Bride of the Water God

Bride of the Water God Vol. 1

By Mi-Kyung Yun

Dark Horse Manhwa, 2007. 184 pages. Graphic novel.

ISBN: 9781593078492

Reading/Interest Level: Ages 13+

Curriculum ties: Culture and diversity, mythology

Booktalk Ideas: Appearances can be deceiving: Wear a cheap, simple veil and be in character as Soah. Talk about her sense of duty and the reason she was willing to be a sacrifice. Stop when she meets Habaek and realizes he’s just a child. Hallyu back: Highlight some of the most prominent aspects of Korean culture in this manhwa such as the myths, depictions of historic clothing, and similarities between this and modern k-dramas.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

When Soah’s community is in a dire drought, she is sent away on a boat as a sacrifice to the Water God, Habaek. What she doesn’t anticipate is that she would actually make it to the kingdom of the gods, and Habaek is nothing like the monster she expected.

Plot Summary:

Soah’s village has been experiencing a major drought and they need it to rain soon or all their farming will be lost. So, to appease the Water God, Habaek, Soah is sent out on a boat as a sacrificial bride for Habaek. Soah fully expects to die, but when she is rescued and ends up in Habaek’s kingdom she is surprised. She notices a child nearby watching her and learns that the child is actually Habaek. Though he has a temper, Habaek isn’t nearly as mean and cruel as the stories made him out to be.

However, Habaek has a secret. He’s cursed to be a child during the day and only becomes a fully grown man at night. When Soah accidently discovers the man Habaek bathing she is embarrassed and has no idea who he is, so Habaek fakes his identity, claiming to be a cousin of Habaek. The other gods are kind to Soah, but she doesn’t realize that she’s actually surrounded by secrets.

Critical Evaluation:

I really enjoyed reading this manhwa. It was the very first graphic novel I’ve ever read so it took me a little while to get used to the format, but once I got going, I really enjoyed it. The drawings are absolutely gorgeous and the detail of the historic Korean clothing are amazing. As much as I enjoyed the story, I often found myself pausing to admire the beautiful illustrations.

As an avid fan of Korean entertainment I easily caught the influences of what constitutes beauty in Korea and why so many Korean celebrities get cosmetic surgery, often to look more like the characters in manga and manhwa.  The small faces, large eyes, pointed chins and pointed noses are all traits Koreans see as very desirable and spend lots of money on to achieve.

I also noticed that the storylines of each volume of this series feels like an episode of a K-drama. Some of the main characteristics being various misunderstandings, secret identities, an extremely attractive and powerful/rich guy falling for an average poor girl, while at the same time acting a bit like a jerk. It’s a typical K-drama in book form, and I love it!

About the Author:

Mi-Kyung Kun (윤미경) is a Korean comic artist; she is currently publishing the Bride of the Water God series in the Korean comics magazine Wink.

She received the Silver Medal for Seoul Media Group's "Shin-in-gong-mo-jeon" ("New Artist Debut Competition") for Na-eu Ji-gu Bang-moon-gi (The Journey of My Earth Visit) in 2003.

She received a "Shin-in-sang" ("Best New Artist") award from the Dokja-manhwa-daesang organization for Railroad in 2004.

-from author’s GoodReads page-

Justification of Selection:

This manhwa (which is the Korean equivalent of Japanese Manga) is an engaging, fun read full of mystery, adventure, and the beginnings of romance. I imagine this particular manhwa would appeal mainly to girls.