, who she saw Young-ja whispering to. Ji-Ah reveals that she knows he’s a communist, as well as Young-ja. She heard the two of them speaking about war, though she accepts that they’re different and has no intentions on exposing them. Suddenly, a lynch mob gathers and hangs a man for public display after outing him as a communist. Young-ja is horrified as she doesn’t believe that being different warrants a death sentence.

Ji-Ah brings an American soldier home and does with him as she did the 98 men before him. Afterward, Soon-Hee cleans up the blood and says that all Ji-Ah has to do is absorb one last soul. The kumiho spirit inside Ji-Ah is unfamiliar with the different types of loves and inquires why Soon-Hee’s husband’s love for Ji-Ah was wrong. Soon-Hee explains that her husband raped her daughter. And that’s why she went to the mudang, otherwise known as the shaman, and had her summon the spirit possessing Ji-Ah to kill him. Soon-Hee says that the spirit can’t understand why that love was wrong because it can’t feel love due to the fact that it’s a monster. Ji-Ah reveals that she has no intentions in taking another soul, much to Soon-Hee’s disapproval. Ji-Ah has seen the lifetimes of 99 men. All more bad than good. And she doesn’t want to be a part of that, but Soon-Hee wants her daughter back. She only wanted to protect Ji-Ah. The shaman said there would be a price, but she didn’t know the kumiho spirit would possess her daughter. Soon-Hee believes that her daughter's memories are buried deep within, but Ji-Ahi insists that there is nothing left of her. All of her memories are of the 99 men she killed, none of Soon-Hee’s daughter. However, from Soon-Hee’s husband’s memories, Ji-Ah learned that he targeted Soon-Hee as she was a pariah. A woman with a daughter out of wedlock. He knew she would allow him to do all in effort to restore her family’s name.

Ji-Ah, Young-ja, and a small group of nurses are taken to a checkpoint by the military. One of them has been leaking information to the Communists. When no one comes forward, a nurse is killed — shot in the head. The leading officer’s gun jams, and so he calls Atticus over to kill another nurse. Her blood splatters all over Ji-Ah’s hair and face. As they’re about to kill Ji-Ah, Young-ja confesses to being a communist spy and is taken away.

She arrives at the hospital and notices that Tic has been brought into the ER and for injuries he sustained. Ji-Ah changes the sheets on Tic’s bed. He offers to help her in an effort to keep himself busy, though he struggles to stay up on his feet as he has not yet recovered from his injuries. He tells her how his glasses broke during the bombing and asks if she can read the last few chapters of *The Count of Monte Cristo.* Ji-Ah spoils the end for him, though she had only seen the movie. Tic explains that the book differs and offers her a chance to read it herself, but Ji-Ah turns him down.

Tic introduces Ji-Ah to his friend, Sung. He jokingly asks if she’s seen any new flicks that she wants to spoil for them. Ji-Ah hasn’t seen any movies lately. The only movie theater had been shut down. She was hoping to see *Summer Stock.* She then asks if either of them has met Judy Garland. They laugh as she’s a famous white woman while they’re minorities and made out to be enemies in their own home. Sung reveals that he was drafted to the war unlike Tic, who volunteered. He reasoned that the books he read to get away from the real world no longer filled the void so he sought actual adventure.

Ji-Ah reads the last few chapters of the book to Tic and asks why he chose it. He explains that it’s his father’s favorite, though they don’t talk much anymore. Ji-Ah sympathizes as she has a strained relationship with her mother. Ji-Ah says that they have to stop letting their parents’ fear shape them.

Tic has arranged for him and Ji-Ah to watch the film *Summer Stock* in a tent. He got the idea from his uncle George. After the film ends, they return to her house, where Tic reveals that he’s a virgin. He simply wished to be honest with her. When he’s with her, he feels his best as she sees the good in him. They start to kiss, but Ji-Ah has developed actual feelings for Tic and tells him to leave as she no longer wishes to kill him. Soon-Hee enters, and Ji-Ah explains that she has genuine feelings for the man. She questions how Ji-Ah can have feelings for someone that killed her best friend and spits in her face.

The following day, Ji-Ah confronts Tic and reveals that she was among the group of nurses that were taken and that his unit killed her best friend. Tic replies that he was following orders, but there’s no book that will allow Tic to escape what he’s done, Ji-Ah replies. He questions why she agreed to go out with him. She admits that she initially had plans to kill him, but she’s began to develop feelings for him. And the more she got to know him, the more she saw that the war was tearing him apart. They don’t have to be monsters. They can be the people they see in each other. Tic is brought to tears and kisses Ji-Ah. They head onto base, where they proceed to have sex.

Ji-Ah tells Soon-Hee that she loves Tic, but given her nature, the fact that she’s a kumiho, she will kill him eventually, Soon-Hee believes. Ji-Ah argues that she can control her tails. Soon-Hee is disgraced as her daughter was made into a monster and a whore. Ji-Ah was told that she couldn't have feelings because she wasn’t human nor could people love her, but she’s come to learn that isn’t true as both Tic and Young-ja cared for her. Soon-Hee retorts that Tic only loves her because he doesn’t know the truth about her.

Tic and Ji-Ah’s relationship has lasted into the winter. She reads him a tale about the nine-tailed fox spirit named kumiho that lived deep in the mountainous forest. The spirit can be summoned into the form of a beautiful woman to avenge the wrong done by men. Tic then reveals that he’s earned enough points to rotate out and go home. But he can also choose to stay, however, Ji-Ah would never ask that of him as he hates the war. He asks her to come home with him, but Ji-Ah admits there is so much he doesn’t know about her. Tic replies that nothing she says could change the way he feels about her, so they start to have sex, during which time, Ji-Ah’s tails emerge and latch onto Tic, allowing her to see his past and future. Fortunately, she manages to stop herself from killing him, though she did see his death. She tells Tic that he will die if he goes home, but he is freaked out from the encounter and rushes out.

Soon-Hee finds Ji-Ah sitting on the floor with just a thin blanket hanging off her body. She comforts Ji-Ah that night, and the following morning, they head up into the mountains to speak to the shaman. While up there, Ji-Ah makes eye contact with a fox. She and Soon-Hee then approach the shaman as they are in need of her help. Soon-Hee is willing to accept whatever price she has to pay for coming to the shaman. Ji-Ah wants to know if the vision she had of Atticus’ death will come true. The shaman tells Ji-Ah that her mortal concerns are meaningless. She then sets a piece of paper on fire and holds it in the air. She tells Ji-Ah that she has not yet become one with the darkness and that she will see countless deaths before her journey is done.

#### Jig-A-Bobo

Ji-ah arrives in Chicago to warn Tic that he's going to die. She reveals that she’s a kumiho — a Korean term for succubus. Otherwise known as a nine tail fox spirit. She’s killed 100 men. It’s in her nature. She asks what Tic's excuse is. When she has sex and her lover climaxes, her nine tails attach to him, taking his life force. This is how she’s able to see their entire lives up until their death. Tic asks when he is supposed to die, but she doesn’t know when nor did she see how it happened. Tic questions why she came if she didn’t have any answers. Leti replies it’s because Ji-ah loves him. Leti storms off, and Tic tells Ji-ah to leave as their relationship wasn’t real.

#### Full Circle

Ji-ah meets Tic at the Drake Hotel. He admits that what they had was real. He thought if he could deny their past, then he could deny his future, especially his death. Ji-ah reveals that her mother died recently. For a long time, she thought she couldn’t feel because she’s a kumiho, but then she met Young-ja and Tic and realized otherwise. But that feeling has since left. Tic explains the process of grieving and how it’s a human emotion. He grabs Ji-ah’s hand and tells her that their intertwined destinies make them family. Ji-ah then reveals that a shaman told her that Tic will die and that she’s destined to enter the darkness, but Tic isn’t convinced.

Ji-ah joins Tic and his family on the trip to Ardham. She works with Montrose and Hippolyta in marking the bridge in symbols and draw a line of salt. They suddenly find themselves surrounded by adamites armed with shovels and pitchforks. The trio attempt to fight them off but are outnumbered and taken to the ceremony, where they watch as Christina sacrifices Tic and becomes immortal. Leti eventually arrives and begins reciting the blood connection spell despite the fact that Tic isn't connected to Christina. Ji-ah realizes that this is her destiny and becomes entangled in the darkness before using her tails to connect Tic and Christina. This acts as the blood connection for Leti to perform the spell given to her by the ancestors, resulting in a huge dark explosion of energy, which strips all white people of magic. With Christina defeated, Leti, Montrose, Hippolyta, and Ji-ah carry Tic home.

## Personality

Ji-Ah is possessed by a kumiho spirit. For a long time, she believed that she couldn't be loved nor could she love due to the fact that she was a monster, but upon meeting Tic, she discovered that she was, in fact, capable of such feeling.

## Physical Appearance

Ji-Ah is a young Korean woman with short curled hair and brown eyes. She's very appealing and uses her beauty to lure men in.

## Relationships

* Atticus Freeman - Tic is Ji-Ah former lover who she met during the war in Korea. However, they broke up after Tic discovered her true nature.
* Soon-Hee - Ji-Ah's distant mother who summoned a fox spirit to kill her husband for having raped her daughter.
* Young-ja Unni - Ji-Ah's best friend, who cared for her deeply.

## Appearances

Season One
* *Sundown*
* *Whitey's on the Moon*
* *Holy Ghost* (credit only)
* *A History of Violence* (credit only)
* *Strange Case*
* *Meet Me in Daegu*
* *I Am.* (credit only)
* *Jig-A-Bobo*
* *Rewind 1921* (credit only)
* *Full Circle*

## Quotes

> Tic? Is that you? You went home. You shouldn't have.
>
> Ji-Ah to Tic, Sundown

> I remember everything. When I absorb their souls I see their entire lives before they die. All of his memories are in me.
>
> Ji-Ah to Tic, Meet Me in Daegu

> And that's why you had the mudang summon me. To kill him. Because he was a monster? Yet you want me to kill like a monster to become human?
>
> Ji-Ah to Soon-Hee, Meet Me in Daegu

> I've now seen the lifetimes of ninety-nine men. All more bad than good. Why do you insist on me becoming apart of this --
>
> Ji-Ah to Soon-Hee, Meet Me in Daegu

> Your daughter sang that nursery rhyme to herself every time your husband raped her. I have no memory of you teaching her that song. I have his memories. He handpicked you. A woman with a daughter out of wedlock. You were a pariah. He knew what you would allow him to do. All to rescue you from shame and disgrace...
>
> Ji-Ah to Soon-Hee, Meet Me in Daegu

> Because I was going to kill you. But I didn't, because I've never felt this way either. You murdered my best friend, and then you sa... and then you saved me, I think. The first time I saw you at the hospital, got to know you, and I realized how this war has torn you apart. We've both done monstrous things, but that does not make us monsters. We could be the people we see in each other.
>
> Ji-Ah to Tic, Meet Me in Daegu

> When I have sex and my lover climaxes, my nine tails attach to him, taking his life force. That is how I am able to see their entire lives up till their deaths.
>
> Ji-ah to Tic and Leti, Jig-A-Bobo

> I went to a Mudang, our shaman, to ask about what I saw. [...] She said I should not be concerned with mortal things, that you will die, that I am destined to enter the darkness.
>
> Ji-ah to Tic, Full Circle

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Meet Me in Daegu*
2. ↑ *Sundown*
3. ↑ *Whitey's on the Moon*
4. ↑ *Strange Case*
5. ↑ *Jig-A-Bobo*
6. ↑ *Full Circle*