is a manga by Clamp. Its story and characters are loosely based on a well known Korean folktale of the same name.
Shin Shunkaden was first published in 1996 by Hakusensha in Japan.
The project was dropped after three chapters, but Tokyopop licensed the manga in English as The Legend of Chun Hyang and released it in 2004.
Plot
The story follows Chun Hyang (춘향), the spirited, beautiful, yet headstrong daughter of a mudang in a Korean village. Her name means "spring fragrance" (the shun-ka in the original Japanese title; Chinese: Chūn-Xiāng). A master of martial arts, Chun Hyang rises to the occasion when the Yangban, a tyrannical warlord, takes control of her village. He tried to kidnap one of her friends despite Chun Hyang's bold nature and formidable abilities, but there is little hope of freeing her village unless the amhaeng'eosa, a secret Korean government agent, arrives and catches the Ryanban in the act of abusing his powers.
When Mong Ryong, a somewhat lecherous but enchantingly handsome traveler appears, and apparently has fallen heads over heels with Chun Hyang, she reluctantly accepts his help to rescue her mother, who has been captured by the Ryanban.
Unfortunately, they are too late; Chun Hyang's mother has already killed herself to preserve her honor. Mong Ryong reveals himself the amhaeng'eosa and passes judgment on the Ryanban, though remains rueful that he could not do so before Wall Mae's death. Devastated, Chun Hyang does not know what else to do with her life, but Mong Ryong asks her to continue traveling with him. She agrees and they continue on, meeting many more people.
Characters
- Chun Hyang
:Chun Hyang is a free-spirited, beautiful yet headstrong daughter of Myonfa. She is 14 years old and she is extremely good in martial arts. She is very protective of her mother and her father has died when she was young.
- Wol Mae
:She is Chun Hyang's mother and respected and renown Mudang (shaman) in the town Chun Hyang lives in.
- Mong Ryong
:A handsome traveler who flirts with women, including Chun Hyang, much to her displeasure.
Development
Clamp—a creative team consisting of Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona—wrote and illustrated the Legend of Chun Hyang, after receiving a request for a mystery series that did not necessarily have to be a detective story. Ohkawa had been familiar with the original Korean folktale since kindergarten. Hakusensha compiled the chapters into a bound volume and published it on December 15, 1996.
In 2003, Tokyopop announced that it had licensed Legend of Chun Hyang for an English-language translation in North America, and published it on August 10, 2004. In late May 2011, Tokyopop's North American publishing branch ceased operations, with all of its Japanese manga licenses returned. The manga has also been translated into French by Glėnat.
Audio drama
There was a drama CD released in 1994. The script for the drama CD was written by CLAMP.
- Release date: November 30, 1994
The cast are:
- Chun Hyang - Yuri Shiratori
- Myonfa - Yūko Nagashima
- Mong Ryong - Ryōtarō Okiayu
- Hyantan - Masako Ikeda
- Ryanban - Mugihito
- Ryanban's son - Nobuo Tobita
There was also a CD single released in Japan and the song was also included in the CLAMPAZAR Limited Edition Soundtrack.
<br />
Lyrics by: Nanase Ohkawa<br />
Arrangement and composition: Kazuhiko Tōyama<br />
Song by: Eiko Yamane
Reception and legacy
It placed 58th on the list of the top 100 bestselling graphic novels for July 2004, with 1,629 copies sold.
Liann Cooper of Anime News Network reviewed Legend of Chun Hyang positively, writing that its humor and art was characteristic of Clamp. In his review for Kliatt, George Galuschak praised the manga as "high quality", with well-done artwork and "simple and moving" plots which centered around "honor and sacrifice".
Crossovers
Chun Hyang or Chun'yan appears in several episodes of the anime Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Her counterpart is a girl whose mother was also a Mu Dang and killed by the Ryanban's sorceress. The Ryanban and his son appear, though they are much different from their respective counterparts in The Legend of Chun Hyang.
Chun'yan appears as a primary character in the country of Koryo and then makes cameo appearances as a contestant in the Dragonfly Race in Piffle World, piloting the Renhi (Lotus Princess) racer. In the anime adaption, she makes an additional cameo as a student in a world where everyone is a chibi character.