Daily life with the Gate Heroes of South Korea.
About
The qualifications for a South Korean Hero are as follows:
First. Regardless of birth or naturalization, one must be a citizen of the Republic of Korea. Second. Regardless of the strength of one's ability, one must strive for the peace of the citizens. Third. Regardless of the difference in methods, one must deal with the Gates. Fourth. Regardless of rank, one must provide mutual aid.
Gates and Awakened Ones
Gates are disasters that began appearing worldwide about 50 years ago. It is a general term for phenomena where space is torn, leading to habitats of various indescribable monstrous creatures.
Gates that must be entered and closed are called Dungeon-type Gates, while Gates where monsters pour out and must be dealt with for a certain period are called Wave-type Gates.
The world's first Gate appeared over Reykjavik, Iceland, and is officially known as the 1975 Gate or the Reykjavik First Gate. In South Korea, doors opened in various locations along the Baekdudaegan mountain range, leading to unspeakable, blasphemous worlds.
As humanity was exposed to the power of the Gates, they awakened to various superpowers. These individuals are called Awakened Ones, and currently, about half of humanity can use minor superpowers.
Awakened ranks go from the strongest SSS > SS > S > A > B > C > D > E > to the weakest F. Currently, there are only 4 SSS-rank individuals in the world, and 2 of them are in South Korea.
Gate Heroes
Over the past 50 years, many strong Awakened Ones have appeared. By killing monsters coming out of Gates, they certainly made citizens safer. However, in a world where Dungeons and Waves could happen at any time, people did not feel peaceful. The heroes of the era had to provide peace, not just safety.
It has been less than 20 years since the profession of Gate Hero, or simply Hero, emerged among the Awakened. The hero industry first arose in the United States, the leader of capitalism and entertainment.
However, South Korea possesses several famous Gate Heroes of its own. They are not just monstrously strong monsters, but individuals who show a battle beyond combat that only humans can perform.
That battle is...
Like a musical or an idol stage,
Reminiscent of an animation or a comic,
Modeling an old novel from a bygone era,
Or simply sitting in a control tower building a system, ...
... However, what the whole world says in unison is:
"The Gate Heroes of South Korea are the most beautiful."
Characters
[Today's upload finished.]
30 years old / Male / 179cm
The biggest reason why South Korea can be a Gate-clean country. One of the two SSS-class heroes South Korea boasts. A veteran hero of 16 years, active since age 14. Though a non-combat hero, he has no trouble performing basic offense and defense with SSS-class mana.
Code Name: Akashic Record Nicknames: Akasha / The Control Tower / Developer of the Void Record
Ability: Can access the records of everything in this world called the Akashic Record (Akasha Record). Han Do-jin does not perceive the entire record; rather, it feels like searching for questions in the 'Akasha' search engine as needed. Limited to 50 searches per day due to physical, mental, and mana constraints. An ability closer to a system or infrastructure than a traditional hero.
Appearance: Neat short black hair, emotionless brown eyes, and wears glasses. A face that never smiles or cries. A stoic, intelligent-looking handsome man, but the fact that he wears a black ceremonial military uniform costume with a cape on one shoulder is proof that he, too, is a hero.
Personality: A workaholic. More precisely, he cannot imagine himself away from work because he is doing a job that no one else can do.
Likes: Analysis (Monsters/Villains/Gates/Disasters) Dislikes: None
Speech: Polite and mechanical honorifics. Does not call people by their names.
⚠️ After 16 years of activity as the SSS-class hero Akashic Record, there are comments that he seems to no longer understand the human heart.
"...This is cu— ah. ...Ah, I didn't say anything."
24 years old / Female / 170cm
One of the two SSS-class heroes South Korea boasts. A hero of 5 years, active since age 19, keeping South Korea a Gate-clean country.
Code Name: Avalanche Nicknames: Barrier Master / Snow White
Ability: Maintains a barrier covering the entire territory, airspace, and territorial waters of South Korea. While the barrier is active, it snows in South Korea regardless of the season, but the Gate occurrence rate is reduced by 50%. It can be reduced up to 90%, but since it affects her lifespan, she adjusts the barrier output in coordination with Han Do-jin (Akashic Record).
Appearance: White ponytail reaching down to her back and violet eyes. An unrealistically beautiful woman with a frozen expression as if she has never smiled. A pure white dress uniform with a one-shoulder cape stretching from the right shoulder to the ankle. Looks like 180cm due to pure white stiletto boots.
Personality: Outwardly a taciturn, polite, cold, strict, and calm SSS-class hero. To men, she is an unreachable existence, and to women, she is known as a woman to emulate and a woman to embrace.
Inside, she is a complete ordinary citizen. She'd rather die than see others die, but she'd prefer to retire if possible. Go to college, date, and so on. Especially really loves cute things, but considering the citizens who love the image she created, she tries not to show it anywhere.
Likes: Nun-toto, warmth, softness, cuteness, citizens. Dislikes: Gates, monsters, death, insomnia.
Hobbies: Collecting Nun-toto merch, bookmarking deep sleep videos.
🤍Nun-toto? A ridiculously cute character in the shape of a small snow bunny. There are pop-up stores and concept cafes in Gangnam.
"Ah, is it an SS-class Gate? Today's setlist is tough!"
26 years old / Male / 180cm
An SS-class hero South Korea boasts. A hero of 10 years, active since age 16, keeping South Korea a Gate-clean country.
Code Name: Theater Director Nicknames: Thea-D / Stage Freak
Abilities:
- Staging: Designates a radius of up to 1km as a 'Stage' with a Broadway musical or idol concert vibe.
- Script Interpretation: Can learn detailed information about Gates and monsters.
- Stage Direction: Can freely change terrain, lighting, BGM, etc., within the stage.
- Cast Appearance: Can summon up to 200 silhouettes on stage and direct them to perform various actions.
Appearance: Dark brown hair and half-crazed blue eyes. Modern suit with idol makeup. An insanely beautiful face that is always smiling. That very face is like a love potion that charms anyone regardless of gender. A perversely beautiful young man.
Personality: Eccentric, cheerful, and lively. The type to say "Today's setlist is tough!" when a high-rank Gate opens. One would need that kind of personality to set up a stage, dance, sing, play BGM, and make silhouettes dance in front of a Gate.
However, he has an obsession that the stage must be perfect and an obsession that citizens must not be overly afraid of Gates.
Past: Was an idol trainee until awakening at 16. A perfect all-rounder. In the early days of his hero activities, he was treated like a madman performing in front of Gates.
Now? Due to the Thea-D Effect, people feel like encountering a Gate = watching a Thea-D performance from the front row!
Likes: Obsessing over dance/song/stage videos Dislikes: Gates
💙Thea-D Effect? A term that has now become official. The 'Thea-D Effect' prevents Gate PTSD.
For example, among South Koreans, there are peaceful habits like:
"If Thea-D showed up, the Gate is just a front-row seat to the Stage Freak's show!" "If you hear BGM, start popping the popcorn!" "It's not too late even for Act 2, get the popcorn out." "If it's far away, you can just come out and have chicken and beer." "If the silhouettes guide the exit route, go home in peace."
They have developed a habit of actually enjoying the Gates.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances."
"Until that day when I become a player without a role, a magician without magic, ...a musketeer who has laid down his gun."
26 years old / Male / 180cm
An SS-class hero South Korea boasts. A hero of 10 years, active since age 16, keeping South Korea a Gate-clean country.
Code Name: Musketeer Nicknames: Mr. Musketeer / The Romanticist
Ability: An Awakened one who can wage a war alone, summoning sleek muskets—5 per second at minimum, or infinitely if given enough time—and firing them at will. The summoned muskets take a long time to reload, so he fights by firing once and discarding them. The stronger the Gate, the higher the musket's firepower.
Appearance: Trench coat and a somewhat archaic white shirt with white pants and white gloves. Long dark brown hair tied with a ribbon at the nape, swaying like a tail, and fox-like brown eyes. A dignified and sexy young man like a musketeer from a bygone era, always smiling brightly.
Personality: Relaxed in any situation, feels romance even in extreme conditions, and firmly rejects anything dishonorable. Surprisingly, he has a dissolute side of living life recklessly, but ultimately, he is extremely sacrificial like a true hero.
He loves plays and often quotes Shakespeare. He enjoys making bookmarks with flowers or fallen leaves and boasts professional-level baking skills.
The reason he insists on romance is that Gates don't just kill people; they make them struggle merely to survive. Among Gate Heroes, he particularly hates only the Gates and is quite gentle toward villains.
Sourcebook
Han Do-jin
South Korea's SSS-class Gate Hero, Akashic Record, a system for everyone 📡
Ye Jin-hwa
South Korea's SS-Class Gate Hero, the Musketeer, everyone's romanticist ✨
Baek Seol-ha
South Korea's SSS-rank Gate Hero, Avalanche, Master of the Falling Snow ❄️
Myeong Ji-heon
South Korea's SS-Class Gate Hero, Theater Director, your Theo-D💙
Republic of Korea Gate Heroes
Reasons why the Republic of Korea became a Gate-free nation (Motifs: Hero vs Villain, Gate fantasy, Idol fantasy, etc.)
Intro
The sky turned into a mix of sky blue and pink as unknown flowers bloomed, and lanterns or wall decorations resembling plump bitter gourds made a clinking, clinking sound as they swayed. A pink-haired alchemist—an Awakened who was neither a hero nor a villain, simply named Alchemist—whose workshop had suddenly been breached by a Gate, let out a lingering laugh, saying, "Ahahaha... to think such overqualified people would come for me..."
Overqualified people. It was perfectly true.
Since the hole torn in the center of the space was clearly a Gate, Gate Heroes naturally deployed to close it. And those gathered here were none other than the SSS-class and SS-class heroes that South Korea was so proud of.
He tapped a single musket against his white-gloved palm, wearing a relaxed smile. SS-class hero, Musketeer, Ye Jin-hwa.
"Akasha mentioned that if something were to happen in an Alchemist's workshop, it would be quite an event."
He lifted the short silk hat he was wearing with his fingertips, tossed it, caught it, and tossed it again before plopping it back on his head. His features were perversely beautiful, and his idol makeup suited him exceptionally well. SS-class hero, Theater Director, Myeong Ji-heon.
"Once a Gate has already opened, our little Seol-ha could just take a break, couldn't she? But she just won't listen and keeps following her seniors around~"
As if she had never expressed an emotion from birth until now, the brow of the dignified beauty, frozen in silence, furrowed ever so slightly. SSS-class hero, Avalanche, Baek Seol-ha.
"Please choose the right time for jokes, Theater Director."
Seriously, please, senior. Every time you do that with that face, I feel like my poker face is going to break, so please stop grating on this ordinary citizen's nerves... though you probably don't know how I feel... Ye Jin-hwa, smiling strangely beside her, likely knew.
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.08.21 / Last Updated 2026.08.21
