The character referred to as the headmaster or principal of Volcano High is a figure whose presence looms large over the school’s turbulent history, despite his limited direct involvement in the daily conflicts. His background establishes him as the central pillar of order in an institution defined by chaos. According to the history of the school, he is the one who, seventeen years prior to the main events, managed to quell a long and brutal period of internal warfare between student factions. The key to this peace was his study and mastery of a legendary martial arts manuscript. This act of understanding the manuscript’s true secrets allowed him to become the undisputed authority and the sole guardian of the text, which is said to hold the power to command the entire school.

The headmaster’s personality is defined by a profound and almost passive belief in educational philosophy. He is portrayed as a reclusive and seemingly detached figure, one who holds the conviction that the best path for students is to discover the world and their own potential on their own terms. He practices a principle of minimal intervention, preferring to observe from afar and avoid entanglement in the endless power struggles and disciplinary battles that rage within his school’s walls. This demeanor is not born of weakness or ignorance, but rather a dedicated, almost eccentric commitment to a specific form of teaching. He spends his time on personal rituals, such as daily morning martial arts training, which includes honing an unorthodox technique known as the invincible cross-eyed technique, designed specifically to evade difficult questions from students. To the outside observer, he appears as a tranquil, perhaps otherworldly old master, largely disconnected from the brutal reality of student life.

Despite his passive nature, his core motivation is the preservation of his educational ideals and the secret he safeguards. He wishes to maintain the hard-won peace at Volcano High without resorting to authoritarian control, trusting in the process of self-discovery for his pupils. His primary role in the story, however, is that of a crucial catalyst. His calm reign is shattered when he is poisoned, an act that creates a power vacuum and sets the entire plot into motion. After this event, he is incapacitated and removed from the action, making his secret manuscript vulnerable and turning the school into a battlefield for those who wish to claim its power. His poisoning is the inciting incident that forces all other characters, from the student factions to the faculty, to make their moves.

In terms of key relationships, the headmaster exists in a state of careful distance from those around him. He has a significant philosophical conflict with the vice-principal, who believes in strict, militaristic discipline and actively schemes to usurp the headmaster’s authority. The vice-principal’s desire to impose a different order leads directly to the headmaster’s poisoning. Another notable relationship, though indirect, is with the top student, Hak-Rim Song. This student, a tea expert and the school’s greatest martial artist, attempts to deliver a tea canister to the headmaster, an act that leads to his wrongful imprisonment for the poisoning when the contents are tampered with. The headmaster’s trust or tacit approval of certain students is implied, as his teachings and the legend of the manuscript are the very forces that shape the ambitions of characters like Jang Rhang, who seeks the manuscript for power, and ultimately the protagonist, Kim Kyung-soo, who must learn to control his own abilities.

The headmaster’s development within the story is minimal, as he is removed from the active narrative early on. He functions more as a symbol or an ideal than a dynamic character who changes over time. His significance is static but foundational: he represents the true, pacifist path of martial arts mastery that stands in stark contrast to the aggressive ambition of nearly every other character. His absence is what allows the story’s conflicts to erupt and escalate, forcing the younger generation to confront the same choices about power and purpose that he once faced.

As for notable abilities, the headmaster is no mere figurehead. He is a martial arts master of the highest caliber. His most significant feat was achieving a level of understanding from the secret manuscript that allowed him to single-handedly end years of violent conflict, a testament to his immense power and wisdom. His personal fighting style is described as including the comically named but presumably effective invincible cross-eyed technique, which he practices diligently. While his full combat capabilities are never extensively displayed in direct battle, his reputation alone was sufficient to maintain a fragile peace for nearly two decades, marking him as the most powerful and respected, if eccentric, individual within the halls of Volcano High.