Many thanks to Yen Press for providing a review copy
About the Mangaka
Not a lot of information on So-Hee Park unfortunately, this seems to be her second work, the first being Real Purple. She’s being working on manhwa since 2000 when she won the Seoul Media’s silver medal for Best New Manhwa Creator.
About the Manga
A huge leap forward compared to the previous volumes, I’m actually beginning to get into the story.
When I first started to review this series ages ago, I actually contemplated asking Yen not to send me future volumes, as I hated them. However much to my surprise I’m glad I didn’t. This volume is far from
being a work of art, however it does manage to have a strong enough presence to keep me interested, and the story is finally getting going.
Art wise I have all the old complaints again, the largest one of course being the chibi characters. The frequent use of this style of chibi is really killing the story, a softer version would have fitted more IMO. True the ugly style does have it’s place in manga, but the overly frequent usage of them stifles the art, and kills the feeling.
The other thing that’s nagging me, is the habit she has of making the male leads look like they’re really evil. It happened a few times in this volume, and it really felt out of place, and just didn’t suit the place it was in, or the atmosphere that had been raised.
Where this volume did gain points from me was the story. Since all the main cast are finally brought into play this volume (or I’m assuming it’s all of them) we’re given some really interesting developments.
Most especially between Chae-Kyung and Yul’s mum who is now set to ruin her and Shin’s life together.
I like how the story is starting to pick up some pace, and to actually develop into something. The relationships are proving interesting as well, Chae and Shin’s in particular is slowly starting to feel less and less strained, though at times it still feels a bit stilted.
The wrangling going on in this volume are just as refreshing as it was in the previous volume. I have to admit that I’m now interested in how this plays out, and who finally wins through. Though given this is a shojo series, it’s not exactly going to end in a spectacular and unexpected way.
As always Yen Press do their great job, with all the major titles and honorific’s left intact. However they also add explanations of what these mean, which is just as well, since some of them are really weird and do need some explanation.
The volume does suffer from some mild guttering, but that’s pretty much become the norm in Korean titles sadly. The way they’re drawn it’s impossible to avoid guttering. Translation wise, there’s nothing wrong, it’s smooth and consistent, pretty much what I’ve come to expect 
Where to Buy
- Brits: Book Depository or Play.com
- Yanks: Amazon.com
- Canadians: Amazon.ca
February 22, 2009 @ 09:27.
The chibis in Goong are a major turn-off for me. I hate how ugly they look, especially Chae. On the other hand, when the art is serious, it can be quite gorgeous. It’s the contrast between the two that’s so very disturbing.
The social and political machinations at the palace are a little hard to follow. I admit that I’ve mostly read Goong via scanlations. It may be that the scanlators weren’t up to the challenge of rendering palace life in readable English. I should check out Yen’s interpretation and see if it’s any more comprehensible.
Question for you, do you think that Chae’s experiences were partly inspired by Princess Diana’s marriage misfortunes? I see a lot of similarities between the two. But maybe I’m reading more into the story than is really there.