Who is Hyung?

The man Young develops a romantic relationship with in Part II is referred to only as "hyung," a Korean word that means older brother but is generally used to describe any older male friend. Young and hyung meet in an adult learning class Young takes called "The Philosophy of Emotions" (57). Young falls in love with hyung very quickly, and his feelings cause him to overlook some significant red flags in hyung's personality and behavior. In retrospect, Young sees that hyung's attempts at deep philosophical conversation were "absurd" (75), and that he was misrepresenting his earlier experiences as a student activist, exaggerating to make his stories seem more dramatic. At the time, however, when hyung lectures him about "American imperialism," Young feels that he would "change [his] entire value system for him" (89).