| | | | Part One - The Vegetarian |
| | Yeong-Hye | Kim | The Vegetarian. Protagonist. |
| | Mr. | Cheong | The narrator of Part One. Yeong-hye's husband. |
| | Boss | | Mr. Cheong's managing director and executive director. |
| | Boss's | Wife | Mr. Cheong's boss's wife. |
| | In-Hye | Kim | Mr. Cheong's sister-in-law. Yeong-Hye's sister. Aka: Sister-in-Law. |
| | Yeong-Ho | Kim | In-Hye and Yeong-Hye's brother. |
| | Father-in-Law | | Yeong-Hye's abusive father. |
| | Ji-Woo | | In-Hye's son. |
| | | | Part Two - Mongolian Mark |
| | Yayoi | Kusama | A Japanese artist. |
| | Brother-in-Law | | In-Hye's husband. The Narrator of Part Two. |
| | J | | The brother-in-law's friend. the former owner of brother-in-law's studio. |
| | M | | The brother-in-law's friend. A painting studio owner. |
| | P | | Brother-in-law's ex-wife. |
| | | | Part Three - Flaming Trees |
| | Hayao | Miyazaki | A Japanese Animation Director. |
| | Dr. In-ho | Park | One of Yeong-Hye's doctors. A mental health specialist. |
| | The | Nurse | The head nurse at Seoul General Hospital. |
| | Hee-Joo | | A patient receiving treatment for alcoholism and hypomania. In-Hye's friend. |
| | Internist | | One of Yeong-Hye's doctors. The doctor's assistant. |
| | Male | Nurse | One of Yeong-Hye's carers. |
| | The | Doctor | Yeong-Hye's doctor at the mental institution. |
| | The | Carer | One of Yeong-Hye's carers. |
