Her Tale of Shim Chong

this manhwa broke so many boundaries that it won the award for best boy's love just because there wasn't a section for girl's love. this is a rare gem in a sea of fetishization, torture porn, and mindless fluff, i mean it has a surprisingly balanced AND coherent story with female characters w/ agency and all the good shit.

anyways, explaining any details about this series will be a spoiler. what i will tell u is that this is a ride or die experience, and if you can't handle it, then P E R I S H.

i have nothing more to say.

Two different women, same wish, a wish to die. One is a rich but sheltered girl. Life's necessities are always within her reach, but not the means to escape the household which suffocates and harasses her. She always needs to worry about how she appears to others or else she won't survive. The other one, due to some circumstances, leads a beggar life. Unlike the first woman, however, she doesn't need to worry about how others perceive her but she does need to worry about what food she will eat tomorrow. Due to an incident, their lives become intertwined. How will these two women affect each other's lives?

(this paragraph might contain light spoilers)
Her Tale of Shim Chong is a story about two women discovering fun things in life through their interactions. Fun things that they never knew exist. In a world that favors men, they fight and struggle to live another day. With each of their meetings, they formed an irreplaceable bond, a bond that could even be beyond friendship. Don't let the Shoujo Ai tag fool you though, as this story has some pretty sad topics. The unfair treatment of women under a patriarchal world, the sweet temptation of death in a life full of suffering, the frightening lack of difference between a sheltered life and a beggar life for women in a world that favors men are a few which are tackled here. Just to be clear though, this is not that depressing but it still is a pretty sad story.

Hopefully that sounded interesting. But really, I was just expecting a cute shoujo ai manhwa before reading this so it's a really pleasant surprise to find a manhwa with a story as great as this. I'm just going to say this just in case but if you're expecting a yuri manhwa with many NGGHHHH yuri moments, I suggest you read something else. While this indeed have some NGGHHHH yuri moments, it's
more focused on how these two main characters change each other's lives with each of their meetings.

I'm not going to say this manhwa is for everyone. But if you're a bit open to stories that are a bit sad and a bit yuri like this one, then I highly suggest you read it. Even if you're not a yuri fan, I believe giving this one a try is very worth it since I personally believe this is a hidden gem. There aren't too many yuri scenes (though there are definitely a few MHHMMMM yuri scenes), and if you're looking for a great story, then I believe this manhwa is for you.

TL;DR
Great read. Highly recommended. This isn't filled with yuri scenes so non-yuri fans could still enjoy this, though yuri fans would definitely enjoy this more. The story is also very meaningful and you could pick up one or two lessons from it. Great story and great characters. A somewhat tragic tale, but not too depressing. If you're into all that, give this one a go.

I gotta say peeps from reading this a few days ago, I felt it was a very interesting gay manhwa that's actually based around a Korean folktale!

Y'know it's very hard to find a decent shoujo ai story. I gotta say, there is quite a lot of sexism from the asshole men in this manwha (except Shims dad), so my blood was boiling like hell bois!

This shoujo ai story is pretty disturbing to say the least, like it's about a poor teen girl and a teen bride who had been roped into marrying a emperor decades older than her.


WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

Then the two girls meet, the emperor gets sick and the girls face challenges with their forbidden love.

Unfortunately the English fan translation ceased for this unique Yuri manhwa so I'm pretty disappointed I didn't get to see the ending :(

However we gotta applaud to the talented people behind this manhwa who are Seri and Bi-wan! It was such a very good read that people should definitely check this manhwa out ^^

I'm not much of a manhwa reader, so I was a bit skeptical of this little title that I came to know as "Kanojo no Shin Sei" on the Comico app. Upon hearing that this was a yuri title, I started to read it completely blind (as I usually like to do), to the point that, for a moment, I thought this was a manhua.

Shim Cheong didn't actually grip me from the start; the setting, language and promise of yuri is what kept me reading. I wasn't expecting even for a second that the story would turn into a mix of mystery, suspense and fantasy on old Korea, and one of the best things I ever read.

Shim Cheong blends the innocence and simpleness of Asiatic sequential art with dark, serious themes delivered by a writing of the highest level coming from its writer, Seri. Heavy on details of the era it describes; Shim Cheong plays with music, literature, fairy tales and visual arts to tell its tale, and elevates itself to the same heights of the tales it sings about. Its deep cultural connection with its setting makes it obvious how connected with it its own writer is, making it not only a fun, but also intellectual read.

Biwan, on the other side, does her work as a manhwa artist in a capable, if not unimpressive manner for the most of the time. It is, though, on the brief of a few important scenes that her work shines in poetry, colors and stunning details, showing her stellar skill as a conscious artist working under the constrictions of time to make a much polished work. If the writing could do well on its own, Biwan shows with her depictions of the beautiful meeting the ominous that she's a fundamental part of the title, and it wouldn't be the same without her.

Despite their bibliography, the due proves to be extremely experienced and versed on the art of manhwa writing. Shim Cheong knows exactly its place and gives every single step with intention, thriving not only as a manhwa, but also as a proper story in every single one of its elements. No matter what you're looking for in it, be it a romance (lesbian or not), a mystery, a suspense, or an old Korea tale with hints of fantasy; this should be your pick.

My view is bound to be influenced by my nature as an homosexual woman.

With that out of the way, the story is made of elements expected in a love story. Including all the emotional baggage, speaking of real connections and struggles in life. And the way it is narrated doesn't make the reading tiring, keeping mostly short chapters while grasping attention.

The misticism and ficction are nicely entagled, not apparently being the main focus, but rather something used in favor of the narrative. It affects the story giving their problems something to circle around.

The art is satisfying and comfortable. Also coherent with the characters' personalities, which were well developed and showcased thoroughly.

My enjoyment seeing a tale of two girls, not oversexual, not making a huge deal out of their position as a couple, and exploring different objectives, was just unreal. Stories like this are hard to find, even doing your best at searching through whole catalogues.

The author approached the prejudice/impositions in a smart, subtle but also kind of poetic way. Would like to discuss it with a living soul. Should be more recognized. 10 out of 10 would cry again.

I don't usually give a score of 10, but it is a great manwha. If you are triggered by intense violence and women getting treated like shit, you should stay away from this story, though.
I read it in one night because I couldn't put it down. As a lesbian (and a woman for that matter), it was great to finally see a lesbian manwha that actually has a story that is very deep. It is very depressing though.

In a world were men are praised for everything and women are supposed to be pretty and good, and to listen to men's needs the story revolves about two (and some side characters aswell) women, who fight to get through this world in their own very different ways. The beggar that triies too survive by stealing and begging for food, ut who knows how to put up a fight when necessary, versus the bride of the very chancellor, who has to use her kindness ,and manipulate people around her.
One day the beggar rescues the chancellors wife from drowning (it seems like she wanted to kill herself), and ends up being treated nicely by her, and gets to often visit and get food from her. She then gets a job to help teach the wife how to treat her ill man, as a wife is supposed to do.

I will stop here, because I don't want to put any spoilers in here.

The only problem I have is that the fan translations I found are really bad.