Legend of Chun Hyang

Legend of Chun Hyang (新・春香伝) 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.

Tokyopop licensed the manga in English as The Legend of Chun Hyang but the project was dropped after a few chapters.

Derivative of Chunhyangga
The real story of the pansori Chunhyangga, and the kodae sosol Chunhyangjeon, which the manga Legend of Chun Hyang is based on, is different from the comic. Chun-hyang in Chunhyangga is commonly known as a daughter between Wol-mae and Seong champan (Seong being a surname and champan being a title of government position in Joseon Dynasty Korea). Wol-mae is a retired kisaeng and, therefore, Chun-hyang is considered as a low class being (this becomes an issue when Mong-ryong, a yangban (the highest class) (and son of Lee Han-rim, satto of Namwon), tells his parents he promised to marry Chun-hyang and his parents get angered by the fact he wishes to marry a woman of lower rank).

After Mong-ryong's departure due to his father's promotion, Byeon Satto (Byeon being a surname and satto being a title of government position, equivalent to "mayor") comes to the town. Byeon becomes unpopular figure largely due to his greediness and corruption. Byeon also orders to bring Chun-hyang out to make him happy. As Chun-hyang still misses Mong-ryong, she refuses his order and get jailed.

Meanwhile, Mong-ryong passes as first place in the government exam and becomes an amhaeng'eosa (a secret detective strictly approved by the King of Korea), and comes back to Chun-hyang's house. After Wol-mae tells him Chun-hyang is jailed for not listening to Byeon satto and his order, Mong-ryong punishes and abdicates Byeon for being corrupted.

After punishing Byeon, Mong-ryong reunites with Chun-hyang happily after.

There were number of films and TV dramas based on Chunhyangga such as, Chunhyang and Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang.

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 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'yan (春香)
 * 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 Myonfa (明華)
 * She is Chun Hyang's mother and respected and renown Mudang (shaman) in the town Chun Hyang lives in.


 * Mong Ryong Muron (夢龍)
 * A handsome traveler who flirts with women, including Chun Hyang, much to her displeasure.


 * The Ryanban of Ryonfi Ryanban (両班)
 * A government official of a particular town. The Ryanban of Chun Hyang's town, Ryonfi, is corrupt.


 * The Ryanban's son Ryanban no Musuko (両班の息子)
 * The Ryanban's son, an incompetent and lecherous man.


 * Hyang Dan Hyantan (香丹)
 * Hyantan is a girl that Chun Hyang saved from Ryanban's son in the first story.


 * Eun Ryoung and Chun Ryoung
 * Two beautiful sisters who are Mudang, known as "the sisters smiled upon by God". Since they were children, they have been able to hear the voices of the gods.  Yago requests their help to perform a rain dance to bring back the rains to Sue-Ro.  The younger sister's name, Chun Ryoung, is written with the same character as Chun Hyang, who feels an immediate bond with her as a result.


 * Yago
 * An elderly and respected Mudang, who calls upon Eun Ryoung and Chun Ryoung for help to bring rain back to the town of Sue-Ro. Though powerful, her age prevents her from effectively fighting back against An Chon.


 * The Ryanban of Sue-Ro
 * A beautiful but vain woman who became Ryanban of the town of Sue-Ro. She keeps the water all for herself in order to surround herself with the beautiful water flowers of Sue-Ro, which have valuable medicinal properties, which she will not let anyone else have.


 * An Chon
 * The Mudang of the Ryanban of Sue-Ro. He erects an altar and performed a dance to anger the gods and prevent any rainfall in Sue-Ro.  An Chon remains at the side of the Ryanban of Sue-Ro because he desires status and power.

Crossovers
Chun Hyang or also known as Chun'yan, appears in several episodes on the anime of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Her counterpart is a young 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.

Other media
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.

Kōjin (行人)''' Lyrics by: Nanase Ohkawa Arrangement and composition: Kazuhiko Tōyama Song by: Eiko Yamane