League of Nine Littérateurs
The League of Nine Littérateurs (Hangul: 구인회, Guinhoe) was a society of technology enthusiasts and scientists from District 19's Backstreets who migrated to Nest T to develop new inventions as a hobby. Mirror Technology, including the Glass Window and Yeonsim, were first developed by the League members.
After being betrayed by Dongrang, the group fell apart in a raid by T Corp. collectors and was separated, with most of the members going their separate ways.
In recent years, a group taking the name of a new League of Nine was established in N Corp. under Hermann, including former members Gubo, Aseah, and Yi Sang. This group was tasked with further researching the Mirror Worlds that had first been discovered through the Glass Window. Yi Sang defected shortly afterward and was invited to join Limbus Company.
History
Beginnings in T Corp.
The League of Nine Littérateurs was established by nine researchers from S Corp. brought together by Young-ji and Dongrang, after political corruption and economic turbulence left the members unable to pursue their research interests in their hometown. Having learned that T Corp. had been seeing remarkable technological growth and that the Wing was financially backing competent inventors, the members immigrated there in search of better opportunities. There, they worked menial jobs in factories and sold their inventions to fund their "illuminators' conferences", where they presented technologies developed as a hobby between them.
T Corp. League Members
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| Gubo | Yi Sang | Dongrang | Dongbaek | Rim | Aseah | Young-ji | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Gap-ryong | Sang-heo | Aneung | Yurang | Nul-in | ???
(played by Meursault) |
???
(played by Ryōshū) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Glass Window
Young-ji developed a way to see across parallel worlds: the Glass Window. As this technology was still unstable, he suggested that Yi Sang take the concept and develop it further. Yi Sang refined it into the Glass Mirror, a device that allowed one to see into any number of possibilities that the viewer's life held.
Word eventually spread about Young-ji's Glass Window, capturing the interest of many firms from other Nests, and Young-ji received an offer to join an unknown Wing, leaving the group behind. However, the increased attention backfired; the group soon received a notice that their gathering had to be permitted by T Corp., and their new inventions had to be registered through the T Corp. Technology Administration Agency. Rather than allow the Wing to take advantage of their knowledge and research, the group decided to burn most of their research in a Concept Incinerator, erasing all knowledge of it from the group and the world. This did not deter T Corp., who pressured Aneung into revealing the location of the group and forcefully broke it apart, deporting most of the members from their district and claiming whatever technology they could.
Dissolution
Under the Collectors' pressure, Dongrang eventually sold out the location of the Glass Window to T Corp., and was rewarded with a job opportunity at K Corp. in return. Dongbaek set off a bomb in the ensuing raid, destroying the laboratory, while Gubo and Yi Sang escaped through the Backstreets and fled towards N Corp., where Gubo began a collaboration with Director Hermann.
Yi Sang was kept in a private laboratory and requested to research the Glass Mirror; Aseah was retrieved by Gubo after having been kidnapped by The Ring, where he'd been refining the Glass Window in a partnership with a Maestro, Jumsoon. The three were intended to be part of a new League of Nine backed by Hermann, who sought a way to destroy all of the possibilities reflected in the Mirror.
Yi Sang, unwilling to see his technology be used in such a manner, eventually defected from N Corp., and abandoned the laboratory. He was found by Faust, who invited him to join Limbus Company.
Dongrang took what knowledge he had of the Glass Window to K Corp., using it to assist in the production of tears from their Singularity, while Dongbaek began rallying researchers to join the Technology Liberation Alliance, seeking to undo the damage done by the group's Glass technology and return the world to a state without technology.
According to Dongrang, Gubo has been seeking to recruit or kill the remaining members of the old League of Nine.
Members
Young-ji
Young-ji (영지) was the former leader of the League of Nine Littérateurs where he acted as the big brother figure to the rest of the fold; he was warmly regarded for his immensely kind and gentle demeanor. The majority of the League members affectionately refer to him as ‘Brother’ (형, hyeong) Young-ji, implying him to be the eldest amongst the group.
He was the researcher that invented the glass window (유리창, yurichang), a technology capable of gazing into alternate mirror worlds and overlapping them onto the current world.
It appears to Dongbaek that Young-ji didn’t purely intend this invention to be a mere plaything for amusement, concerned if he was still fixated on an unspecified loss he suffered in the past being the motivation behind creating the glass window. He doesn’t confirm nor deny her worries. Picking up Yi Sang’s curiosity over the tech, he encourages his junior to improve upon his designs and recreate it in his own way for their next illuminators' conference. While Yi Sang was apprehensive over being handed a technology so precious, Young-ji insists because it's so valuable to them.
While Young-ji always had the best intentions towards his fellow League members, he had a habit of sweeping large issues under the rug for fear of worrying his juniors. It was his obfuscation of their laboratory’s absurd rent, his grief that led him to discovering the glass window, and the false assurance towards his fellow members that their inventions wouldn’t lead to their abduction is what ultimately tears his beloved group apart.
Over time, Young-ji would miss the League’s illuminators’ conferences more and more, having been repeatedly invited by other Wings for recruitment. After his second invite, he asked Dongbaek to accompany him but she turned him down so that she could stay behind with the League. He never told anybody which Wing he was invited to, so no one in the League knew which district he traveled to.
After Aneung gave the League’s location to T Corp., Young-ji regretfully proposed the idea of surrendering his glass window to the authorities, while Dongbaek outright refused for risk of the League’s immediate dissolution and the grave consequences of what could happen if the Wings got their hands on the invention. Anticipating the raid, Dongbaek warned Young-ji to go into hiding, while the other League members would cover for him and hide his tech— a plan that would ultimately end in failure as Dongrang collaborated with the Wing.
Young-ji’s current whereabouts are unknown, but is implied to still be alive by Rim in Canto V: The Evil Defining.
In the fathoms of the League’s ego, Hong Lu plays the role of Young-ji. Yi Sang remarks how similar to Young-ji, Hong Lu was almost as warm and kind as he was.
Gap-ryong
A rather brash sort, Gap-ryong (갑룡) was from the same hometown as Dongrang, Dongbaek, and Yi Sang, having taken care of Dongrang’s yellow calf together. He hated being called by his real name, and was rather an alcoholic that drank so much the bar owner often came to the League’s laboratory to angrily collect his tab.
Due to the pressure of having the League’s property be seized by T Corp. if their laboratory was late on rent —and the higher tax rate for Wing expatriates— Gap-ryong sold one of his inventions made for the League to cover costs. While he was chastised by Sang-heo for breaking one of the League’s nine rules, by selling an invention created within their private lab for monetary gain, he brought to light the harsh circumstance the League was currently in, and the mounting costs it took to maintain the group.
But because he was nowhere to be found the day T Corp. raided the League, nor the day before, it is suspected that like Aneung and Dongrang, he too sold out and betrayed the League.
In the fathoms of the League’s ego, Heathcliff played the role of Gap-ryong. Like Heathcliff, Gap-ryong too grew up impoverished, was brash, and butted heads with his fellow associates.
Sang-heo
Sang-heo (상허) was a member that strongly believed in Young-ji and the League, acting as the steadfast enforcer of its ideals and rules towards the younger members of the group.
Being a stickler for the League’s nine rules, they questioned why one of Gap-ryong inventions he made for the League appeared in the market, reprimanding him for violating the League’s vow that their technologies would not be distributed for monetary gain.
After the League received T Corp.’s official notice to cease their unauthorized invention group, Sang-heo was the one to propose the use of the concept incinerator. Knowing that their technologies, either through registration or confiscation, would be used by the Wings against the members' will, Sang-heo concluded that their inventions had be purged from existence and memory completely.
Sang-heo remained loyal towards the League until the very end, aiding the other members' escape when T Corp. arranged the raid against the League’s property.
In the fathoms of the League’s ego, Outis plays the role of Sang-heo. Like Outis, they faithfully upheld their group's leader and were rather strict in reminding the other members on proper conduct.
Aneung
After the news of the glass window began spreading, Aneung (아능) was threatened to be forcibly repatriated back to S Corp., and revealed the League’s location to T Corp. Their cowardice ultimately resulted in the arrests of members such as Yurang, having them earn the ire of Sang-heo and Dongbaek.
In the fathoms of the League’s ego, Sinclair plays the role of Aneung. It appears that, like Sinclair, Aneung had a softer demeanor with a cowardice streak when subject to pressure.
Nul-in
Nul-in (눌인) was from the same hometown in S Corp. as Dongrang and the others, but she was the last to reunite with the League, though the fastest to acclimate to T Corp. Nul-in was mostly unimpressed at the inventions the League put together for amusement, as Dongbaek called her out for not even bothering to attend their illuminators’ conferences mere months ago.
Teasing Dongrang’s kindness of treating animals, she couldn’t understand why he would bother healing such things if they couldn’t give him back any money. She had a rather cynical and materialistic personality, much to Dongbaek’s distaste. Unfortunately, despite her playful prodding, it was her words that pushed Dongrang to the realization that—no matter what was invented, if a technology had no immediate use, no one would care for it.
It is unknown what happened to Nul-in, as it is unspecified whether or not she was apprehended by T Corp., forcibly repatriated to S Corp., or somehow escaped the raid.
It appears Rodion was given her role because of their devil-may-care attitude and shared love of money.
Yurang
Yurang (유랑) was the member whose first invention after joining T Corp. was their identification tags, invented with the hope that they may help locate lost children to reunite them with their parents. Unfortunately, the technology was twisted by T Corp.’s greed: the tags started being used to monitor the working time of every worker in the Nest’s factories, with even Yurang themselves ending up having to wear them at work.
They were eventually apprehended by T Corp. authorities for their unauthorized inventions, even though Young-ji assured them that their technologies wouldn’t be worth confiscating.
Yurang’s role was played by Ishmael, who felt their terror when synchronizing with their memories.
???
A Littérateur played by Meursault, straightforward and taciturn. After Yurang was abducted by T Corp, this unknown member regretfully lamented their impending fate; they, too, would be abducted by the Wing.
???
A Littérateur played Ryōshū. Although Ryōshū did receive a script like the other Sinners, she never recites any lines as the member she played as.
Gallery
Canto IV: The Unchanging
Trivia
- The League of Nine Littérateurs is based on the Guinhoe, or ‘The League of Nine’, a Korean writers' association that was active during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea. While its members shifted over the years, with some leaving and others joining, the number almost always stayed nine until the end.
- Defined as a modernist writing group, the Guinhoe ideologically contrasted the Korean Artists' Proletarian Federation (조선프롤레타리아예술가동맹), or KAPF (카프, Kapeu), a leftist literary organization which held a much more active anti-colonial stance. Guinhoe members were regularly pressured by the KAPF and the imperial-controlled government, with colonial oppression affecting many of its members and the nature of their works, either rallying them against the higher powers or crushing them to obey. In Limbus Company, this inspires the League's members' struggle with asserting their ideals over the control of the Wings.
- The members of the Guinhoe and their inspirations in Limbus Company are:
- Kim Kirim (김기림 — Rim; played by Faust)
- Yi Hyoseok (이효석 — Aseah; played by Gregor)
- Lee Jong-myeong (이종명 — Yurang; played by Ishmael)
- Kim Yu-yeong (김유영 — ???; played by Meursault)
- Yoo Chi-jin (유치진 — Dongrang)
- Cho Yong-man (조용만 — Aneung; played by Sinclair)
- Lee Tae-jun (이태준 — Sang-heo; played by Outis)
- Jeong Ji-yong (정지용 — Young-ji; played by Hong Lu)
- Lee Mu-young (이무영 — Gap-ryong; played by Heathcliff)
- Park Taewon (박태원 — Gubo; played by Don Quixote)
- Kim Hae-Gyeong (김해경 — Yi Sang)
- Park Pal-yang (박팔양 — ???; played by Ryōshū).
- Gim Yujeong (김유정 — Dongbaek)
- Kim Hwan-tae (김환태 — Nul-in; played by Rodion).
- The Guinhoe lasted around 3-4 years and is considered to have been dissolved in 1937. The last work the group ever worked on together was the magazine Poetry and Novel (Hangul: 시와 소설, Siwa soseol). The first issue was published on March 13, 1936, with Yi Sang acting as its chief editor. Because of Yi Sang’s departure to Japan the same year, the growing fame of Guinhoe's works, along with Yi Sang’s death the year after, the second issue was never published.
- This is paralled by Yi Sang's invention of the mirror along with the League's growing fame as the inventions started receiving praise in T Corp, sparking the fire that would eventually tear the members apart.
- Young-ji is inspired by Korean poet Jeong Ji-yong, originating from his courtesy name, Young-ji (영지). Jeong Ji-yong was the oldest member of the Guinhoe, which is reflected in-game in Young-ji being referred to as ‘Brother’ (형, hyeong) Young-ji, implying him to be the eldest amongst the group.
- The glass window invented by Young-ji is based on two of Jeong Ji-yong’s poems of the same name, Yurichang (유리창), sometimes translated with the title Windowpane. The poems are speculated to be written in the memory of either Jeong Ji-yong’s children, both of whom died shortly before the poems were first published. This appears to have inspired Young-ji’s invention of the glass mirror, which gives the illusion of resurrecting the dead.
- During the Korean War, Ji-yong was abducted by the North Korean government and killed in a North Korean bombing in 1950. Ji-yong was considered missing until 2003, when the report of his death was published. This is reflected in Young-ji’s disappearance before T Corp’s raid and ambiguous fate after the League disbanded.
- Young-ji's voice actor, Park Yo-han (박요한), also voiced Marile, as well as Chesed from Library of Ruina.
- Gap-ryong was based on Lee Mu-young, whose birth name was Lee Gap-ryong (이갑용). Lee Mu-young was a pro-Japanese partisan, which is reflected in Gap-ryong being suspected by Dongbaek as a traitor to the League.
- Sang-heo was based on Lee Tae-jun, with Sang-heo (상허) being one of Tae-jun's nicknames. Tae-jun gradually became disillusioned with the Guinhoe as its members slowly bent over to pro-Japanese ideals, but eventually defected to North Korea, which shocked many at the time. This is reflected in-game with Sang-heo remaining with the League until its dissolution, after which their whereabouts are unknown.
- Lee Tae-jun was the second eldest member of the Guinhoe. This is reflected in how Dongrang refers to Sang-heo with honorifics specifying them to be older than him, and Sang-heo in turn respecting Young-ji as the elder ‘brother’ in the same manner.
- Aneung was based on Cho Yong-man, originating from Cho Yong-man's pseudonym, Aneung (아능). Cho Yong-man published numerous pro-Japanese works and cooperated with the Japanese government in suppressing Korean culture. Cho Yong-man’s pro-Japanese and anti-nationalist actions are reflected in Aneung’s role as a betrayer to the League.
- Nul-in was based on literary critic Kim Hwan-tae, originating from his pen name, Nul-in (눌인). Nul-in's late joining of the League, meeting up with the group after they'd already settled in T Corp, references the fact that Kim Hwan-tae was the last member to join the Guinhoe.
- Yurang was based on Lee Jong-myeong, with their name coming from Lee Jong-myeong’s 1928 novel, Wandering (유랑, Yurang).
- Wandering centers on a man returning to his hometown from his wandering days. Ishmael was likely cast into Yurang’s role due to the fact that she was a ‘wanderer’ for most of her life as well. Lee Jong-myeong's whereabouts after 1936 are unknown, a fact reflected in Yurang's abduction by T Corp.
- While Ryōshū has no lines in the play, she might have been intended to play Park Pal-yang due to a pun: the pronounciation of her name in Korean, Ryosyu (료슈), is similar to Pal-yang’s pen name, Gim Ryeosu (김려수).
- By process of elimination, the unnamed member played by Meursault might be based on Kim Yu-yeong.
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