Myers-Briggs Types in Solo Leveling: Sung Jinwoo (ISFP)

Solo Leveling is a popular show recently, and we’ve actually received quite a few requests for an analysis of Sung Jinwoo’s Myers-Briggs personality type (also known as MBTI). From what we’ve seen, the most popular theory on Sung Jinwoo is INTJ, followed up (somewhat distantly) by ISTP, so our ISFP theory probably seems kinda out there. Well, to be honest, we had this character pegged as an ISFP very early on, but the longer the show goes, the more of an NTJ trope he becomes, which made us hesitate and second guess. (From what we hear, he’s a bit different in the novel.) However, after watching the current two seasons and rewatching some of the earliest episodes, we’re relatively comfortable positing this theory. If future seasons reveal contradicting information, we’ll redact this theory, as we do whenever new evidence defeats our past conclusions.

The Myers-Briggs Personality Type of Sung Jinwoo

“I’m weak, so I get a crappy nickname. I’m weak, so no one believes in me! I hate how worthless I am. I want strength! Overwhelming power brings people to their knees. The strong go into every situation with an advantage, while the weak quiver in fear or stand around helplessly. The weak get looked down on. Doesn’t matter how smart creative, or kind they are! The weak always lose. I always lose. My kindness never saved me. No. What I need now is true strength. And I am not gonna give up until I get it. Just watch me! I swear it. I’ll get stronger if it’s the last thing I do!”

Dominant Fi:

“That’s all you’ll ever be. A dreamer who never learned his place.” – His old self to him

“But you were at your limit, huh? Yeah, we all felt that way. You were making excuses for your own selfishness!”

“How could I have forgotten? It’s survival of the fittest in this world, this world filled with violence, deception, and betrayal.”

“I wanted to be stronger. I tried, but I never could.”

During the series, Jinwoo refers to himself as a “dreamer”. More specifically, he sees a younger version of himself taunt him by saying that all he’ll ever be is a dreamer who never learned his place. This appears to be in reference to his earlier days as a hunter, the days when being a hunter made little practical sense. After all, before his second awakening, Jinwoo fails at being a hunter, nearly dying over and over again. He gets into hunting out of a sense of duty to pay for his mother’s treatments and put his sister through college, but then makes little-to-no money because he’s too weak to turn a profit.

Early on, when Jinwoo acts like a normal person, he’s kind, friendly, and trusting. He works with a team, and sticks by them no matter what. In multiple instances, he risks his own life to save someone else, or offers to sacrifice himself so that others can live. However, his kindness is ultimately repaid by betrayal. (Of course, he judges the others as selfish for their betrayal.) This theme of betrayal actually repeats itself, leading him to grow bitter, and disenfranchised with Fi.

During an internal rant, Jinwoo looks down on the innocent version of his himself. He bemoans the fact that no one believes in him because he’s weak, and that his kindness never saved him. He complains about the fact that only power is valued, rather than kindness, creativity, or intelligence. Similarly, after his team turns out to be murderous criminals, he thinks, “How could I have forgotten? It’s survival of the fittest in this world, this world filled with violence, deception, and betrayal.” This all demonstrates that his original outlook is one more in line with Fi, rather than Te.

There are other hints to his Fi throughout the series. For instance, he tries to allow his summons to keep their original names, but he’s unfortunately bad at remembering names. He also makes statements such as “If I kill you too fast, I just know that I’m gonna feel bad,” and “Don’t look down on my guys. It upsets me.” In addition, while fighting the extremely powerful ant that had just killed other S ranks, he attacks the ant’s identity, by stating “you’re still just a bug.”

Auxiliary Se:

“But I break the bank just splurging on cheap knives, and once they break, that’s it. I’m back to fighting with my bare hands.”

“And so, day after excruciating day, I endure the mockery and perform this life-threatening job that takes way more than it gives. Cause I’ve learned that I can survive most anything if I keep my eyes peeled for opportunities.”

“But if the only way out is through, then just have to press on.”

Jinwoo’s Se manifests in his constant willingness to throw himself into harms way without any thought of security or self-preservation. He is content to exist in whatever set of circumstances he is stuck in, without moving to change or improve his circumstances. For instance, Jinwoo perceives being a hunter as the best way to make money, so he sticks with it in spite of being extremely bad at it.

His Se is further highlighted in the fact that he tends to think on his feet and react. His preplanning is poor in most cases. He does things like enter a dungeon with nothing but a day or two of food and water. When entering the first bonus dungeon, his entire plan is to just run away if anything happens. When that plan is immediately rendered useless (due to being locked in), Jinwoo doesn’t panic and feel the need to devise a new plan. He just shrugs it off and decides to do the dungeon and see what happens. Jinwoo never expresses concern over his lack of a plan. He proceeds forward because he feels like there is no other option.

When an opportunity to escape the dungeon presents itself in the form of a teleportation stone, Jinwoo decides to continue on instead of taking the opportunity to plan and regroup. He is more worried about missing out, fearing that if he leaves the dungeon he will not be able to return. This all leads him to choose risk over strategic retreat.

Throughout the series, the approach described above is repeated over and over again. Jinwoo rarely bothers to strategize in advance. Rather, he pushes himself forward, expecting to be able to adapt as things happen. Most of the strategizing he’s seen doing happens in the middle of a battle or an active situation, which aligns more with the present-minded focus of Se than high Ni future-orientation.

Tertiary Ni:

“Well, the next challenge is waiting behind this door. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it.”

“The system made this job change quest seem optional, but maybe it was inevitable.”

“Remembering names isn’t really your strong suit, is it?”

From the start of the series, Jinwoo shows that he relies on (what he refers to as) instinct. He usually cannot pinpoint exactly what is bothering him when something is about to go wrong, but his many near-death experiences have left him with a sense for when things are about to go wrong. In the first couple of episodes, Jinwoo proves himself to be sharper than the rest of the group during the double dungeon crisis. For instance, he is able to pick up on what the first rule required of them; but when asked how he figured it out, Jinwoo just shrugs and chalks it up to instinct.

In addition, Jinwoo is only able to grab glimpses of insight, and struggles to piece the larger picture together all at once. For instance, when asked about what the next step is or if he has figured out how to escape the double dungeon, Jinwoo again just shrugs and states that he has only figured out the one part so far. He essentially gets just enough insight to take the immediate next steps to keep himself alive.

Similarly, when trying to analyze the different aspects of the system, Jinwoo considers whether the options presented to him are really optional at all. He states that perhaps what is being offered is less a choice and more just an inevitability. However, he quickly moves past his different musings about the system and carries on without giving it much more thought.

Jinwoo has a more impressionistic form of memory and struggles to retain details that he doesn’t find immediately relevant. For this reason, he struggles with remembering names and ends up naming most of the shadows in a more symbolic or appearance influenced way.

Inferior Te:

“I call him the weakest hunter of all mankind.” – Kim Sangshik

“If it means I’ll get stronger, I’ll follow these rules, no matter how ridiculous they are.”

“If the system is bent on using me, I’m just gonna have to use the system.”

Jinwoo’s Te seems to go into overdrive when participating in combat. He becomes ruthless and cold when dealing with any adversary, monster or human. When dealing with the party of six that tries to kill him, Jinwoo uses the leader’s own words against him. He rejects his pleas to be spared, stating, “What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon. Your words, not mine.”

By this point in the series, Jinwoo is frustrated with his original Fi ideals and starts fully embracing Te. He determines to take advantage of every situation and exploit every opportunity that is presented to him. This is highlighted in the quote, “If the system is bent on using me, I’m just gonna have to use the system,” when he realizes that the system is using him. Essentially, Jinwoo decides that, if that is the case, he is going to try and exploit the system to his advantage for all it’s worth as well. Even though he finds the rules being laid out to him to be ridiculous, Jinwoo recognizes that it is giving him the opportunity to get stronger and decides to submit to the structure that has been thrust upon him, even though it’s apparent he finds it to be unfavorable.