Potrait of joy manhwa

by Serg · Published November 29, 2021 · Updated November 30, 2021

Pages: 12 Next »

Well i made a review of my joy on my ko-fi.com/bernatexe and my WordPress (bit.ly/2pSZgA5) and my Pa

The story is about a girl named “Joy” in a Korean all girl’s high school who suddenly has two girls after her. Namsu, the popular high school track star, and Hyeyeon, her childhood friend who has returned from studying abroad. The story goes through Joy’s relationship with both and the struggles of balancing love and friendship.

What I enjoyed was the different perspectives of each character. Initially, I was on Joy’s side. Then Namsu, and then Hyeyeon. It was hard to pick between Hyeyeon and Namsu. Who do you choose? A childhood friend who has loved you ever since, or Namsu who has loved you since high school, and both equally deep love. It was a hard choice.

As I read further though, I did want Namsu to win. After all, Joy had chosen her. I thought the rest of the story was going to see how Namsu and Joy overcome conflict together. Show how much their love progresses. And how friendship blossoms between all three with Hyeyeon gracefully letting Joy go to Namsu.

And worst of all, when joy visits the hospital with Namsu, she just continues a relationship with Hyoyeon, see’s a picture of Namsu for her exhibit, cries, Hyeyeon comforts her.

For the end, The pictures along with the title of the exhibition which was “My Joy” were the stimulus for Joy crying and I think that’s good, It reminds us that she did care about Namsu and maybe love could have blossomed but she ruined it. Then Hye-yeon comes along and sees her crying. I think even if she isn’t loved back she’d stay with Joy, she won’t leave her like Namsu did, and Joy needs that support and reassurance. Although it has an ambiguous ending, I feel like the story was told alright and it was very understandable. From being a human point of view: “we all make mistakes”, “what would you have done?”. As for what happens after the end of the story, I can only speculate that they stay together at the very least past college. Namsu may come back, or not. Besides from our own unanswered questions the plot of the story was closed off pretty well.

I also want to add my opinion on the title…. As for the title “My Joy”, I feel like the story is meant to portray what ‘joy’ is to people mainly Joy, Namsu and Hye-yeon. Joy(Ironic naming) tells us that taking pictures of happy moments [of the three of them] is her ‘Joy’ hence naming the exhibition “My Joy”. I think one of the main points of her crying is because she knows she can no longer have this ‘joy’ because there are no longer three of them. I also feel that it’s because she knows that the happy moments between the three of them won’t last long so she wants to immortalize them in pictures, as she says she can “relive them”. I’ve not got much to say for Namsu, I feel her ‘joy’ was split between running for the Nationals and Joy and in the end it crumbled. For Hye-yeon, her ‘Joy’ was to have Joy for herself. She loves Joy and being with her makes her happy, although as I said before she questions if she should be with Joy like this, but in the end still stays with her.

SO here’s my thought: Hye-yeon discovered her feelings for Joy when she was living abroad. Her emotions when she heard Joy’s voice were so strong that she bursted crying. I thought that this is what you could link to the ending. Joy was never sure of who she liked more, so she just split between the two.. But in the ending she saw Namsu’s picture and it brought this stronger feelings to the surface. And she discovered she loved Namsu. Also thats why she asked if Hye-Yeon would still be by her side (if she chose Namsu), because she doesnt want to lose their friendship.

Many readers will make the first, that poor Joy has been hurt, but has Hyeyeon to heal her. That’s a reading of the story as with a broken moral compass. That reading is wrong.

Think on Hye-Gyung’s final words: “I… pity you too…” Hye-Gyung pities Joy (and probably Hyeyeon) because Hye-Gyung sees the truth more fully. She is not simply a misfit; she is an outsider with a the more object perspective of an outsider.

Both Namasu and Hyeyeon love Joy, but Namasu is the better person. Hyeyeon is not simply presented as wicked; she is a nuanced character. But she is at times calculatingly cruel towards a girl who deserves no cruelty, and tolerant of her only towards the end of defeating her, whereas Namasu works to be good, trusts Joy with Hyeyeon, and tries to be Hyeyeon’s friend because Namasu thinks this best for Joy.