In this Korean name, the family name is Seong (성/成).
Seong Han-myeong (ソン・ハンミョン, Son Hanmyon, Hanja: 成漢明, Hangul: 성한명) is a fictional Korean swordsman designed for the Soul series of fighting games. Seong Han-myeong made his first and only playable appearance in Soul Edge, and was only playable by consecutively completing the Arcade Mode first with Hwang and then Seong Mi-na at any time after Soul Edge had been unlocked as a playable character. He would appear again in Soulcalibur VI, but as an NPC. Before Soulcalibur III, his name was written as Seung Han Myong.
Biography[]
Seong Han-myeong was the master of his own dojo in Jirisan, Korea. He was especially skilled in martial arts, which gained him great respect across the country. He had one daughter and one son, but his son and wife died of sickness, leaving only Seong Mi-na to continue his lineage. He worried for her every day, and taught her how to take care of herself by teaching her the ways of martial arts, and she had even become more skilled with the guan dao than he ever had, but he still wished she would settle down and stay home. There was another child at the dojo, the orphan Hwang Seong-gyeong, in whom Han-myeong had taken a particular interest. The young man had even distinguished himself enough to win a private lesson with the master, and Han-myeong was overwhelmed with happiness at the young man's potential. He saw this as an opportunity to have a son once again and considered adopting him, but Hwang had joined the Coastal Forces, and the opportunity never arose. He decided that once Hwang returned, he could ask him then. The young man returned sooner than expected, but it was only to ready himself for an important mission on behalf of the leader of the Coastal Forces, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, a childhood friend of Han-myeong, to seek out the "Sword of Salvation," the Soul Edge. To show his appreciation, Han-myeong decided to hold a private conversation with the young man and offered to him his most prized sword, Mountain Breaker; but Hwang politely declined the offer, because it was Han-myeong's favorite weapon, but he accepted Blue Storm, one of the Seong's family heirlooms.
All along, Mi-na had been listening in on their private conversation. Han-myeong knew she had previously tried to join the Coastal Defense but was rejected on account of her gender. The next day, as she was sneaking out of the house, he stopped her and asked where she was off to. She did not lie to him, but he was still not happy with what she had told him: she was off to find the Soul Edge on her own. He admonished her and ordered her to stay home, but she pushed him out of the way and ran off. Not long afterwards, news spread of an impending Japanese invasion of Korea, and most of his pupils left to join the Coastal Defense immediately. Upon hearing of the invasion, Hwang had cut his search short and returned home, dragging Mi-na along with him. When Mi-na had arrived, Han-myeong was waiting for her. He scolded her and made her endure a strict training regimen. Thanking Hwang for his help, he finally gathered the courage to ask the young man to be his son, but the offer was politely declined. Han-myeong did not give up there, for he began to plan a marriage for Hwang and Mi-na, making Mi-na grow very angry with him and run away soon afterwards. He was stricken with grief but also considered that perhaps he had always been too protective of her, as she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she never returned for months, and he began to become extremely worried, even requesting the aid of Yi Sun-sin, who could not help him due to the invasion. But his worries were somewhat reduced when Yi sent Hwang on a mission to find her, and three years later, the two of them returned. Han-myeong apologized to Mi-na for being too overprotective for all those years and promised to treat her as an adult from that day forward. Four years later, Han-myeong had acquired another student of immeasurable potential, Hong Yun-seong, but the proud boy had sneaked away on a personal mission for the Soul Edge, taking a Seong family heirloom with him, the dao White Storm. Mi-na came to Han-myeong in a private conversation and asked him to let her go to search for Yun-seong, since she felt obliged to retrieve it. Han-myeong did not want her to go, but he knew in his heart that even if he protested, she would simply run away again; he reluctantly gave her his blessing to retrieve it. By the time he considered that she would, in fact, try to seek out and destroy the Soul Edge on her journey, it was too late, and she was long gone.
Profile[]
Soulcalibur VI[]
Known as a god among martial artists in the Joseon Dynasty, Seong Han-myeong is the master of the Seong-style long sword and father to Seong Mi-na. One of his most notable disciples is Hwang Seong-gyeong, who is sometimes known as the "Fiery Patriot."
At a young age, he and his friends Yi Sun-sin and Kim Ji-yeong swore to devote their lives to their country and began their study of the long sword. After mastering the art, they opened dojangs and took on students, sending fully-trained warriors to important positions in the coast guard, among other key positions.
With the neighboring Japan now united under one ruler, Seong readied himself for what he thought was an inevitable invasion. However, a more pressing worry nagged at him: his daughter and only child, Seong Mi-na. A talented martial artist, she was headstrong, even going so far as to run away from home in search of the Sword of Salvation, which caused Seong considerable consternation. He wanted her to settle down and marry Hwang, a man he respected and who was on par with his daughter in the art of the blade, but she refused to listen to him. For someone known as a god among martial artists, he still worried like any father.
Weapons[]
Mountain Breaker[]
Seong Han-myeong's weapon used when fought against in Episode 2 of Hwang's Edge Master mode. It's Han-myeong's most prized Dao. He offered it to Hwang, but he refused to take it.
(Note: Mountain Breaker is one of Hwang's Extra Weapons in Soul Edge). Nothing else is known about this sword.
Blue Storm[]
Seong Han-myeong's weapon used when he is used as the player's character. It's a Tang Dynasty Chinese long sword passed down from generations in the Seong Family. Hwang accepted it from his master and embarked on his first quest in search of "Soul Edge". At his return he handed it back to Han-myeong.
Kokuenra[]
Seong Han-myeong uses this weapon when he is fought in Libra of Soul in Soulcalibur VI.
Stages[]
Seong Dojo (SE)[]
A famous dojo known in all of Korea, this place had seen various heroes train and become protectors of their motherland. Han-myeong's star pupil, Hwang Seong-gyeong was one of those people. Han-myeong owns this dojang and is known among the lands as one of the most skilled swordfighters. The dojang has a front stage in his garden, used to train and battle. In the afternoon, one can hear the training cries of the students in the main stage, honing their skills everyday.
Quotes[]
Soul Edge (Japanese)[]
- Do you know what I thought ? (Waga ryūgi, omoishitta ka?)
- You need more training. (Motto shugyō ga hitsuyô da)
- So, that's the end ? (Sore de owari ka?)
- I won't lose to a youngster. (Wakai mono ni wa maken)
Soulcalibur VI (in Seong Mi-na's story)[]
- "So this is what you've been, Hwang. Do you think it's about time?"
- "Just hurry up and see him off, silly girl!"
Trivia[]
- Han-myeong is a secret character without character portrait, history, ending or extra weapons. Namco has not provided any official render, artwork or official information regarding him. Moreover, the announcer says "Guest Fighter" instead of his name when he wins a fight. All that points to him not having any relevance to the overall plot of the game, besides his minor role in both Hwang and Mi-na's stories. Because of this, it's unknown if he'll ever return as a playable character.
- Han-myeong can only be fought against in Edge Master Mode. He's the second battle in Hwang's History Book.
- His relationship with his daughter is similar to Lau and Pai Chan from Virtua Fighter series. Coincidentally, Lau can be customized to look like Han-myeong.
- Han-myeong is the only character that wasn't a guest or bonus character that was excluded from the Soulcalibur Series Character Popularity Poll on Facebook.
- In Soul Edge, he uses a similar fighting style as Hwang's. In Soulcalibur VI, he uses the same fighting style as Mitsurugi.
- Seong Han-myeong is quite a skilled fighter; not only is he known as "Korea's god of martial arts",[1] but even Won Gabok struggled to defeat him.[2]
- Despite being a custom character in Soulcalibur VI, Seong Han-myeong's face and hair are unique to him; his face, while appearing similar to that of Male Face 10, has unique eyebrows and facial hair and his hair, while appearing similar to the Topknot hairstyle, lacks the sideburns. Both his face and hair are unavailable to the player.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ "Of course I do! Did you really think I'd fight fair against Korea's god of martial arts?" — Won Gabok (Soulcalibur VI)
- ^ "Even with all my careful prep, I just barely managed to take him down!" — Won Gabok (Soulcalibur VI)
New Timeline Characters | |
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Playable Characters | Amy • Astaroth • Azwel • Cassandra • Cervantes • Grøh • Hilde • Hwang • Inferno • Ivy • Kilik • Maxi • Mitsurugi • Nightmare • Raphael • Seong Mi-na • Setsuka • Siegfried • Sophitia • Taki • Talim • Tira • Voldo • Xianghua • Yoshimitsu • Zasalamel |
Other Notable Characters | Bolta • Curtis • Daniel • Dion • George von Krone • Gerhilde von Egilmar • Gorozaemon Yamabuki • Gyobu Kokonoe • Iska Acht • Johan Dürer • Kunpaetku • Kyam • Lingyu • Lucius • Lyla • Natalie • Orzal • Plata • Rothion • Seong Han-myeong • Sakan Inobe • Shugen Kokonoe • Valtro • Vercci de Burg • Wilhelm von Krone • Won Gabok • Xiangfei • Xianglian • Xiuqiang |
Bonus characters | |
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Soul Edge | Siegfried! • Seong Han-myeong • Sophitia! • Sophitia!! |
Soulcalibur II | Lizardman • Assassin • Berserker |
Soulcalibur III | Abelia • Amy • Arthur • Aurelia • Chester • Demuth • Girardot • Greed • Hualin • Hwang • Li Long • Luna • Lynette • Miser • Revenant • Strife • Valeria |
Soulcalibur IV | Angol Fear • Scheherazade • Shura • Ashlotte • Kamikirimusi |
Soulcalibur V | Devil Jin (Katsuhiro Harada) |