Pig Bride

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Pig Bride (정체불명 새색시) is a 2007-2008 Korean Sunjeong (romance) manhwa written and illustrated by Kook-Hwa Huh and Su-Jin Kim. It was published monthly in Yen Plus.

Rich pretty boy Si-Joon got lost in the woods when he was eight years old. He feared he never make it out alive and became extremely hungry. When a strange girl in a pig mask appears before him, he followed her to an old-fashioned house where he was told that he must marry the pig-faced girl to atone for the sins of their ancestors. Si-Joon's not too keen on getting married, but famished as he was, he agreed to marry her in exchange for the wedding feast! Eight years later, Si-Joon has dismissed this encounter as a dream... that is until his 16th birthday, when the girl in the pig mask shows up in his dorm and wants to consummate their marriage! Si-Joon returns home thinking he can get a away from this nightmare only to find that Mu-Yeon has been reluctantly welcomed into his home - as his wife!

Now Si-Joon struggles to cope with this new situation with the help of his savvy best friend, Ji-Oh, but when Doe-Doe (Si-Joon's school crush who may not be the perfect, well-mannered lady he imagines her to be) shows up at his front door, the pig may be out of the bag!

Tropes used in Pig Bride include:
  • Alpha Bitch: Doe-Doe
  • Animal Motifs: Princess Ki-Ryong, the snake assassin, who is "filled with snake ki".
  • Beautiful All Along: Mu-Yeon has appeared with half her mask off from the eyes-up and nose-down; combine both halves with her previous incarnation and she's an adorable girl.
    • In volume 4 the mask comes off and she is indeed extremely beautiful. As if it was any big surprise...
  • Big Eater: Mu-Hwa, who can be bribed with snacks and displays affection through food as well.
  • Bishounen: Si-Joon and Ji-Oh. It's commented on all the frickin' time.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Doe-Doe can be vicious.
  • Bolt of Divine Retribution: When Doe-Doe takes off Mu-Yeon's mask, she tries on the mask and gets zapped for her trouble.
    • Doe-Doe learns from this experience, and is careful to get the hell away when some other girls decide to sabotage Mu-Yeon at the beauty pageant.
  • Childhood Marriage Promise: Si-Joon made one with Mu-Yeon in exchange for dinner when they were eight, but thought it was just a dream- until eight years later...
  • Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday: Not exactly dangerous, but things certainly get complicated from then on.
  • Different As Night and Day: Mu-Hwa and Mu-Yeon
  • Deadpan Snarker: Surprisingly, Mu-Yeon; Si-Joon blames himself since he introduced Mu-Yeon to the Internet.
  • The Faceless: Mu-Yeon, due to the pig mask. It's implied that she isn't ugly but rather cute looking
  • Fortune Teller: Mu-Yeon has a talent for this.
  • Gold Digger: How Doe-Doe is initially portrayed. Turns out her mother is the one who wants Doe-Doe married into a rich family, so she herself can have the money.
  • Grand Theft Me: Doe-Doe is possessed by a ghost which tries to make her kill Si-Joon.
  • Idiot Hero: Dear God Si-Joon is thick sometimes. Ji-Oh thinks of him as a pet.
  • Instant Fanclub: Si-Joon is always followed around by girls, and later the BL fans get excited when they think he's in a relationship with Ji-Oh.
  • Love At First Sight: Ji-Oh was given a particularly extensive Love At First Sight sequence the first time he saw Mu-Hwa. Whether anything will actually come of this remains to be seen.
  • Love Triangle: Initially Si-Joon is caught between Mu-Yeon and Doe-Doe. Later on after Doe-Doe has given up on Si-Joon after he chooses Mu-Yeon, she falls for Ji-Oh instead, who's attracted to Mu-Hwa. Girl never gets a break...
  • The Matchmaker: Mu-Yeon and Mu-Hwa's mother.
  • No Guy Wants an Amazon: Si-Joon remarks early on that he doesn't like modern women because they're "too strong and aggressive." So you think he'd be pleased with the ultimate in old-fashioned girls....
  • No Social Skills: Mu-Yeon was raised to be the perfect (very, very traditional) Korean lady while her sister Mu-Hwa was raised to be the perfect bodyguard and warrior.

"Please don't stab the birds! That doesn't mean you can shoot them with a slingshot!"