Manhwa recommendations?

[tarigwaemir]

Stanley Hall on the Feast of St. Ildephonsus

My parents observed that my Korean has been deteriorating since I stopped watching so much K-drama (well, they don't know that part). Anyway, I was thinking of ordering manhwa from Aladdin to practice reading in Korean. (I suppose I should also catch up on watching Iljimae and finish Hong Gildong, not to mention start the Korean Hana Yori Dango, but I don't have any faith in my ability to keep such resolutions. >_>) So, does anyone have any recommendations? I've been perusing Aladdin, but it's hard to find manhwa in the sea of popular translated manga. -_-

Miss X (I am adopting everyone else's name for her) reviewed the first few volumes of Nabi recently, which looks interesting, and I know magicnoire and explicate both recommended Shin Angyo Onshi (Shin Amhaengeosa), so both of those are up for consideration. (But Shin Angyo Onshi is so long! I don't think I can buy anything that's already over 10 volumes...) I've already read the first few volumes of Bride of the Water-God in scanslation, and while I like pretty shoujo (or...uh...sunjeong, in this case, I suppose) as much as anyone else, I don't really want to spend money on it. I've also read scanslations for Goong, Hot-Blooded Woman. Wa!, Good Luck, etc. Any recommendations for other series?

Ideally, I'd like something along the lines of Mushishi or Hikaru no Go. Or something that will increase my vocabulary beyond casual conversation. I read five volumes of Ravages of Time in Korean translation, which did wonders for my knowledge of archaic military terms but perhaps I should attempt something a little more, uh, modern this time.

The other option I suppose is to attempt to read the Coffee Prince novel in Korean, which I hear is pretty easy to read and would meet my goal of actually finishing reading a novel in Korean.

Yours &c.

Comments

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

I can never remember if something is manga or manhwa.. based on the art, I think Let Dai is a manhwa? It's pretty good, but I never read past vol 3, so..

Hanadan K is really good! Korean!Rui is so much prettier! And there is much physical violence. It is amazing

[troisroyaumes]

I'll go look and see how much the title costs! (The truly crucial factor, hahaha.)

I have the first four episodes. I just haven't, uh, viewed any of them.

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

Considering only 6 episodes have aired so far, and the last two aired like, two days ago... XD

[rilina.livejournal.com]

My favorite manhwa that I've encountered in scans is They, Too, Love by Seo Moon Da Mi. I've also enjoyed Pahanjip, though I don't know how modern the vocab is going to be. I wish I could read Nabi--the art is gorgeous, and I liked the short stories in Nabi: The Prototype, but my Korean is just not good enough for me to get more than the vaguest sense of the story, even with dictionary at hand.

A lot of people on my f-list like Dokebi Bride; I browsed the US version in the store once but it didn't make much of an impression. And I've heard some good buzz about Forest of Gray City and the work of Park Hee Jung, but don't haven't seen it for myself yet.

ETA: My brief write-up of They, Too, Love is here (http://rilina.livejournal.com/472914.html#cutid3)

[troisroyaumes]

Oh, I saw 파한집 at Aladdin and considered buying it, though yes, not sure how modern Tang China vocabulary will be. I'll definitely look at They, Too, Love; your review made it sound interesting. Thanks for the recs!

[ramble-corner.livejournal.com]

Sadly I read less manhwa then you do and the I've read are the ones you've already mentioned

The only one NOt mentioned is 100% Perfect Girl (http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=6633)?

[troisroyaumes]

Oh, is that based on the Murakami short story? Thanks for the rec.

[meril.livejournal.com]

The only manhwa I read are in English, which doesn't really help you. I enjoy The Antique Gift Shop but that's about the only series I've read for a while that I think you'd like...Chocolat is one I started reading when a lot of my friends were into boy bands and I really don't think you want to read about band fandom.

[troisroyaumes]

Heh, I did look at the Wikipedia review of Chocolat and didn't think it was my thing, but Antique Gift Shop does sound interesting; I'll check it out. ^_^

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

If you like gambling or hwato, my uncle wrote Tatja (I think it's transliterated as Tazza, but that reminds me of Tazzo espresso) and it's supposed to be good.

[troisroyaumes]

Cool, I didn't know your uncle was a 만화가. Actually, gambling 만화 sounds really cool; I'll look for it.

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

He does the story rather than the drawings, so i'm not sure if it's filed under his name (Kim Sae Yeong) or the artist's.

[troisroyaumes]

Whoa, I just found it on Aladdin, and it's really famous! It was just made into a drama last year as well as a movie. The preview of the first volume has an interview with your uncle too. Also really long, but it does look interesting.

[milchstrasse.livejournal.com]

Somebody on my flist is reading Nabi, and when I saw it recced up there, I thought I'd mention the title again. Um. I've never read it though (and I can't read Korean either). <- sorry =__=;;;

[troisroyaumes]

Hee, it's ikirimeihe I'll bet. ::points at comment below::

[ikirimeihe.livejournal.com]

You can browse Korean comics here - http://www.aladdin.co.kr/shop/wbrowse.aspx?CID=3947

All the sunjeong manhwa I want to recommend look like they're out of print...are there manhwabang where you live? They'd stock theses books I think: Kang Eun-young (강은영)- she draws contemporary teenage relationships stories that are a touch sci-fi/fantasy, psychic powers and what have you. Her series tend to be short as well, Hissing (히싱), for example, ends at 6 volumes). Also Park Hee-jung (박희정), Fever (피버), ends at 4.

If you like historical stuff, 고우영 maybe? His version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (삼국지 • 三國志) is probably his most famous work, and the vocab/references should be challenging (I would def. need a dictionary handy). It's come out in a set (10 vols.) but the individual books are available as well if you wanted to give one a try. I particularly like his linework for the same reasons I like Ronald Searle's.

I also want to strongly recommend Matsumoto Taiyo's Ping Pong (5 vols. total), although I don't know how you'd like the art (technically fab but not sunjeong pretty) and it's technically a sports manga. Reading it in translation the language isn't particularly difficult. Yoshinaga Fumi (of Antique Bakery fame) is currently doing a historical series too, set in the Edo period (오오쿠 • 大奥) -- I haven't read it (I want to read it in one go...when it finishes...gah) but the reviews are good.

[troisroyaumes]

Oh, thanks very much! I couldn't find the right category to limit it to just Korean titles.

Unfortunately, I don't live near 만화방 anymore, but I'll keep 강은영 in mind next time I visit home. ^_^

I actually tried reading 고우영's 삼국지 a few years and realized in the end that it was too difficult for me, though maybe I'll attempt it again someday since I know the Korean names for the characters now.

Thanks for all the recs!

[sleepingfingers.livejournal.com]

The only manhwa I've read are scanlated ones, so I have not much to recommend, but do watch Korean!HYD. I think it's quite good, and even though I don't care much for the main female character in this version, I kind of like the boys a lot (especially the main male). :)

[octopedingenue]

(hi! browsing through meganbmoore's friendsfriends and saw you :D) I've only read in scanslations, so I'm no help with vocabulary, but all of these fall under "awesome" and "gorgeous": Bride of the Water God is an interesting mix of the manga Merupuri and the "monster bridegroom" myth. Evyione is a beautifully tragic gender-flipped retelling of The Little Mermaid. Dokebi Bride is about a young female shaman struggling to adjust to life with her stepfamily in the city after the death of the shaman grandmother who raised her, and I love it despite the spectacularly clunky Netcomics English translation. I liked Forest of Gray City by Uhm Jung Hyun/엄정현 (though not the second volume as much as the first), but I LOVED her 3-chapter story The Poet Who Buys Words. I hope that she's written more long works and that more of her stuff gets translated. The Antique Gift Shop is a lot long the manga Petshop of Horrors, as is Chronicles of the Grim Peddler with a fairytale twist. But there seems to be ongoing plots building underneath their Twilight Zone-style morality-horrors of the week.

I enthusiastically second rilina's recs upthread of They Too Love and Nabi! I wrote a review of Pahanjip here, and have some general manhwa chatter here. I have just started reading Very Very Sweet, but it makes me laugh; the same with Fever and Hotel Africa, which are by the same manhwaga, whom I think I'll be stalking for future works.

If you like Korean!shonen-ai, I am mysteriously fond of E. Hae/Lee Hae/이해 of Roureville and Not So Bad despite her weird art. If you like fun action FIGHT! stuff with historical drama, Threads of Time has chewy plot with reincarnation and time travel and a cross-dressing warrior granddaughter of Genghis Khan!

Let Dai is very pretty and psychologically complex shonen-ai, but it is the kind of story I had to put down and back away from slowly, as a romance between a nice-enough boy and a chillingly convincing sociopath is just Not Going To End Well.

[troisroyaumes]

Hello! Nice to meet you! I actually stumbled across a page of your recs while reading through rilina's review of They, Too, Love. I was really intrigued by The Poet Who Buys Words, but alas, it wasn't even listed in the online store, and the first volume of Antique Gift Shop was sold out as well. >_<;; They both sound like series I'd enjoy, so perhaps I'll just go look for scanslations. But I did end up buying the first volume of Dokebi Bride and Nabi, as well as a volume of Seo Moon Da Mi's oneshots. (First volume of They, Too, Love was sold out as well!)

Ohh, I remember starting to read Threads of Time in scans; maybe I'll catch up on that in English.

Thanks for all the additional recs!