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Goong #23-24
Goong: The Royal Palace, Vol. 16
Struggling with reconciliation, Shin and Chae-Kyung are suddenly stuck in awkwardly close quarters when the king orders that the pair stay put until he can defuse the situation with Yul. But when the king, preempting Yul's plan, confronts the public with the truth about his brother's final wishes and allows them to decide who should be crown prince, Chae-Kyung seeks to defy the king's command and return home to intercede with Yul. But instead of running home, she runs right into a trap...set for Shin!
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 6, 2021
I absolutely loved this book. It was an amazing sequel. This book was the perfect mix and balance of tension, angst, and happy moments. The Queen Mother and Queen were amazing in this book. I loved seeing Chae Kyung and Shin being close again. I hope to continue on with this series sometime soon.
November 26, 2014
In Summary
The emotional roller coaster that is Volume 16 brings Chae-Kyung and Shin closer than they’ve ever been. Yul, on the other hand, is as manipulative as his mother at times but so miserable you can’t help pitying him. He looks as if he’s blown his chances for winning Chae-Kyung’s heart, and things could possibly head toward a happy ending for Chae-Kyung and Shin. However, creator Park’s left a significant loose thread, namely the driver implicated in Chae-Kyung’s auto accident, that should fuel the drama for several more chapters.
The Review
Volume 16 is packed with drama, both intimate and public. Bombshells explode so quickly on each other’s heels that these chapters could have come off as ridiculously over-the-top. However, previous volumes have laid the groundwork such that the story sweeps you along rather than drowns you in melodrama.
To start, the opening chapter concludes the romantic moment begun at the close of Volume 15. Given the never-ending obstacles in the Crown Prince and Princess’ relationship, I assumed something would dispel or interrupt the mood. I was wrong. As such, Volume 16 should be a memorable one for Shin/Chae-Kyung fans. There’s a lot of skin, but the tone is more poignant than hot and heavy. Of course creator Park can never let things get too sappy, and bawdy humor returns the next morning with Eunuch Kong and Lady Han barging in to serve breakfast in bed.
Then the drama returns with a surprise announcement from the king. Yul’s been plotting all this time to wrest the throne by painting his uncle as a usurper, but the king outwits him, foiling the prince’s plot. In doing so, the king inadvertently ruins another plotter’s plans, and the trap Yul’s mother laid for Shin gets sprung by Chae-Kyung instead.
It’s not a K-drama without someone getting rushed to the hospital. While everyone (with the possible exception of Yul’s mother) is deeply affected, the two princes are the most distraught. However, Chae-Kyung’s hospitalization provides another opportunity for Shin and Chae-Kyung’s romance to deepen. Meanwhile, Yul gets hit by mind blowing guilt when he learns why Chae-Kyung left her cottage and again when he learns his mother’s part in the accident. As usual, creator Park has to lighten the heavy mood with some laughs, and her rendition of Chae-Kyung’s post-accident face is pretty funny although I could have done without Eunuch Kong’s “Lady Mama” wedding dress.
Included as extras in this volume are Words from the Creator from the Korean Volumes 23 and 24, a four-page manga about creator Park’s trip to France, and another four-page manga about Park and Yul.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
The emotional roller coaster that is Volume 16 brings Chae-Kyung and Shin closer than they’ve ever been. Yul, on the other hand, is as manipulative as his mother at times but so miserable you can’t help pitying him. He looks as if he’s blown his chances for winning Chae-Kyung’s heart, and things could possibly head toward a happy ending for Chae-Kyung and Shin. However, creator Park’s left a significant loose thread, namely the driver implicated in Chae-Kyung’s auto accident, that should fuel the drama for several more chapters.
The Review
Volume 16 is packed with drama, both intimate and public. Bombshells explode so quickly on each other’s heels that these chapters could have come off as ridiculously over-the-top. However, previous volumes have laid the groundwork such that the story sweeps you along rather than drowns you in melodrama.
To start, the opening chapter concludes the romantic moment begun at the close of Volume 15. Given the never-ending obstacles in the Crown Prince and Princess’ relationship, I assumed something would dispel or interrupt the mood. I was wrong. As such, Volume 16 should be a memorable one for Shin/Chae-Kyung fans. There’s a lot of skin, but the tone is more poignant than hot and heavy. Of course creator Park can never let things get too sappy, and bawdy humor returns the next morning with Eunuch Kong and Lady Han barging in to serve breakfast in bed.
Then the drama returns with a surprise announcement from the king. Yul’s been plotting all this time to wrest the throne by painting his uncle as a usurper, but the king outwits him, foiling the prince’s plot. In doing so, the king inadvertently ruins another plotter’s plans, and the trap Yul’s mother laid for Shin gets sprung by Chae-Kyung instead.
It’s not a K-drama without someone getting rushed to the hospital. While everyone (with the possible exception of Yul’s mother) is deeply affected, the two princes are the most distraught. However, Chae-Kyung’s hospitalization provides another opportunity for Shin and Chae-Kyung’s romance to deepen. Meanwhile, Yul gets hit by mind blowing guilt when he learns why Chae-Kyung left her cottage and again when he learns his mother’s part in the accident. As usual, creator Park has to lighten the heavy mood with some laughs, and her rendition of Chae-Kyung’s post-accident face is pretty funny although I could have done without Eunuch Kong’s “Lady Mama” wedding dress.
Included as extras in this volume are Words from the Creator from the Korean Volumes 23 and 24, a four-page manga about creator Park’s trip to France, and another four-page manga about Park and Yul.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2014
This volume was frustrating. As much as I love Chae-Kyung's fashion sense, I can't admire her common sense. I know that her ultimate objective is to help or protect Shin in any way that she can, but any involvement with Yul is going to inevitably backfire and hurt Shin instead of help him. This has happened time after time, and I can't understand why Chae-Kyung won't learn from past mistakes and experiences. Her character growth is frustrating because she isn't growing.
Shin, however, has become my favorite character in this series. He started off as a selfish arrogant prince, but he has learned humility and kindness. He's become more patient and puts others before himself. He still has a ways to go, but it's wonderful to see how far he's come and what a strong good person he's becoming in the story.
Yul is deliciously awful. I love to hate him, and it's nice to have a character like Yul once in a while where you simply cannot feel any sympathy for him, even when his entire world keeps crashing around him. Instead, when that happens, I cheer.
The art is lovely, especially Chae-Kyung and her wardrobe, the backgrounds and settings. Shin's character design has changed through the course of the series, and I can't help but be reminded of the David Bowie's character from Labyrinth from time to time. I do not think that I will ever appreciate Park So Hee's SD artwork, however. She has an amazing talent of making characters ugly when she so desires, and when done for comic effect, it actually doesn't make it funny to me. The humor was also kind of ill placed in this volume. Certainly not one of my favorite volumes, but with a couple more to go, it couldn't all be sunshine and roses just yet now could it?
Shin, however, has become my favorite character in this series. He started off as a selfish arrogant prince, but he has learned humility and kindness. He's become more patient and puts others before himself. He still has a ways to go, but it's wonderful to see how far he's come and what a strong good person he's becoming in the story.
Yul is deliciously awful. I love to hate him, and it's nice to have a character like Yul once in a while where you simply cannot feel any sympathy for him, even when his entire world keeps crashing around him. Instead, when that happens, I cheer.
The art is lovely, especially Chae-Kyung and her wardrobe, the backgrounds and settings. Shin's character design has changed through the course of the series, and I can't help but be reminded of the David Bowie's character from Labyrinth from time to time. I do not think that I will ever appreciate Park So Hee's SD artwork, however. She has an amazing talent of making characters ugly when she so desires, and when done for comic effect, it actually doesn't make it funny to me. The humor was also kind of ill placed in this volume. Certainly not one of my favorite volumes, but with a couple more to go, it couldn't all be sunshine and roses just yet now could it?
February 15, 2017
Nice to have some plot movement again!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews