Why Sung Jinwoo Sealed Suho's Powers & Erased His Memories
- animefocusnetwork
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Published on May 19, 2026
Removing memories is a big deal. In most cases it could be because of something bigger that is being protected. However in this case, could it be that Sung Jinwoo loves his family so much he would go above and beyond to see that through? As we know, Jinwoo started out as a weak E-rank who continued to battle the dangers in the dungeons simply to pay for his mother’s hospital bills and take care of his younger sister.
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The most powerful being in existence, the Shadow Monarch himself, chooses to seal away his newborn son Suho’s immense powers and completely erase his memories at birth. To many of us, it felt like a punch in the gut. Why would a father who fought gods and conquered death take everything from his own child? What could possibly drive Jinwoo to make such a devastating decision? This single act remains one of the most emotional and debated moments in the entire series and after reading it and learning more about the story from different aspects, that decision was necessary.
The Decision That Changed Everything
During the epilogue leading into Solo Leveling Ragnarok, which means this is all canon, since Ragnarok isn't necessarily part of the original Solo Leveling universe. Sung Jinwoo and his wife noticed that Suho was drawing a lot of images with Beru and the shadows. The other kids in Suho's classroom go pale when Suho approaches them. Jinwoo also states "since children have much purer senses than adults, they may have detected the power of the Monarch," meaning the other kids in his class felt the shadow of death coming from Suho.
Sung Jinwoo felt that if the powers of the Shadow Monarch were to unexpectedly grow large inside Suho, it would be impossible for him to live an ordinary life. So even though Sung Jinwoo wanted his son to have the power of the Monarch, he chose to seal it away and remove the memories until he reaches an age where he can perfectly control it
How Beru Became Suho’s Best Friend – The Legendary Ant
Beru, who is my personal favorite shadow because of his quirks and sense of humor, stood out the most to Suho when he was a child because he was fascinated by the big giant ant. So much so that almost all his drawn images portrayed Beru in a way that frames him as his best friend, and of course in Beru’s mind he felt the same way, even tearing up uncontrollably when Sung Jinwoo removed Suho’s memories.
In Chapter 192 Bellion says to Beru " Theres no way he'd not like you" referring to baby Suho "an ant much bigger than a human who can walk, fly and talk. Just what kind of child wouldn't like that?" However I think it runs much deeper than just that.
Beru also became Suho’s personal babysitter and playmate, this means turning the great legendary ant into a soft emotional guardian who was moved deeply by the little boy’s innocence. But the most interesting part of this friendship is when the great Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo removed the memories, Suho still had faint remnants of that friendship. He also kept a lifelong fascination with ants and still drew them obsessively all because of this bond with Beru.
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The Real Dangers If Suho Had Kept His Shadow Monarch Powers
This would have either turned out in two ways, bad or worse. If Suho had kept his abilities as the power inside him continued to grow, he would have caused an overwhelming aura that the other kids in his classroom simply could not have handled and would even make them go pale with instinctive fear whenever he approached.
Teachers and other parents would have eventually noticed something that wasn't natural about him which would make it impossible for him to live a normal life. Either way you look at it, removing his memories and power was the only option.
Since other monsters feed on energy this could have also caused or attracted monsters or unwanted attention from other powerful hunters and organisations. This would have either made Suho turn bad because of resentment or left him isolated in constant fear of others fearing him.
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Editor's Thoughts
Sung Jinwoo has always been family-oriented and everything he does, he does it for them. Seeing Sung Jinwoo with a child really makes you think why he isn't around in Solo Leveling Ragnarok. In this series it portrays him as someone who can't be by his son for varies reasons, but luckily Ragnarok isn't canon and it's more of a different multiverse.
I'd love to see the continuation of the original story by the original creator. I'm sure Sung will still be the main protagonist going forward. The way he interacts with his newborn with his hands-off approach (he allows his son to get away with anything) really shows how much he loves his child and that he tried his hardest to give him the powers while he is still young.
Unfortunately, with that power comes great consequences which outweigh the pros. Sung Jinwoo had to unfortunately lock the power and remove his memories for a good reason, but to be honest it makes sense. Imagine a child whose brain isn't fully developed having god-tier destructive powers? Truly the series will go in a good direction if the original creator carries on the story, which he teased countless times that'd be the case. I for one can't wait for that day! You can check this out for more Solo Leveling articles and power dynamics — Dean
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