Yu Yuan
Yu Yuan is the protagonist of the story. As an old man in he decides to write a memoir of his experiences during the Korean War. As a young student he gets sent to the war on the side of Communists. He experiences imprisonment, witnesses unthinkable cruelty and balances between the pro-Communist and pro-Nationalist parties in order to survive, all the while dreaming of returning home to his mother and fiancée in mainland China.
Commissar Pei
Commissar Pei is the leader of the Communist division Yu Yuan becomes a part of as well as leader of Communist prisoners later while they become imprisoned in South Korea. Yu Yuan sees him as a great man that should be trusted at first, but later on realizes that they aren't much different, aside from rank, and questions why his life is more worth than his own.
Liu Tai-an
Liu Tai-an is a Chinese leader of the pro-nationalists during Yu Yuan's initial imprisonment. He is a symbol of cruelty and violently persuades Communist prisoners to side with the pro-nationalists and choose to leave for Taiwan.
Julan
Julan is Yu Yuan's fiancée whom he left home and hopes to return to once the war is over. She is the main reason he wants to return to China and doesn't give up. The final return home is bittersweet because he had to discover that she gave up on him, wasn't loyal to him the way he was to her.
