Pig Bride
Encyclopedia
Pig Bride is a manhwa
written and illustrated by KookHwa Huh and SuJin Kim. It is published monthly in Yen Plus
.
As an eight year old boy, Si-Joon Lee was tricked into fulfilling a prophecy and marrying the mysterious 'Pig Bride' - a young blonde girl who hides her supposedly disfigured face under a pig's-face mask. When Si-Joon turns sixteen, the Bride reappears and causes havoc, interrupting the blossoming romance between Si-Joon and classmate Doe-Doe.
father. He runs away and gets lost but is saved when he finds a house in the middle of nowhere. A mysterious woman who lives there reveals to him that he is part of an ancient prophecy and must marry her daughter, Mu-Yeon, a descendant of the Park family of the 'Park Bride' folktale. The daughter is a small girl of Si-Joon's age who hides her face behind a smiling pig mask. Tempted by food Si-Joon agrees to the marriage. That night, Mu-Yeon tells him she will meet him on his sixteenth birthday.
On his sixteenth birthday, Si-Joon is tracked down by his bride and her sister and bodyguard, Mu-Hwa. A Holy Priest who has been serving Si-Joon's family reveals that the marriage must commence and the prophecy must be fulfilled or Si-Joon will die before the year ends. Si-Joon attempts to live his life normally but begins to experience flash-backs involving his past life
and Mu-Yeon.
Later on in the series, Doe Doe starts to fall for Ji Oh Yun, Si Joon's best friend and at the end of the series, it is never officially resolved whether Ji Oh like Mu Hwa or Doe Doe. At the end of the last volume, the authors reveal that Mu Yeon became South Korea's first female president, Si Joon was "working behind the scenes", Ji Oh became a doctor, Mu Hwa became the head of Secret Service, and Doe Doe became a banker.
Mu-Yeon Park
Doe-Doe Eun
Ji-Oh Yun
Mu-Hwa Park
"Princess", Ki-Ryong
licensed Pig Bride for an English-language release in North America and have been serializing it in the manga anthology Yen Plus
since August 2009. As of December 2009, three volumes have been published.
rebutted Mangacritics review and disagreed on all the points and praised the characters and the art style. Joy Kim of manga life also praised the art style saying the characters were distinctive. She criticized the relationship of the lead couple, Si-Joon Lee and Mu-Yeon Park, saying that Mu-Yeon should not be so sweet and protective of someone who does not return her feelings. Manga life praised the character Ji-Oh Yun as the most interesting character in the series and that his relationship with Mu-Hwa Park is interesting.
Manhwa
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons . Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. The term, along with manga, is a cognate of the Chinese manhua...
written and illustrated by KookHwa Huh and SuJin Kim. It is published monthly in Yen Plus
Yen Plus
Yen Plus is an American monthly anthology magazine of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and Original English-language manga published by Yen Press. The first issue went on sale on July 29, 2008 with five manga titles originally published by Gangan Comics, four manhwa titles, and two OEL manga titles...
.
As an eight year old boy, Si-Joon Lee was tricked into fulfilling a prophecy and marrying the mysterious 'Pig Bride' - a young blonde girl who hides her supposedly disfigured face under a pig's-face mask. When Si-Joon turns sixteen, the Bride reappears and causes havoc, interrupting the blossoming romance between Si-Joon and classmate Doe-Doe.
Plot
Rebellious and spoiled eight year old Si-Joon Lee is sent to a summer camp in the mountains by his senatorSenate of South Korea
The Senate was the upper house of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea during its Second Republic. The Senate was established by the Constitution of the Second Republic of Korea, which established a bicameral legislature.-Speaker of the Senate of Soouth Korea:-See also:*National...
father. He runs away and gets lost but is saved when he finds a house in the middle of nowhere. A mysterious woman who lives there reveals to him that he is part of an ancient prophecy and must marry her daughter, Mu-Yeon, a descendant of the Park family of the 'Park Bride' folktale. The daughter is a small girl of Si-Joon's age who hides her face behind a smiling pig mask. Tempted by food Si-Joon agrees to the marriage. That night, Mu-Yeon tells him she will meet him on his sixteenth birthday.
On his sixteenth birthday, Si-Joon is tracked down by his bride and her sister and bodyguard, Mu-Hwa. A Holy Priest who has been serving Si-Joon's family reveals that the marriage must commence and the prophecy must be fulfilled or Si-Joon will die before the year ends. Si-Joon attempts to live his life normally but begins to experience flash-backs involving his past life
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
and Mu-Yeon.
Later on in the series, Doe Doe starts to fall for Ji Oh Yun, Si Joon's best friend and at the end of the series, it is never officially resolved whether Ji Oh like Mu Hwa or Doe Doe. At the end of the last volume, the authors reveal that Mu Yeon became South Korea's first female president, Si Joon was "working behind the scenes", Ji Oh became a doctor, Mu Hwa became the head of Secret Service, and Doe Doe became a banker.
Characters
Si-Joon Lee- The only child of a rich and powerful South Korean Senator and a descendant, in the 36th generation, of Si-Baek Lee, the protagonist of the 'Tale of the Park Bride'. He is considered to be the most desirable boy at his school, but he only has eyes for Doe-Doe. He seems constantly aggravated or bemused by Mu-Yeon's bizarre behaviour, but he is actually protective of her and cares deeply for her, and gradually begins to fall for Mu-Yeon. The story comes close to explicitly stating that in his previous life, 36 generations ago, he was Si-Baek Lee.
Mu-Yeon Park
- The Pig Bride. She disguises her supposedly hideous face with a pig mask. She is a descendant of the Park family of 'The Tale of the Park Bride'. According to the story, her curse can be lifted only if she marries a descendant of Si-Baek Lee. She is very traditional and seemingly passive, and has a remarkable amount of respect for her husband. Si-Joon observes in Vol. 2 that though she goes through a lot of grief she manages to get what she wants. Throughout the Volume 3, it is noted actually that for her curse to be broken, Si-Joon must truly love her. She was actually Si-Baek's wife in her previous life, 36 generations ago. She can perform various forms of ancient magic.
Doe-Doe Eun
- All the girls defer to Doe-Doe, while all the boys are jealous of the attention she gives to Si-Joon. She acts very gentle and caring around Si-Joon and Ji-Oh, but she has a nasty streak in her character when it comes to anyone other than her love. It is noted that her mom and herself plan to only marry Si-Joon for his wealth, which Ji-Oh notices. However a lightning incident in the beginning of volume 3 makes her bad luck and ruins her social life. During the ending of the series, it is discovered that her mother, the school principal, had been using school funds on theirselves. The principal is arrested and Doe Doe is adopted by a couple of doctors who are working in Africa. However, sympathetic Si Joon and Mu Yeon send Doe Doe to live at Ji Oh's house. She is Mu Hwa's rival for Ji Oh.
Ji-Oh Yun
- Si-Joon's friend and roommate since they were little kids. He is very smart and perceptive. Unlike Si-Joon, Ji-Oh does not like Doe-Doe. He has grown very close to Mu-Yeon and Mu-Hwa, and has realized that Mu-Yeon and Mu-Hwa are trying to protect Si-Joon from danger. He is an object of affection for Mu-Hwa Park. When Mu-Hwa's mother tries to wed him to Mu-Hwa in volume 4 in the same manner used with Si-Joon years earlier Ji-Oh objects, declaring "I'm not Si-Joon."
Mu-Hwa Park
- Mu-Yeon's sister is stony-faced and carries a very sharp sword. She very rarely talks. She is constantly trying to taste everything to see if it's edible and has a very large appetite similar to Si-Joon's. She has developed an interest in Ji-Oh Yun. In volume 4 her mother tries to wed her to Ji-Oh Yun. She is the romantic rival of Doe Doe for Ji Oh.
"Princess", Ki-Ryong
- The mysterious enemy to Si-Joon Lee, the Lee family and Mu-Yeon. A slender woman with long hair, long black fingernails and a snake armband. She is called "Princess" in volume 2. Thirty-six generations ago her name was "Ki-Ryong", and Mu-Yeon addresses her as Ki-Ryong in the middle of volume 3. She was later defeated by Mu-Yeon Park and lost all of her spiritual powers forever, making it impossible for her to harm anybody of Si Baek Lee's line.
Release
Yen PressYen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
licensed Pig Bride for an English-language release in North America and have been serializing it in the manga anthology Yen Plus
Yen Plus
Yen Plus is an American monthly anthology magazine of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and Original English-language manga published by Yen Press. The first issue went on sale on July 29, 2008 with five manga titles originally published by Gangan Comics, four manhwa titles, and two OEL manga titles...
since August 2009. As of December 2009, three volumes have been published.
Volume list
Reception
The series was received negatively by Mangacritic.com where it was listed as fifth on Manga Critic's "The 2009 Manga Hall of Shame Inductees". Mangacritic criticized the series' lack of comedy, art style, and the personality of girls stating the author must hate girls. Kurt Hasseler of Yen PressYen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
rebutted Mangacritics review and disagreed on all the points and praised the characters and the art style. Joy Kim of manga life also praised the art style saying the characters were distinctive. She criticized the relationship of the lead couple, Si-Joon Lee and Mu-Yeon Park, saying that Mu-Yeon should not be so sweet and protective of someone who does not return her feelings. Manga life praised the character Ji-Oh Yun as the most interesting character in the series and that his relationship with Mu-Hwa Park is interesting.