Character Relationship Map: Manhole

Characters

• Yeon-seo (played by Jung Yu-mi) — protagonist
• Soo-jung (played by Kim Sae-ron) — supporting
• Soo-chul (played by Jung Kyung-ho) — supporting
• Kim Jong-ho (played by Choi Deok-moon) — supporting
• Pil-gyu (played by Jo Dal-hwan) — supporting
• Kim Song-yi (played by Lee Young-yoo) — supporting
• Yeon-seo's Mother (played by Seo Kyung-hwa) — minor
• Soo-chul's Father (played by Shin Dong-ryeok) — minor

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Soo-chul's Father → Soo-chul (father)
• Yeon-seo's Mother → Yeon-seo (mother)
• Kim Jong-ho → Pil-gyu (Professional Colleagues) — Pil-gyu provides footage that helps Jong-ho follow clues toward the manholes and underground tunnels.

  The plot calls Pil-gyu Jong-ho's colleague and says he brings Jong-ho surveillance footage.

• Kim Jong-ho → Kim Song-yi (Family Father And Daughter) — Jong-ho's search for his missing daughter drives his investigation, and her loss devastates the rescue's aftermath.

  The plot states that Kim Jong-ho's daughter, Kim Song-yi, has vanished and that he searches desperately for her.

• Yeon-seo → Soo-jung (Family Sisters) — They support each other while imprisoned, and their bond remains central to the grief surrounding the escape and its cost.

  The plot identifies Yeon-seo and Soo-jung as sisters who are captured together and try to comfort one another.

Story Analysis

A desperate search beneath the city intersects with the struggle of abducted sisters, culminating in a rescue shadowed by loss.

Plot Progression

1. Taken Beneath the Streets — Yeon-seo and Soo-jung are abducted and held underground. Their captor's claim to be their guardian gives way to threats and violence.
2. A Father's Search — Disappearances spread fear, and Jong-ho searches for his missing daughter. Pil-gyu's surveillance footage helps direct him toward the tunnels.
3. Into the Underground — Jong-ho seeks official help, but the response is too slow, so he enters the tunnels himself. He finds victims and evidence of the kidnapper's crimes.
4. Rescue and Irreversible Loss — Police reach the passage while the victims struggle to escape, and Soo-jung is rescued. Jong-ho confronts the killer, but the survivors' escape and the sisters' reunion are marked by loss and grief.