Seri and Biwan. Official Art, Her Tale of Shim Chong, Wisdom House.
Her Tale of Shim Chong – Information
Author of Story: Story by Seri, Art by Biwan
Chapter Count: 81 episodes + side stories
Status: Completed
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below, only the literary work itself.
- Blood, violence
- Frequent depictions/themes of misogyny and sexism
- Many topics of SH, SI, death and dying
- Topics of SA
- Religious elements and trauma
- Partial / censored nudity
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
This incredible, dramatic manhwa follows two women who each struggle to survive in their own social class and in society as a whole.
It isn’t an easygoing GL filled with fluffy romance or glamour. Instead, Her Tale of Shim Chong is a feministic story that explores women’s oppression through a retelling of a Korean folktale.
While the manhwa series is inspired by a classic folktale, it doesn’t follow the original work strictly, and instead reimagines the story into a new dramatic girl’s love tale!
It also doesn’t necessarily adhere to any specific time period or country either, and instead takes a fictional setting in a country fittingly called Yuri Kingdom.
So, without further ado, let’s talk about this amazing manhwa!
Her Tale of Shim Chong – Plot Summary
Her Tale of Shim Chong starts out introducing Chong, a beggar who struggles to support herself and her blind father. She goes out each day to obtain whatever food and money she can from the townspeople—occasionally having no choice but to steal what they need.
One night while wishing the world would end her suffering, she happens upon someone else with the same wish: a noblewoman; more specifically, the new bride of the kingdom’s chancellor. Thanks to Chong saving the noblewoman’s life, their paths intersect again very soon.
Much to Chong’s surprise, this noblewoman continuously invites her to the chancellor’s estate. Chong wonders what a beautiful woman with such high status would want with someone like her, but continues to visit anyway in order to gain food for herself and her father.
However, regardless of their very apparent differences in upbringing, they form a unique bond that allows them to overcome a variety of struggles over the course of this incredible story.
Why You Should Read Her Tale of Shim Chong
Plot:
To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from this manhwa. It was a title I had written down at some point and happened to jump into without any previous research.
I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging premise, suspenseful plot, and feministic meaning put into this GL romance.
I will admit that Her Tale of Shim Chong isn’t for the faint of heart, as it often shows the horrendous treatment and lifelong struggles of women, which were incredibly relevant and relatable regardless of the setting (which seems inspired by long-past Korean dynasties).
Seri and Biwan. Korean Volume 1 Cover Art, Her Tale of Shim Chong, Wisdom House.
That sort of seems the point, though—showing that the struggles of the women throughout this manhwa are still being felt even in today’s modern world.
Due to this, the journey of reading this series is incredibly frustrating and disturbing, as it often is a bit too good at portraying the terrible treatment women receive.
I felt extremely angry at practically every male character in the entire series—the creators really didn’t create even a single redeemable man, haha.
I assure you though, the way this manhwa follows the main characters’ relationship and growth really makes it all worth the read (with a pretty satisfactory epilogue to boot).
Although Her Tale of Shim Chong does not depict a fluttery, whirlwind romance, it is a really fantastic read, showcasing two women of very different backgrounds discovering that they may actually have so much more in common than they first thought.
While much of the story has a very bleak and downcast vibe, you’ll still feel the need to keep reading and to continue to root for these two characters, so that you can eventually see them escape the chains that their oppressive society has put on them.
And the occasional sweet moments that we get to see between Chong and the noblewoman help to provide some hope amidst the sorrows. (´｡• ω •｡`)♡
Their relationship and romantic developments felt very natural and realistic for the setting; not always being perfect or easy, but still meaningful as these two become each other’s only form of happiness.
Characters:
Her Tale of Shim Chong creates a classic contrast between the two main characters. They are polar opposites in almost every aspect—mannerisms, societal status, and even how they deal with the situations they have been forced into.
Chong grew up poor on the streets, forced to survive completely off of other people’s donations. She is tough, often fighting with others due to her need to steal, and unafraid to speak her mind. Because she is poor, she often appears disheveled, unbathed, and in drab clothes.
The noblewoman (Lady Jang) is the opposite. She’s a fair beauty with an elegant demeanor and sheltered upbringing, whose only form of “fighting” is to gain approval from others.
Even from the very beginning, she is quickly isolated in her new home; regardless of the fact that she has no choice but to be wed to a man twice her age.
She contrasts with Chong in how she is arguably in a better position in life—having access to food, a bed, a bath, and clean clothes—yet still cannot truly be happy with her position.
Their contrasting designs and personalities doesn’t stop them from forming a beautiful bond, and this aspect feels incredibly significant for the story. While typically you’d expect these two to clash, they instead find companionship; and more importantly, the commonality of a more significant enemy.
This comes across in other points of the story as well, particularly with certain side characters. Women who seem like antagonists in this manhwa are not simply reduced to being villains, and are instead given a realistic nuance involving their own struggle for survival.
The male characters did not receive this sort of nuance, which usually would be a negative for me—however, I think this was purposeful in order to shape one main antagonist of the series.
This story wants you to feel the doom and oppression constantly put on women, which in reality can truly make you feel as though you are surrounded by nothing but villains.
Art:
Her Tale of Shim Chong has an effective art style that matches the story well and makes it easy to follow the plot. I wouldn’t say the style necessarily stands out amongst other manhwas, but it never felt lacking in any way.
The characters, expressions, clothing designs, and environments are all consistent and well integrated into the overall feel of the story.
I don’t mean to sound unimpressed—I just think that the overall vibe of this manhwa may not really allow for a glamourous art style, and that’s totally okay. I may also just simply be more of a manga fan, preferring the thinner black-and-white linework over webcomics in full color.
Seri and Biwan. Korean Volume 2 Cover Art, Her Tale of Shim Chong, Wisdom House.
However, there are parts of this manhwa where I particularly enjoyed the art style, such as the scenes involving Korean folklore stories or when Lady Jang recites poetry. I also really like the character designs, and the manhwa volume covers are absolutely stunning.
Any Cons?
For a story that involves romance, Her Tale of Shim Chong is rather depressing and emotional—and not really in an encouraging kind of way.
Instead it plays a role of getting you upset about the mistreatment of women, especially with how the plot strongly parallels the struggles women experience today.
I’ll say again that this overall bleak tone is purposeful—even to the very end of the story, misogyny is not necessarily wiped off the face of the earth. The important thing is that the two girls find their own sort of peace together regardless, and no longer allow oppression run their lives.
And don’t get me wrong, it is a very impactful and well-written manhwa that I thoroughly enjoyed; however, if you are looking for a fluffy, cute, sweet GL romance to kick your feet to, this isn’t it.
If you’re okay with a story that will instead light a flame from within you while serving a small amount of GL romance, definitely give this a read.
More In-Depth Review (Warning: Spoilers!)
Her Tale of Shim Chong is such a well written story. Throughout the plot, these two ladies overcome many trials and slowly discover what they desire out of life.
The plot starts very bleak, with both Chong and Lady Jang looking to end it all for the sake of relief.
The story then immediately pivots to telling you why: Chong lives only to help her father survive, and Lady Jang is being used by practically all the men around her.
The story even pushes this notion early on with the flower ceremony for the Lady Jang. The ceremony alludes to flowers being similar to brides, which Chong is very confused by. She states that when a flower withers, you throw it away.
This can allude to many different things, but I feel that in the case of this story’s plot, it is specifically referring to how Chong and Lady Jang are both used by the men around them, and later in the story are discarded once no longer needed.
The saddest aspect of this theme is that the two girls come from very different upbringings, yet experience many of the same struggles.
Chong grew up poor and unfamiliar with how to “properly” act in society, and was therefore shunned for her appearance and demeanor. Yet nobody seems to offer her any way of learning otherwise, as they truly do not see her as a human. She’s even used by a monk to make himself appear more holy, all while he belittles her methods of survival.
Then, when she does begin to use other methods to beg (dressing and washing properly, acting like an “good daughter”) as Jang taught her, the monk again shuns her and accuses her of being frivolous. The townspeople even victim blame her when she is sexually harassed by thugs.
No matter what she does, nothing is enough. Chong realizes this quickly, and that these are the restraints Lady Jang has been under her entire life—pleasing people simply to get by.
Unfortunately, Lady Jang has a much harder time realizing this, as she was literally raised to think that her only value was in what others thought of her. Simply doing what others wanted her to do was always the answer to avoiding punishment.
Therefore, she continues trying to earn the favor of those around her; caring for a husband she was forced to marry each and every day, even as people accuse her of being a fox who brought misfortune to their town.
Her own in-laws try to antagonize her and sabotage her, and her brother uses her for his own gain.
She has to continuously fight just to be accepted, even while doing nothing wrong. She even plots to use Chong as a replacement for sacrifice in her desperation to resolve the rumors about her family.
However, Chong made a place for herself in Lady Jang’s heart, showing her what it is really like to live, be yourself, say whatever you want, and do what you want without restraint.
Chong may not have had proper shelter, food, or clothing, but she did have the freedom to speak her mind and being herself, rather than conforming to what their society desired.
But in the end, she still gives up on her relationship with Lady Jang—who was still trying to cling to the cage she lived in—and decides to sacrifice herself once again for the sake of her father. Luckily, Lady Jang finally realizes that this isn’t the life she wants, and literally burns the place down while running to rescue Chong.
While this story could have ended tragically as a doomed yuri, I didn’t expect it to take that path after it previously described the misfortune between Chong’s mother and the previous wife of the chancellor.
This story instead takes a fantastical route of ending things happily thanks to the dragon goddess, who everyone assumed to be a man, too.
I really liked how things conclude for Her Tale of Shim Chong. While the fantasy elements were a little bit unexpected, I like that the two girls find their freedom on their own terms.
With the epilogue, we see that Chong has freed herself from her father (who does perfectly fine without her) and Lady Jang became her own person; each of them free to live for themselves however they want.
Final Thoughts
Her Tale of Shim Chong is a fantastic manhwa for anyone who feels passionately about women’s rights or enjoys an engaging, suspenseful story that’s a bit more on the serious side.
The GL elements were exciting, lovely, and a ray of hope amongst the other more dark scenes; a much needed balance for a dramatic tale like this. I hope you will enjoy this impactful manhwa as much as I did!
Also, collectors of GL can look forward to a English print copy of this series coming in 2027 by Random House Worlds imprint, Inklore!
Disclaimer: Many images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Seri and Biwan. Her Tale of Shim Chong, Wisdom House, 2018. Webtoon, 2025.
