Misaeng writer returns with new fantasy manhwa adaptation

by girlfriday

I’m sure it’s no surprise that drama writer Jung Yoon-jung (Misaeng, Monstar, Arang and the Magistrate) is a hot commodity these days; Jung has announced that her next project will be another manhwa adaptation, this time a fantasy historical drama. While that sounds like a huge departure from her last hit adaptation Misaeng, she’s also the writer who filled the quirky supernatural world of Arang and the Magistrate with colorful gods, reapers, ghosts, and humans, and created a full mythology that was engaging, suspenseful, and just plain fun.

The new project is an adaptation of the manhwa series Habaek’s Bride, better known in English as Bride of the Water God. (Habaek is the name of the god, and he’s technically a river god, but that’s the title you’ll find the translations of the comic books in.) The original manhwa by Yoon Mi-kyung was published in Wink magazine in 24 volumes over the last 8 years.

The story is about a young woman who comes from a poor family, and gets paid to take the place of the girl who’s supposed to be sacrificed to the water god from their village that year. But instead of taking her as a sacrifice, the water god falls in love with her and takes her as his bride. He’s been cursed by his first love to transform into a child by day and a man by night, and so even his bride doesn’t realize that both are the same man.

It’ll be a fantasy historical romance drama about the epic love between a god and a human, and will traverse the earthly and god realms much like Arang and the Magistrate did. I really loved how whimsical that drama was, and there have been very few supernatural shows that were so solidly written, so I’m excited to see that the writer is returning to that genre. Listen, I know it’s early to start casting, but Yoo Seung-ho is back from army duty now, and he made such a good god in Arang. Who better to play a man and a boy than a man-boy? You know you want to…

Bride of the Water God is in early development, with no broadcaster attached yet.

Via DongA

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