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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 72 (Chapter #489) of Tower of God by SIU, now available in English from Webtoon.
The Webtoon mega-hit Tower of God has always had strong political undertones. After all, the entire tower is an allegory for a class-based society, with Jahad and the Ten Families of the titular Tower at the top of the status quo, followed by high rankers, normal rankers and then regulars, along with various minorities at the fringe of society. On top of this, the entire plot revolves around various warring political factions fighting for or against Jahad’s rule. These factions all have their own goals and visions for what they want to achieve.
It’s no surprise, then, that some character backstories are also somewhat political: Cha and Dowon’s, for example, which are all about a group of failed revolutionaries that attempted to challenge Jahad in ancient times only to end up sacrificing themselves to protect their people.
But no side character’s backstory has ever been as long, detailed or as clearly politicized as Lo Po Bia Haratcha’s, the Third Division Commander of the Fifth Army Corp. Revealed in Chapter #489, it could be a sign that Tower of God is turning even more political… or it could just be an extensive backstory for an interesting character. Nonetheless, the story is worth dissecting for its implications for the series’ other characters and world-building.
Haratcha’s backstory can be boiled down to what follows: counter to his appearance, he wasn’t born a feline but was a member of the Rashangs, a small but proud minority race. Haratcha was recruited by the top feline, Lo Po Bia Yasratcha, after becoming a ranker, who kept looking after the Rashangs financially by going to war for the felines. But his people grew greedy and started asking for too much from Haratcha — some even wanted to replace him. While he initially indulged all their needs, the Rashangs became weak, only knowing how to ask for more without working for it themselves. Over time, the Rashangs became such a great burden that Haratcha decided to kill the entire race himself.
The backstory isn’t overly complicated but it is a great way to build the character of Haratcha and shows how his thinking changed as he became more feline. By the end of the chapter, we also learn that he always felt guilt over his genocidal behavior but kept justifying his actions by villainizing his own people. Before his moment of demise, he realizes that his love for his people was their real downfall. It ends up being quite a poignant and tragic tale of blind love and overindulgence. It’s almost Shakespearian, in fact.
On a broader level, the story becomes even more problematic. On the surface, it’s a critique of laziness and greed. The Rashings became greedy after they stopped having to fend for themselves and solely depended on the hardworking Haratcha instead. This type of thinking is very prevalent in Korea, wherein meritocracy, or the belief in “earning your worth,” is the central ideology for the younger generation. In this chapter of Tower of God, Haratcha realizes that “they developed a habit of demanding equality… but they made no effort to make things truly equal.” This line is a great example of meritocratic thinking.
However, the Rashangs do have a reason to demand equality because they were not treated as equal as the felines — even facing genocide because they were viewed as a burden. Haratcha just gave them resources without truly helping them become independent or self-sufficient, so it is not entirely fair to blame the Rashangs for their own demise. This kind of thinking about laziness and greed is often used throughout history as an excuse to oppress minority groups.
Having said that, we shouldn’t rush to condemn this story as pushing for oppressive ideologies. What is really ingenious about this Tower of God chapter is that Haratcha’s backstory contrasts with Yu Hansung’s ideology. Yu has been going around the Tower stirring up resistance against Jahad’s regime, but he never sticks around one nation long enough to help them fight. Haratcha calls him a hypocrite for this.
Hansung gladly accepts Haratcha’s characterization and admits that his only goal is to tear down Jahad’s world. He uses those that are willing to fight against Jahad and abandon those that don’t, all for his own gain. He’s utilitarian but never takes pity or looks down on the weak, unlike Haratcha, and this is why he ultimately prevails against Haratcha.
Chapter #489 shows us that series creator SIU is truly a nuanced writer, capable of demonstrating the merits and failures of multiple contrasting political ideologies. At the heart of Tower of God, SIU is trying to demonstrate minorities’ plights through various viewpoints, including the oppressed, the oppressors and the revolutionaries. In this case, Haratcha represents how felines and the ruling class view “weak races,” while Yu Hansung represents the resistance, taking advantage of the oppressors’ arrogance. And amazingly, both ideologies can explain why Jahad’s rule needs to be overthrown.
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