Goong

If you have watched the drama, don't skip this manhwa. It's a lot different and it definitely has its own outstanding charms. Still, having watched the drama first, I was surprised at how different Shin was in the original source. Here, he was your usual arrogant and spoiled rich kid - whereas in the drama, he was cold, more controlled and quite reserved. Chae-Gyung, however, was still your normal and average heroine whom you can easily empathize with. Having her life changed like that, I can actually feel how lonely and miserable she was inside the palace. Not to mention that in comparison to the drama,the royal household in the manhwa is really strict and much more suffocating. Anyway, I'll stop mentioning the drama and focus on the manhwa now. If there's something worthy of praise, it has to be the originality. It's not easy to think of possible scenarios that could occur in AU Korea - and it's really amazing how the author illustrated these "what-ifs." The art here is really gorgeous and it improves in every volume. I really like how detailed the scenery and the clothes were. The characters also become more and more attractive especially Shin and Yul. Now as for the plot and characters - I guess what I love the most in the manhwa is that you get to see how the protagonists fall in love. It was slow and gradual yet very convincing. Having brought up by such an environment, Shin was first introduced as a stuck-up and selfish jerk who's not capable of caring for others. When he and Chae Gyung were forced to get along, he begins to feel emotions that were new to him and eventually realize that he's actually missing a lot of things in his life. It's also the same for Chae Gyung. She was a hyper and cheerful girl who was suddenly thrown into an unwanted marriage. But then, the more time she spent with Shin, the more she got to know and understand him - which eventually leads to her pitying him. And in which such pity turns to love. Their relationship made me feel a rollercoaster of emotions: I laughed, get angry and cried along with them and the situations they get themselves into. It's true that the story got draggy - but then, I didn't mind it that much cause I did enjoy the ride and it made me like the main characters (yes, their flaws included). I guess the only disappointing thing was the ending. It was left out in the open and there were still a few unresolved plot points. But since the manhwa did spend a lot of time building up the characters and their relationship, you can already assume that it still end in a positive outcome. Also, I find it hilarious that the author makes fun of shoujo/drama/romance novel stereotypes. I mean, even Hana Yori Dango was mentioned! Overall, the author did a great job in balancing the comedy, drama and romance. Recommended!

I feel almost horrible for doing a review like this, because I should, by all accounts, be giving this manhwa a solid 9 or 10. When I look over everything I've just read, all the areas that attract me to a story were covered. Plus, the art was great. Why, then, do I have an underlying gentle hatred towards all of this? Well... I don't know. ART: I think we can all agree that whether you liked or didn't like this manhwa, the art was exquisite. It was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that sometimes I just paused on a certain page to admire it. Itwas that good. I cannot find a single fault in it. STORY: Now here's where the manhwa really lost a lot of points with me. I feel like the author could have cut easily 25% - 40% of the plot, and the story would turn out so much better. There's only so many times I can read through a scene where someone is about to say something life-changing, only to be interrupted by whatever interrupts them, and then awkwardly refusing to say it. I just couldn't take it. I couldn't take how so many of the things that happened seemed to happen for absolutely no reason. What seemed to be problems that could be easily resolved in the span of 2 - 12 words were dragged on for chapters. People got angry for no reason, and didn't get angry enough when there was good reason. Too much crying, whining, and not enough actual logical procedures. It made me angry as I was reading it, which I don't think was the original intent. CHARACTERS: Okay, they all started out with so much potential. I thought the main leads were quirky, funny, everything that I like in characters. Then, slowly -- I'm still not even sure how -- I ended up hating each and every one of them. I honestly cannot recall a single character who I consistently liked throughout the manhwa. I don't mind if the characters screw up a few times, that's okay. I don't mind when they make stupid decisions sometimes. I DO mind it when they make the same mistakes and stupid decisions OVER and OVER again. I'm pretty sure every other chapter included a scene where a character sat down, and was like "Well, I screwed that up. *insert obnoxious sobbing and whining here* I must now go out there and screw this situation to the point where I am the biggest screwer of situations who ever screwed.". By the end of this whole semi-fiasco, I honestly couldn't care less whether the two leads got together or just said "Fuck it, I didn't like you that much to begin with anyway." and left it at that. And honestly, all of the secondary characters were such pricks. I'm pretty sure most of them were inserted to just be pricks but at different times -- to provide variety. I tried to like people, I really did, but you can't ask me to do something that would crush any morality that I have left inside me. OVERALL: ... Now, despite everything I've said, I did finish it. That says something. Well, I finished it provided that I've seen the drama (which leaves out 80% of this manhwa, and changes roughly 10% of it), and I actually really enjoyed it. I felt as if I would almost be betraying the drama if I didn't push through this endless black hole of depression. If I have anything good left to say about this, it would be the following. The comedy was pretty good. I enjoyed the humor that was injected into here, most of it managed to make me laugh out loud. When the characters weren't forcing themselves into self-induced love traumas, when they were actually with each other and not being all stupid, their scenes were pretty cute. The angst was hardcore -- so if angst is for you, you will seriously fall in love with this. It was a complex story, and it had a lot of things going for it; it just wasn't for me.

I started with goong by watching the live action drama, falling in love with the story and needing to read it till the end. The concept is a fantastic one that you find a lot in Kdramas and manhwas of a fictional monarchy. this story imparticular deals with a girl becoming a princess, to a prince who she clearly is the opposite of and having her free spirit being contatined by palace rules. This story is also about the love triangles that form resulting in scandal, death and some serious aplogizing. i loved the way the characters were drawn here, and especially the detailto the eyes and lips. I found that the structures were okay, but the people and clothing drawn was really good. As previously mentioned I fell in love with the story and watching the characters develop, however I felt the author drew it out for a long time. It really could have ended a vloume or two before it did. Parts were very boring and static, and the overall theme of the manhwa did not change for about 5 volumes. the side stories seemed to really be worthless and the author admitted to wasted pages in the 2nd to last volume. I really felt that because it dragged on without any real new development of the story the author rushed through the end, making it unsatisfactory. in 2010 this was one of my favorite reads easily earning it a 9, however a poor ending gets it a 8. I still will suggest it, because who wouldn't want their parents to secretly engage them to a HOT prince? enjoy.

In spite of having so many chapters and reach 27 volumes, this manhwa keep attracting my attention. Although at some point i feel tired because it is so long, the conflict is still there and it makes me keep reading it There is only this one major conflict in this manhwa and it keep continuing till the end of this manhwa and it makes me love it even more, because the conflict is not made up. When finally the MC and ML got together there is still a conflict that break them apart and it doesnt make me bored reading this manhwa. I can see thedevelopment of each character especially the ML ( shin ) who is a cold and prideful person in the beginning, but started to change and becoming more soft and actually a very caring person. Overall i enjoy reading this manga and i recommend this for the shoujo lovers.