"Dreaming Freedom" is a psychological thriller manhwa and the genre is revenge, trauma, romance and healing. The story begins with Jeongmin Choi, she is a quiet and unsociable high school girl and has become the target of serious bullying by everyone, including one of her old best friend. Jeongmin is often seen to be lonely and losing her mind, her pain festering silently until she begins experiencing lucid dreams.
In her lucid dreams, she meets a mysterious and powerful guy named Siyun, who offers her the ability to take revenge on those who wronged her. Siyun's ability is that he can hurt people in their dreams, and the it will happen in real life without the victims realizing how it happened. Moreover, he can carry knives, stab them, and even murder them without leaving any evidence, as everything happens inside the lucid dream. As Jeongmin begins using Siyun’s powers, she finds temporary relief, but things start to take a darker turn because of Siyun has manipulative nature. The more she relies on him, the more she loses her moral boundaries. She becomes confused is this the freedom she wanted, or is she being led into another kind of prison? Soon, the reason behind her ex-bestfriend’s betrayal is revealed, and each character is shown to have their own secrets and motive. The manhwa gradually unfolds Siyun’s past, which is even darker than Jeongmin could have imagined. There is character development seen and many bittersweet moments. Jeongmin’s life becomes better than before, but she ultimately finds herself trapped in a new kind of prison. To be honest, "Dreaming Freedom" surprised me in the best way because it's my first straight manhwa, and most of the time I read BL manhwa. At first, it felt like a typical revenge story, but it quickly grew into something better and left me with heavy emotions. However, the pacing is slow, and will force you to sit with the discomfort. I can't really described it in words because of complexity. In some places, the storyline is very dark, and a few moments are unsettling, I could truly feel the characters real weight of trauma and even found myself crying at one point. To me Jeongmin is a phenomenal protagonist. She’s not the one of the strongest female lead, but a character which you can relate to and that’s exactly what makes her this powerful. She transforms from being a girl with low self-esteem into someone who is courageous. Sometimes her actions can make you pause. She does make mistakes, but she never fails to impress the audience with her character growth. On the other hand, there’s Siyun. He is the best thing that happened to Jeongmin, because I feel his presence made her life better. He is obsessive and manipulative, yet he knows his priorities. The chemistry between Siyun and Jeongmin is the best. People finds Siyun toxic but many people likes it and it's not suitable for everyone's liking. Because not everyone will romanticize it but I like this type of stories a lot till the partner is loyal and not cheating. The art style is awesome. I love Siyun's look and he’s my favorite. He sets the mood perfectly with his expressive face. Let me clear one thing that you won’t enjoy this manhwa if you’re looking for a light-hearted drama, but if you’re into dark stories, then you’re most welcome to read it. Of course, there’s romance too, and it will definitely give you butterflies. Trust me, it’s worth reading. It’s raw and painfully honest and that’s exactly what makes it one of the best. The supporting characters also add depth to the story. Some of them are disturbing and will make you hate them, but you also get to see them evolve which may not matter much, but still feels a bit satisfying. The manhwa ended with its final chapter, which is number 171. I don't know if I want to see more because I'm just exhausted from the complicated feelings this manhwa left me with. It was quite depressing, yet I truly enjoyed reading it. I was tired of the same old stories, but Dreaming Freedom offers all kinds of flavors you could ever ask for. Personally, this manhwa left a mark on me. You don’t just read it—you feel it. It made me realize how differently people process pain. All-inclusive, the manhwa has done an amazing job of portraying how trauma can dehumanize someone, while also giving a glimpse into how healing is difficult, but possible. Ratings: 10/10 Also I don't know if you guys have noticed I am using Jeongmin as my Hive profile picture. Let me know in the comment section if you have read this manhwa, if not would you like to try it? The thumbnail is created with canva.
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