One Thousand and One Nights (manhwa)


One Thousand and One Nights is a Korean manhwa written by Jeon JinSeok and illustrated by Han SeungHee. It is a different take on the events of the original One Thousand and One Nights story, where the main character dresses up like a woman to take his sister's place in the sultan's harem. There are eleven volumes, all of which have been published in English.

Synopsis

The story begins with the mad sultan Shahryar preparing to bed his latest wife by telling her he will have her beheaded at sunrise. Upon kissing her the Shahryar discovers that his "bride" is in reality a beautiful young man -- the "Scheherazade" of the original story is now "Sehera" -- who had pretended to be a girl in order to give his younger sister Dunya time to flee to China with a book seller. Thrown into prison, Sehera meets Jafar, Shahryar's former vizier and friend, who tells Sehera the history and fate of Fatima, Shahryar's adulterous wife who was originally his father's latest concubine; unknown to all, Sehera's plan was inspired by Shahryar having mistaken him for her while delirious from an almost successful assassination attempt. When Shahryar entered the cell with the intention of executing them, Sehera says he would happily die for Shahryar if his death gave him peace of mind but wants to tell him a story first, saying Shahryar is free to do as he wishes afterwards.

The Tales