Great points, totally agree.
True, times were different back then so people who find this awful don’t realized the fact that such time in the past were awful where the people in power could do whatever they want to the weak and lowborn people. Luckily we don’t live in such times
So Seungho does have this mindset and believe he can do whatever he wants without anyone interfering. He seem to have a obsession with Nakyum and more so when he express his love during sex(well only to Inhun but you get the picture). It feels like even though Seungho is infatuated with him currently, it could be he wants at least love from someone.
I can't agree more!
You have the points!
I agree with you so much but people have been bashing me everywhere. Especially the part where he is not a psychopath or a sociopath and actually wants love and affection. Inhun IS however a narcissist and a sociopath.
Great analysis! (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
I'm agree with every part, and thank you for writing this.
dude youre so fucking smart
I avoid to read the comment section these days for the exact reasons you mention. This section has become so toxic, with short, bashful comments without argumentation from readers, for the most new readers.
The long and insightful, well-thought comments/analysis/theories disapeared from this place. What's tiring is this repetitive "psychopath" or "crazy" portray they push to the character Seungho, but it's an easy and lazy way to describe him, without real consideration of the historic context or the rest. I used to call him psychopath in the beginning too, out of lazyness mostly due to his mysterious aura, but no more. Seungho's personality is more complexe than this.
What's more tiring is that endless comparison with KS that I find completely imbecile and crazy, this yes. Honestly, the POTN section was always divised but now aside some rare interesting post like this one, it became cancerous.
Hahahahah you're absolutely correct it is cancerous. The Seungho psycho/sociopath thing offends me the most because it speaks to such a degree of not being able to understand a person outside of yourself / the imperfections of people with consideration and thoughtfulness.
The writer does a magnificent job of portraying this clearly tortured person, and the readers are like "he is bad he murder" (⊙…⊙ ). We get his actions are not good but there is a person back there and life, pressure, and misfortune change people in ways they cannot fathom or manage.
I like reading your analysis always though! The OP did a stellar job as well.
I love the detail about how Seungho always thinks about the emotionally intimate aspect of his sex with Nakyum. That tells us a LOT.
The killing stalking comparisons are unintelligent because they misunderstand the difference between gratuitous violence and contextual violence.
Anyway cheers and stay gold lol!
Yeah, I'll try
We're agree here that Seungho's character and personality have more depth than off a psycho/sociopath, and anyhow I wouldn’t keep reading if the Lord was simply a psycho/sociopath. I have no interest in gratuitous violence and someone who inflicts pain out of pleasure.
Though I understand why so many call him like that, because his eyes are drawn like this -red and impressive- and if his actions are shown, these latters are never explained. We only discover little by little -and thanks to the long analysis by fans- why he did what he did.
It'll be nice to see a chapter or two that show his past, not because to "redeem" him, but because I want to understand better the personnage.
At this moment, he's the one who hurts the most NK, but he's also the one who cares the most about the painter. For few reasons he did many mistakes and hurt Nakyum, but I think they still can find a path to love; the situation is dramatic but not tragic, it's not too late.
And did you see these drawings Byeonduck made showing them as a couple on Twitter? I don't think the Author would've shown us these if their relationship has no hope.
Haha that picture she posted is my phone background right now I love it SOOO MUCH. And I agree, it's not about redemption, but I do want to see Seung Ho respond to Nakyum and change himself. I think she hinted that good things might start happening. I understand this manga is dark, but that sex scene (though for the wrong person) was also so pure...
Also, I agree there is not a lot of explanation about Seungho and he has some wild expressions, but equally there is good foreshadowing or subtext of him being likeable (weird way to put it, but I think he's not pitch black).
Anyway, can't wait to see the next korean release!
I know it's impossible for many readers but I think to fully enjoy this story we need to make a mental effort to transport into that time period and see all the characters are men of their time.
It's a mistake to apply modern morality standard to them, because they do what men of their time and age were supposed to do.
This is valid for almost everything we denounce as wrong today but were widely accept as the norm in the past ( think about how men treated women, about slavery, about public hangings, etc, etc).
Seungho is a rich Lord, a master. Li Hiun is not as powerful but it has an intermediary status in between Seungho and NaKyum.
I'm not saying that people couldn't still be reasonable split between honorable or evil but overall, the world was much more cruel and status hierarchy ingrained.
Seungho is not a good person but I disagree to qualify him as psychopath or 'Sangwoo'. He is a Lord, used to get everything and everyone. Killing a low born clearly is not a matter of law at that time, even more raping.
To say that Seungho is a psychopath is just flat the character in my opinion. Do we see him raping or forcing sex before NaKyum? No. So, if we analyze his sexual kinks, he doesn't seem to be exactly the type that enjoys inflicting pain or raping just for the sake of it. Does he kills anyone who upsets him? Yes but just like the rape with NaKyum, this seems to be more like a sense of entitlement that the psychopath need to torture or pain.
What I am saying is that, maybe it's impossible to stop using modern standard to judge Seungho ( and InHun and Nakyum) characters but if we make the effort, we may see a more interesting story. Seungho is visibly jealous of the teacher and he has for a while desired Nakyum ( remember he saying that he would never embrace a low born). He also clearly despises the teacher so his anger is even worse because NaKyum idolizes the other man.
I think Seungho started feeling lust as the promiscuous guy that he is and he also may have only intended to fluster Nakyum with his advances but things changed when Nakyum took him for the teacher and the sex happened.
Notice that out of all things sexual Seungho could have recollected, it wasn't the hot or forced things he remembered, it was the tender moment of confession from Nakyum when he said he was happy in his arms ( when Nakyum thought it was Inhun). This is what he envies the most about the teacher right now, the affection and desire Nakyum feels for the other guy. He, of course, doesn't compute this to be romantic love nor even jealousy but all he knows right now is to have by force. He is irritated because he just doesn't know rejection and when it happens, it was from someone he would never expect to care about it.