Pig Bride is a Korean Sunjeong (romance) manhwa written and illustrated by Kook-Hwa Huh and Su-Jin Kim. It was published monthly in Yen Plus.
Rich pretty boy Si-Joon got lost in the woods when he was eight years old. He feared he never make it out alive and became extremely hungry. When a strange girl in a pig mask appeared before him, he followed her to an old-fashioned house where he was told that he must marry the pig-faced girl to atone for the sins of their ancestors. Si-Joon was not too keen on getting married, but famished as he was, he agreed to marry her in exchange for the wedding feast. Eight years later, Si-Joon has dismissed this encounter as a dream... that is, until his 16th birthday, when the girl in the pig mask shows up in his dorm and wants to consummate their marriage. Si-Joon returns home thinking he can get a away from this nightmare only to find that Mu-Yeon has been reluctantly welcomed into his home - as his wife.
Now Si-Joon struggles to cope with this new situation with the help of his savvy best friend, Ji-Oh, but when Doe-Doe (Si-Joon's school crush who may not be the perfect, well-mannered lady he imagines her to be) shows up at his front door, the pig may be out of the bag.
Pig Bride has examples of:
- Animal Motifs: Princess Ki-Ryong, the snake assassin, who is "filled with snake ki".
- Beautiful All Along: Mu-Yeon has appeared with half her mask off from the eyes-up and nose-down; combine both halves with her previous incarnation and she's an adorable girl.
- In volume 4 the mask comes off and she is indeed extremely beautiful. As if it was any big surprise...
- Big Eater: Mu-Hwa, who can be bribed with snacks and displays affection through food as well.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Doe-Doe is publicly a sweet Yamato Nadeshiko maiden who enjoys being demure and needlework. But it's almost entirely an act to snare the main lead, who has made no secret that that's the kind of girl he likes. When there are no boys around, Doe-Doe is a ruthless gangster-type who bullies the other girls so they won't move in on her territory. What makes her a touch more sympathetic is that she is stuck in a You Can't Fight Fate competition with the title character, rendering all her efforts fruitless from the start.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: When Doe-Doe takes off Mu-Yeon's mask, she tries on the mask and gets zapped for her trouble.
- Doe-Doe learns from this experience, and is careful to get the hell away when some other girls decide to sabotage Mu-Yeon at the beauty pageant.
- Childhood Marriage Promise: Si-Joon made one with Mu-Yeon in exchange for dinner when they were eight, but thought it was just a dream- until eight years later...
- Dangerous 16th Birthday: Not exactly dangerous, but things certainly get complicated from then on.
- Deadpan Snarker: Surprisingly, Mu-Yeon; Si-Joon blames himself since he introduced Mu-Yeon to the Internet.
- The Faceless: Mu-Yeon, due to the pig mask. It's implied that she isn't ugly but rather cute looking
- Gold Digger: How Doe-Doe is initially portrayed. Turns out her mother is the one who wants Doe-Doe married into a rich family, so she herself can have the money.
- Grand Theft Me: Doe-Doe is possessed by a ghost who tries to make her kill Si-Joon.
- Idiot Hero: Dear God Si-Joon is thick sometimes. Ji-Oh thinks of him as a pet.
- Instant Fan Club: Si-Joon is always followed around by girls, and later the Yaoi Fangirls get excited when they think he's in a relationship with Ji-Oh.
- Love at First Sight: Ji-Oh was given a particularly extensive Love at First Sight sequence the first time he saw Mu-Hwa. Whether anything will actually come of this remains to be seen.
- This is also the case when Mu-Yeon first saw Si-Joon. Keep in mind she was eight.
- Love Triangle: Initially Si-Joon is caught between Mu-Yeon and Doe-Doe. Later on after Doe-Doe has given up on Si-Joon after he chooses Mu-Yeon, she falls for Ji-Oh instead, who's attracted to Mu-Hwa. Girl never gets a break...
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Si-Joon remarks early on that he doesn't like modern women because they're "too strong and aggressive." So you think he'd be pleased with the ultimate in old-fashioned girls....
- No Social Skills: Mu-Yeon was raised to be the perfect (very, very traditional) Korean lady while her sister Mu-Hwa was raised to be the perfect bodyguard and warrior."Please don't stab the birds! That doesn't mean you can shoot them with a slingshot!"
- Power Incontinence: Doe-Doe temporarily gains the ability to magnetically attract objects... which can't be turned off.
- Reincarnation Romance: Si-Joon and Mu-Yeon are the reincarnations of a married couple from a Korean folk-tale.
- Secret Test of Character: Si-Joon has to endure three of these to win Mu-Yeon's hand.
- The Smart Guy: Ji-Oh's unfailing competence is just about all that keeps Si-Joon sane.
- Uncanny Valley Makeup: Mu-Yeon during the beauty pagent, courtesy of Si-Joon "helping" her out.
- Will They or Won't They?: Ji-Oh and Mu-Hwa seem set to become the Beta Couple, with Mu-Hwa's mother even attempting to arrange their marriage, but by the end they're still not together and Doe-Doe just makes things more complicated.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Mu-Yeon is a traditional Korean lady.
