Korean Title: 오늘도 사랑스럽개 (Lovely Again Today)
Genre: Romance, Supernatural
Story & Art By: 이혜 (Lee Hye)
Official English Translation: WEBTOON
Original Manhwa: Naver WEBTOON, Naver Series
Images via Naver WEBTOON, YES24
Han Hana (Haena), for the most part, has led a fairly normal life. She has an ordinary family with loving parents and one older sister. Her school days weren’t bad with satisfactory grades and a lively circle of friends. Hana even has a pretty good job as a high school literature teacher.
However, there’s just one thing that has been disrupting her simple, happy life for years—a curse that turns her family’s descendants into dogs every midnight after they first kiss someone. Because of this, Hana has always been cautious and established a ‘no kissing’ rule while dating which has unfortunately led to the downfall for each of her past relationships. After being dumped once again, she tries to drink her frustrations away during a night out with her colleagues and ends up finding the courage to kiss her crush Lee Bogum in her drunken state. But instead of boldly kissing Bogum as she intended to, Hana mistakenly kisses Jin Seon (Seowon), the cold and disdainful man who hates her. This, of course, triggers her family curse, and Hana is stuck as a dog every night until she’s able to reverse it by kissing that same person again while in her dog form. To make matters worse, Seon is absolutely terrified of dogs. No matter how adorable they may look, he’s quick to jump up and run away just at the mere sight of one.
This conflict as well as Hana’s romantic development with Seon serve as the plot line for A Good Day to be a Dog.
With this opposing setup, it’s a bit difficult to imagine how a positive relationship would even begin to form between the two. But author Lee Hye not only manages to develop a cute and wholesome romance between Hana and Seon, but also uses an unconventional supernatural setting to give the manhwa another layer of depth which helps distinguish itself from many other stories in the same genre.
Note: The following review contains spoilers.
As the main characters, Hana and Seon really shine as individuals and as a pair.
Hana is very hard-working with her responsibilities as a schoolteacher and genuinely cares about her pupils, even coming out to the police station in the middle of the night to defend her student Choi Yul (who later turns out to be Seon’s ‘nephew’).
That said, Hana does have her own shortcomings as we can see with her perception of Seon at the beginning of the story. She initially thinks that Seon is rude and despises her without reason, using his dread of dogs as additional evidence for his bad personality. But as she spends more time with him while trying to break the curse, Hana realizes that her view on him was completely wrong. And more importantly, she actually reflects on her misjudgment. This and other traits shown throughout the manhwa make Hana feel relatable and like an actual person.
Seon's character is a bit more ambiguous at first. There are times where he’s brave and heroic, not hesitating to break up fights or take action for a bullied student. But when he’s confronted with his fear of dogs, Seon shows more timid and, ironically, puppy-like sides of himself as the traumatic bullying he experienced from having this fear comes to his mind again. And because of his emotionally scarring past, his self-confidence is nearly at rock bottom. He couldn’t even fathom the thought of Hana possibly liking him as they become closer, believing to have an unrequited love for most of the story’s first half.
These two have a natural chemistry with one another and watching them slowly fall in love is an incredibly heartwarming journey.
Though ultimately, what makes the romance so enjoyable is how these two break prejudices. On the surface, Hana’s and Seon’s insecurities can be considered ‘weird’ by society. Seon revealing his dog phobia resulted in him being shamed and ridiculed. His family situation is also very complicated which doesn’t do him any favors in maintaining a good family reputation. And Hana can literally transform into a dog, a characteristic that once left her older sister in tears after being called a disgusting monster by her ex. Moreover, her descendants will all be afflicted with the same curse.
Unfortunately, these unusual situations are enough for many to be turned off by them and both teachers are hesitant to tell their weaknesses to one another. Yet, Hana and Seon accept each other and their worries wholeheartedly. It can be difficult to find someone who truly likes you for you, and Hana’s and Seon’s bond only gets stronger after their secrets are divulged.
You didn’t avoid me or think I was weird even after all the embarrassing things that I did, right? I’m the same way. Neither of us is weird. This is just the way we are.
While the delightful romance alone is enough to attract readers, the fantasy elements interweaved through the plot make the story feel more refreshing and somewhat mystifying. As one would expect from Lee Hye who’s known for their strong plot twists, a wrench is thrown in Hana’s and Seon’s relationship as fellow teacher Bogum unveils his true identity—a resentful mountain spirit and the instigator of Hana’s family curse.
Originally appearing to be sweet and kindhearted as Seon’s friend and Hana’s initial crush, Bogum’s character gradually unravels as he watches over the two. And when he’s sure that both are completely in love, Bogum forces Hana to make a cruel decision: get rid of the curse for the entire family or break up with Seon and have him forget all the memories about their relationship. This leads to a whole new series of events, and we also get the backstory that shows the circumstances leading up to the curse being placed on Hana’s ancestor including the village boy’s (Hana) and Maksoon’s (Seon’s previous incarnation) unspoken feelings as well as the mountain spirit’s (Bogum) own tragic romance with Choyoung (Maksoon’s friend).
Bogum is probably the most intriguing character in the story, even more than the main couple, because of how mysterious Lee Hye writes him. Even after he shows his real form to Hana, Bogum still has more cards up his sleeve which aren’t explained until near the end of the manhwa.
But aside from Bogum’s involvement in Hana’s and Seon’s relationship, their romance and the overall manhwa is fairly lighthearted. There are a few loose ends such as Seon’s complex family history and the background of Ji-ah, a transfer student with the ability to see others’ past lives. Further explaining these could give the plot even more depth but at the end of the day, A Good Day to be a Dog is about Hana and Seon. And their story wraps up nicely and ends on a lovely note.
Because I’m not with him to make myself happy. I want to make him happy. And he probably feels the same way about me. Always hoping for each other’s happiness.
Considering how well-written the two’s relationship is, it's hard to believe that this is actually Lee Hye's first romance manhwa. Its satisfying blend of romance, comedy, and fantasy aspects make it difficult to disappoint, and its popularity on WEBTOON and other platforms (game adaptation, TV drama adaptation, etc.) is a fair indicator of how charming it is.
Lee Hye is a fantastic storyteller, and A Good Day to be a Dog is a great read for those looking for a fun and heart-fluttering romance.