Park SoHee - Goong: The Royal Palace, vol. 02-03 (Eng. trans.)
I read volume 1 quite some time ago, and I was amused when my old post on it noted that I wanted to see more of Che-Kyung having to deal with palace politics and etc. Ha, no such luck!
Spoilers move into the palace
In these two volumes, Che-Kyung has married Shin and moved into the palace. She's also introduced to Yul, Shin's cousin who would have been crown prince had his father not died.
I did like that instead of focusing on the romance, Park focuses instead on Che-Kyung's homesickness and her isolation in the palace. Unfortunately, I still don't have a very good sense of Che-Kyung's personality. We get more meta commentary from Park on Che-Kyung as the heroine of a manhwa, which was funny at first, but is now much less funny because Che-Kyung's only identity really is as the heroine and nothing else.
Shin, sadly, is fleshed out a little more, although his characterization is also fairly standard-the gruff prince who feels caged in and strikes out to rebel. Unlike Che-Kyung, whom I feel is written to be as normal as possible, we get more of Shin's family dynamics, and those details are what make me feel he's characterized more. I have no idea why Che-Kyung is growing more interested in him, outside of the standard "He is randomly nice to me very occasionally."
That said, I thought it was cool that Park emphasizes the physical attraction Che-Kyung feels toward Shin. I don't think that's usually acknowledged in much of the manhwa/manga/manhua I read; usually the attraction is more emotional, or it focuses on the hero's face rather than his body.
We also get to see behind-the-scenes politicking with Yul's mother's quest to be named widow to the king, along with hints of the unhappy past between Shin's parents. Alas, I doubt the storyline will end up being "naive girl must learn how to navigate court politics;" it looks right now like it will more be "naive girl blunders into politics and never quite learns."
Overall, I don't think I'll keep reading. I love the clothes, but I still haven't connected with the main character or the hero, and I don't seem to have the same sense of humor as the manhwaka does.
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Spoilers move into the palace
In these two volumes, Che-Kyung has married Shin and moved into the palace. She's also introduced to Yul, Shin's cousin who would have been crown prince had his father not died.
I did like that instead of focusing on the romance, Park focuses instead on Che-Kyung's homesickness and her isolation in the palace. Unfortunately, I still don't have a very good sense of Che-Kyung's personality. We get more meta commentary from Park on Che-Kyung as the heroine of a manhwa, which was funny at first, but is now much less funny because Che-Kyung's only identity really is as the heroine and nothing else.
Shin, sadly, is fleshed out a little more, although his characterization is also fairly standard-the gruff prince who feels caged in and strikes out to rebel. Unlike Che-Kyung, whom I feel is written to be as normal as possible, we get more of Shin's family dynamics, and those details are what make me feel he's characterized more. I have no idea why Che-Kyung is growing more interested in him, outside of the standard "He is randomly nice to me very occasionally."
That said, I thought it was cool that Park emphasizes the physical attraction Che-Kyung feels toward Shin. I don't think that's usually acknowledged in much of the manhwa/manga/manhua I read; usually the attraction is more emotional, or it focuses on the hero's face rather than his body.
We also get to see behind-the-scenes politicking with Yul's mother's quest to be named widow to the king, along with hints of the unhappy past between Shin's parents. Alas, I doubt the storyline will end up being "naive girl must learn how to navigate court politics;" it looks right now like it will more be "naive girl blunders into politics and never quite learns."
Overall, I don't think I'll keep reading. I love the clothes, but I still haven't connected with the main character or the hero, and I don't seem to have the same sense of humor as the manhwaka does.
Comment | Read Comments (
) | Link