#gorae byul

[a-go-ni-a]

[ENG] Fluffyfebruary - Day 21 - Sink

@fluffyfebruary

Today I've drawn a scene from que south korean comic Gorae Byul (The Whale Star), but focusing on the characters' hands. I wanted to make something different from what I've done until now.

This comic is amazing, it's a histotical romance based on The Little Mermaid that takes place in Korea during the japanese invasion. The protagonist is a illiterate girl who works for a pro-Japan korean family. She decides to salve a rebel, a guy who takes part of a group that wants to take back the country from Japan, this meeting chances her life. Read it if you can!

[PT] Fluffyfebruary - Dia 20 - Afundar

Pra hoje redesenhei uma cena da hq sul coreana Gorae Byul (The Whale Star), mas focando nas mãos dos personagens. Queria fazer algo diferente do que tenho feito até agora.

Essa hq é excelente, é um romance histórico inspirado na Pequena Sereia que se passa durante a invasão japonesa que ocorreu na Coreia. Acompanhamos uma jovem analfabeta que trabalha para uma família coreana que serve os japoneses. Ela decide salvar um rebelde, um jovem parte de um grupo que quer recuperar o país das mãos do Japão, e esse encontro muda sua vida. Leiam se puderem!

[sewagedumpland]

HEO SU-A | WHALE STAR: THE GYEONGSEONG MERMAID (webtoon) by NA YOONHEE [106 chapters]

official synopsis:

The year is 1926 in this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid", and Joseon (present-day Korea) is under colonial Japanese rule. Su-a Heo is a handmaiden who spends her days working and swimming in the sea. Her work is her whole life, until one day, when she discovers a wounded indepence fighter named Uihyeon Kang washed up on the shore. She nurses him back to health, only to lose her ability to speak in a botched murder attempt by Uihyeon's comrade, Haesu Song. As she travels to the capital, Gyeongseong (present-day Seoul), to get revenge, she finds herself growing more and more intertwined with a strange, brave new world and the people within it.

i'm not gonna finish or render this piece bc i'm too busy bawling my ass off 😭☝️jk my lack of artistic ability and patience is showing oops

but i just had to draw fanart of sua in traditional korean clothing drowning???? idk to cope with the ending holy shit i have never been this sad over a webtoon or any piece of media. plus i literally don't often see any fanart for webtoons in general. or maybe i just don't look hard enough idk. i don't wanna spoil the ending but it was open ended (very fitting, in a way). I NEED CLOSUREEEEE FUCKKKKK

I really recommend this to any webtoon reader (or anybody in general) to read this masterpiece. seriously. it is such a well researched story with complex, 3-dimensional, and morally grey characters during a real period in time when many Koreans suffered under imperialism and colonialism. it was such a tragic and bittersweet story about war, sacrifice, one's love for their nation, and the prices they have to pay. it was so interesting to read about the characters' brutal fight for independence as well as their love for each other and the art is fucking fantastic (seriously it's gorgeous af my eyes were blessed). the author's talent to invoke such passion and artistic genius is amazing.

thank you na yoonhee for tearing my heart and all the other readers' into shreds. my time and money was so worth it.

[sehirlambalari]

[ericas-for-solitude]

gorae byul: the gyeongseong mermaid has to be the best manhwa i've ever read

it destroyed me though

[listlesslists]

28.04.2022, april. 

activities

reading

driving lessons

weekend work

job applications

life schedule

jlpt & other upskilling (python? webdesign?)

fanfiction writing

books:

the van gogh sisters (nlb)

imitations - zadie smith (nlb)

pocket kuala lumpur (nlb)

event - žižek (nlb)

hermeneutics (nlb)

the meaning of art - herbert read (nlb)

subversive ceramics (nlb)

charting thoughts: essays on art in sea (nlb)

150 best tiny space ideas (nlb)

the singapore grip (nlb)

world order - kissinger (libby)

湯神くんは友達がいない (own)

jane eyre (own)

有时，我们远行 (own)

69sixty nine (own)

watching?

妖怪合租屋-歸來怪

spyxfamily

manga

jujutsu kaisen (jump app)

spy x family (jump app)

not actively following:

sousou no frieren (mgg)

who made me a princess (mgg)

the flower that was bloomed by a cloud

gorae byul

... 

want to watch (eventually):

ストレンジャー〜上海の芥川龍之介〜（A Stranger in Shanghai, movie)

misaeng (kdrama)

mother (kdrama)

dear my friends (kdrama)

この恋はあたためますか (jdrama)

might watch:

呪術廻戦 (anime)

violet evergarden (anime) - not finished yet

ghibli movies

random anime movies? 

some of my favourite...

dramas:

선덕여왕

Liar Game

来世ではちゃんとします

イタズラなKiss〜Love in TOKYO

have enjoyed:

the fiery priest 열혈사제

books:

钱穆 《中国历代政治得失》

audiobook:

Kafka by the Shore by Random House Audio, narrated by Sean Barrett and Oliver Le Sueur

[shinsoups]

sua in uihyeon's pov: you're like the little mermaid

sua in haesoo's pov: if the snow maiden exist, she would look like you

me creating 5 accounts to read each daily fast pass 5x in a day:

[eleutheramina]

The Whale Star Thoughts

Read the English translations / tried my best to understand the Korean of the manhwa The Whale Star / The Gyeongseong Mermaid (up to the most recently released chapter) and wanted to process it - spoilers under the cut. 

First off, since only about the first 39 chapters or so are translated into English, my understanding of the events after that is much spottier, but I think I was able to follow the main character dynamics and plot points. I also didn’t know much about the Japanese occupation of Korea beforehand (and still don’t know a ton now beyond what’s touched on in the manhwa).

Regardless, I can say even without knowing Korean that the art is gorgeous with great colors, lighting, and details; the characters are fleshed out well and the women play prominent roles; and the motifs of the Little Mermaid, the ocean, being a fish are used beautifully and compellingly. For example, I loved how the water which Yoonhwa is that allows Soo-a to breathe is described to be living in is “poison” in ch 14 - I think referring to the patriarchy that resulted in Yoonhwa’s treatment and also how even someone from a high status, Japanese-pleasing family like her is still susceptible to the toxic impact of Japanese occupation. 

Though to be honest, the main reason I’m writing is the process the character Haesoo, whom I didn’t think too much of initially but eventually became the most interesting character to me. He clearly has lived an extremely sad life and feels the effects of the trauma inflicted throughout the fight for Korean independence keenly. He’s a great foil to Eui-hyeon - arguably more morally gray, more viscerally/personally traumatized by violence - which I think results in the “fear” that Haesoo admits to feeling before their mission that Eui-hyeon does not. While Eui-hyeon teaches Soo-a how to read and write, Haesoo teaches her how to use a weapon. Soo-a seems to trust Eui-hyeon implicitly while having a very justified aversion to Haesoo, and she’s driven throughout the story by both her feelings for the former and her desire to get revenge against the latter.

And I can’t not mention how the Haesoo and Soo-a relationship is rich and complicated. While not entirely surprising, I did not expect Haesoo to develop feelings for Soo-a in the way he clearly does. Even though I started the story mostly invested in the development between Soo-a and Eui-hyeon, and it’s clearly the more mutual, healthier relationship and isn’t short of thematic richness, I ended up wishing for more interactions between Haesoo and Soo-a (even though I knew it was never going to be a thing and probably shouldn’t in the narrative). 

Haesoo, of course, poisoned Soo-a, leaving her voiceless and traumatized. Soo-a understandably feels very on edge around him and tries to attack him when she sees him again for the first time. Haesoo also didn’t leave the experience without any scars, clearly feeling haunted himself for poisoning her even if he knows he would make the same decision again. 

I like how a recurring theme in their relationship is Haesoo being ready to die and Soo-a forcing/urging him to live - stopping Haesoo from taking the poison, carrying his wounded body to the monk’s place, yelling at him when he says he wants to rest. “Why do people throw their lives away so easily?” Soo-a asks, and I think it’s a well-established part of her character that she values life - she expresses great sorrow over the dead whale and urges the doctor to help Eui-hyeon.

It’s significant and shows Haesoo’s growth that his last words to Soo-a are asking her to live.

Now, it is indeed hard to see them as a healthy, feasible couple without a lot of development in fanfiction land (and also without Eui-hyeon out of the picture in some way), but I think it could be fun to write about their dynamic, which is certainly less wholesome and sweet than Eui-hyeon and Soo-a’s is, but I think still with care and respect (for the most part aha). 

I also find myself dwelling a lot on the monologue Haesoo has leading up to his death - especially the thought that Haesoo has about wondering about how he would have made the same choice if he had met Soo-a again in the same circumstance, and ultimately rejecting the idea of him owing his life to her like Eui-hyeon did in favor of the time in the mountain in the winter they shared together. (I think represented in the different fairy tales evoked for them - Little Mermaid vs Snow Maiden). 

“If I could go back to the mountain where I spent the winter with you, that’d be good.”

Part of me is just a sucker for any time a character wistfully says something like “I wish we could just go back to X time/location,” but I think it is also heartwarming that toward the end of his life, for someone who suffered so much tragedy and hardship and brushed with death on multiple occasions, he still ultimately really treasured his relationship with Soo-a and the brief period of time they were together.

I also find his final scene -- “waking up from a dream” in Yeonhaejoo with his brother Haeyoung and surrogate little sister Nokjoo beautifully tragic and fitting. I found it strange that we don’t see much of Haesoo mourning or generally thinking about Nokjoo after her death (unless there is more in the latter half of the series that I missed because of not understanding the Korean), especially compared to Soo-a who has known her for much less time. Of course, it’s clear he’s upset when she dies and he thinks of her when he breaks down in tears in front of Soo-a, but I wonder if part of his lack of thinking about it overtly can be explained by how much he acts toward her like he’s not secretly part of a dangerous Korean independence organization and tries to preserve her innocence as much as possible; i.e., he still mostly associates her with Yeonhaejoo. 

In the end, his last line is about his dream being in Joseon, which obviously refers to the physical location where he spent his life after leaving Yeonhaejoo, but also I think could refer to Soo-a, who is often representative of Joseon as a whole. 

[villainess-noble-girl]

My fiancee fell in love with my younger sister

Gorae byul: The Gyeonseong Mermaid

This Witch Of Mine

My boo/Transparent Cohabitation

Photo: Not mine, saw it on FB

[mangathime]

[rotblut]

Gorae Byul - The Gyeongseong Mermaid by Na Yoonhee

[sewagedumpland]

randomly thought abt whale star and said 'hm lemme draw sua being happy' idk

[sehirlambalari]

[hora-vespertina]

[NEW RELEASE] Gorae Byul - The Gyeongseong Mermaid (Prologue + Ch 1)

TITLE: Gorae Byul - The Gyeongseong Mermaid AUTHOR: Na Yoonhee SUMMARY: "If the life that you had regained, was one that I had breathed back into you… Is it too much to hope for you to love me back with that life?" The year is 1926, in Japan-occupied Joseon. 17-year-old Soo-a is an illiterate handmaiden working for the household of a prominent Japanese collaborator. One day, she discovered an injured young man lying unconscious at the beach, an independence activist called Eui-hyeon. The sweet and innocent Soo-a nursed him back to health, and Eui-hyeon told her the tale of the "Little Mermaid", a princess of the sea who saved a prince from his death. Having fallen in love with Eui-hyeon, Soo-a was determined to meet him once again. But she knew not then, of the fate that awaited the "Little Mermaid" on her quest to reunite with her beloved. LINK: Mangadex

[mana-san]

Manhwa Recommendations (mostly Isekai/historical/Romance)

In no Particular order (the ** ones are personal faves)

1. The Monster Duchess and contract Princess

2. Charlotte’s Letter

3. It looks like I’ve fallen into the World of a Reverse Harem Game

4. The Twin Sibling’s New Life

5. A Capable Maid

6. Four Years Apart

7. God Bless You

8. This is an Obvious Fraudulent Marriage

9. The Careful Empress

10. Actually, I Was the Real One

11. One of a Kind

12. The Duke’s Servant

13. Cheese in the Trap**

14. The Young Lady I served became a Young Master

15. Ebony

16. A Witch’s Hopeless Wish

17. Please Throw me Away

18. A Beastly Scandal

19. The Reason Why Raeliana ended up at the Duke’s Mansion**

20. The Moon Witch and the Sun King

21. I don’t want to be Empress

22. A Falling Cohabitation

23. A Vampire’s First Love

24. Bunny and her Boys

25. Gorae Byul - The Gyeongseong Mermaid

26. Daybreaking Romance

27. The Tyrant’s First Love

28. Once More

29. Your Majesty, Please don’t kill me again

30. I’ll Save a Decent Family

31. The Flower of Francia

32. Beast with Flowers

33. Wendy the Florist

34. The Library Needs a Witch

35. Priscilla’s Marriage

36. The Villain’s Saviour

37. The Youngest Princess

38. The Duchess with an Empty Soul**

39. Inso’s Law**

40. I’m the Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier

41. The Lady’s Law of Survival

42. The Detective of Muiella**

43. My Fair Footman

44. The Evil Lady’s Hero

45. The Story of the Hated Mule

46. Truthfully, They Only Remembered Her

47. Crimson Karma

48. Am I the Daughter?

49. Shadow Queen

50. Wish to Say Farewell

51. The Lady and the Beast**

52. Limited Time Princess

53. Surviving as a Maid

54. Virtues of the Villainess**

55. Positively Yours

56. The Stereotypical Life of a Reincarnated Lady**

57. The Princess in the Dumpster

58. The Crown Princess Audition

59. Daisy: How to become the Duke’s Fiancee

60. Saving the Villain who was abandoned by the Female Lead

61. As long as you Like it

62. The Evil Lady will Change

63. IRIS - Lady with a Smartphone

64. Like a Wind on a Dry Branch

65. I Stole the Male Lead’s First Night**

66. Miss Not-So Sidekick**

67. Don’t Cry

68. When the Villainess Loves

69. I Raised Cinderella Preciously

70. Glass Wall

71. The Villain Discovered My Identity**

72. The Golden Haired Elementalist**

73. I’m the Male Lead’s Girl Friend

74. Charlotte has Five Disciples**

75. I’ve Become the Villainous Emperor of a Novel

76. Lady Baby**

77. Young Lady is a Royal Chef

78. Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess

79. I was Just an Ordinary Lady

80. I’ll Do that Marriage

81. I want to do it, even if it hurts

82. The Garden of Red Flowers

83. Reminiscence Adonis

84. Gwanghae’s Lover

85. My Sister Picked up the Male Lead

86. A good day to be a Dog**

87. Girl’s Cult

88. Woman’s Best Friend

89. The Villain Demands I Love Him

90. The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass**

91. Lady Beast

92. The Black Haired Princess**

93. Beware of the Brothers

94. The Girl is a little Wild

95. Lamia Orphe is Dead

96. Living as the Tyrant’s Older Sister

97. Seduce the Villain’s Father**

98. Diphylleia’s Plan to Coup

99. The Villainess Lives Twice

100. Who Made me a Princess**

101. Wrong Confession

102. The Evil Sorceress Plans to Survive

103. Lucia

104. I Became  a Maid in a TL Novel

105. Recording Hall

106. Wedding Impossible

107. Lady to Queen

108. Remarried Empress

109. Revenge Wedding

110. The King and his Knight

111. My Deepest Secret

112. The Maid and the Vampire

113. Beatrice

114. The Abandoned Empress

115. The Goal is to Become a Gold Spoon

116. Touch Touch You

117. She may not be Cute

118. The Bride of the Water God

119. Ingrid, the White Deer

120. Princess Bibliophile

121. Goodbye, In-Law

122. I Only Love Hana

123. Blinded by the Setting Sun

124. Please Take Care of Me In This Life

125. Bloody Sweet

126. Chitra

127. Golden Time

128. Ellin’s Solhwa

129. She is Not an Angel

130. Elskar

131. I Just Want to be a Useless Duke’s Daughter

132. I got a Date with the President

133. I Became the Villain’s Mother

134. Evil Knight

135. Angel’s Use

136. Princess Strategy

137. The Justice of a Villainous Woman

138. Why are you doing this, Duke?

139. The Tyrant Husband has Changed

140. The Duchess 50 Tea Recepies

141. Queen with a scalpel

142. Onsaemiro

143. Daughter of the Emperor

144. The Man Who Cleans up Makeup

145. Yeon Lok Heun**

146. A villain is a good Match for a Tyrant

147. Amina of the Lamp

148. La Dolce Vita di Adelaide

149. Annarasumanara

150. Beware of the Red Thread

[shinsoups]

rkgk haesoo

[chadsuke]

On that note! Have I ever reccomended you Gorae Byul - The Gyeongseong Mermaid? If not, here it is! It's a F/M webtoon, but it's full of twists and full of history. The art is amazing. One of the main characters (the dude) is a revolutionary who secretly fights the Japanese ocupation during colonial times, an also. Communist MILFs. I think there's a love triangle hint, but the story makes up for that haha

anon i want to tell you you are my favorite person bc you have faithfully recommended this to me MULTIPLE times you are so passionate about this webtoon. this is like the third or fourth time and i love you sincerely for it and i will start reading it today