''Sungkyunkwan Scandal'' () is a South Korean

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and s ...

starring

Park Yoo-chun Park Yoo-chun (born June 4, 1986), formerly known as Micky Yoochun and better known by the mononym Yoochun, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is a former member of the South Korean boy bands JYJ and TVXQ. He has starred in dram ...

Park Min-young Park Min-young (; born March 4, 1986) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal '' (2010) and has since starred in television series '' City Hunter'' (2011), '' Glory Jane'' (2011) ...

Song Joong-ki Song Joong-ki (; born September 19, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal'' (2010) and the variety show '' Running Man'' (2010–2011) as one of the original cast members. S ...

, and

Yoo Ah-in Yoo may refer to: * Yoo (Korean surname), also spelled Ryu or Yu, a Korean family name * YOO, the IATA code for Oshawa Airport See also * You, a pronoun {{Disambig ...

. Directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Kim Tae-hee, it is based on Jung Eun-gwol's bestselling 2007 novel '' The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars''. It aired on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

from August 30 to November 2, 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

Synopsis

Set during an era when society does not allow females to be educated nor employed, Kim Yoon-hee (

) disguises herself as her brother, Kim Yoon-shik, in order to make ends meet for her family. She goes through a series of odd jobs, mainly at a local bookstore, before she gets offered a chance to increase her earnings by becoming a substitute test-taker (an illegal act) for the upcoming entrance examination in the prestigious

Sungkyunkwan Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...

, the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

's highest educational institute. She gets caught by the upright Lee Sun-joon (

), who later acknowledges Yoon-hee's talents, and even encourages her to enroll in the university. There, she must bear with the endless mischief of upperclassman Gu Yong-ha (

), put up with the constant mood swings of roommate Moon Jae-shin (

Yoo Ah-in Yoo may refer to: * Yoo (Korean surname), also spelled Ryu or Yu, a Korean family name * YOO, the IATA code for Oshawa Airport See also * You, a pronoun {{Disambig ...

), avoid getting in trouble with the strict student body president Ha In-soo (

Jun Tae-soo Jun Tae-soo (; March 2, 1984 – January 21, 2018) was a South Korean actor. He was best known for his role on the popular 2010 television series ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal''. Biography Jun Tae-soo was born on March 2, 1984 in Boryeong, South Chun ...

), and keep her secret from being discovered, all the while trying to hold her growing feelings for Lee Sun-joon at bay. Together, Kim, Lee, Gu, and Moon form the "Jalgeum Quartet".

Cast

Main

as Yi Seon-jun, nicknamed "Ga-rang" *

as Kim Yun-hee (when girl)/Kim Yoon-shik (when boy), nicknamed "Dae-mul" **Bang Jun-seo as young Kim Yunhee *

as Gu Yong-ha, nicknamed "Yeo-rim" *

Yoo Ah-in Yoo may refer to: * Yoo (Korean surname), also spelled Ryu or Yu, a Korean family name * YOO, the IATA code for Oshawa Airport See also * You, a pronoun {{Disambig ...

as Mun Jae-sin, nicknamed "Geol-o"

Supporting

as Ha In-su *

Seo Hyo-rim Seo Hyo-rim (; born January 6, 1985) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Television series Film Variety show Music video Awards and nominations References External links * * * * * Living people 1985 births South Korean te ...

as Ha Hyo-eun *

Kim Min-seo Kim Min-seo ( ko, 김민서, ; born March 16, 1984) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as Kim Se-ha in the short-lived K-pop three-member girl group Mint, which was active from 1999–2000. When Mint disbanded, she turned to acting. Kim is ...

as Jo-seon *

Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's ''B ...

as Jeong Yak-yong *

Jo Sung-ha Jo Sung-ha (; born August 8, 1966) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' The Yellow Sea'' (2010), '' Helpless'' (2012), and ''Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in Eas ...

King Jeongjo of Joseon Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (Korean: 이산; Hanja: 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (Korean: 정조대왕; Hanja: 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. ...

Kim Kap-soo Kim Kap-soo (born April 7, 1957) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1977, Kim has had a long career on the stage, in television dramas and film. In addition to acting full-time, he also has his own master class acting studio. F ...

as Yi Jeong-mu, second state councillor and Seon-jun's father *

Lee Jae-yong Lee Jae-yong (; born 23 June 1968), known professionally in the West as Jay Y. Lee, is a South Korean business magnate and the chairman of Samsung Electronics. He is the only son of Hong Ra-hee and Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung until his de ...

as Ha U-gyu,

minister of military affairs A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

and In-su's father

Extended

*Kang Sung-pil as Im Byung-choon *Ji Nam-hyuk as Seol Go-bong *Chae Byung-chan as Kang-moo *Kim Ik-tae as

Chae Je-gong Chae Jegong (12 May 1720 – 22 February 1799) was a noted scholar, writer, politician of the Joseon period of Korea. He passed the regional civil examination (향시) at the age of 15, and held high government offices throughout his life, the Y ...

chief state councillor Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

*Choi Dong-joon as Moon Geun-soo, minister of '' Saheonbu'' and Jae-shin's Father *

Kim Kwang-kyu Kim Kwang-kyu (born January 7, 1941) is a South Korean poet and translator."김광규 " biographical PDF available at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# Life Kim was born in Seoul and studied German language and literature at Seoul National ...

as Hwang-ga *Kim Ha-kyoon as Choi Shin-mook *Park Geun-soo as Yoo Chang-ik *Kim Young-bae as Go Jang-bok *Kim Jung-kyoon as Ahn Do-hyun *Jang Se-hyun as Kim Woo-tak *Hwang Chan-woo as Bae Hae-won *Im Young-pil as Ham Choon-ho *Joo Ah-sung as Nam Myung-shik *

Kim Mi-kyung Kim Mi-kyung (born October 14, 1963) is a South Korean actress. She is most active as a supporting actress A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and above that of a bit part. ...

as Ms. Jo, Yoon-hee's mother *Ha Min-jae as Kim Yoon Shik, Yoon-hee' younger brother * Ryu Dam as Soon-dol *Sung Hyun-joo as Beo-deul *Im Yoon-jung as Aeng-aeng *Jung Hye-mi as Seom-seom *Park Dong-bin as Woo-kyu's steward *Jo Yi-sam as ''

Soron Soron Shookarakshetra is a town in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History Kasganj district was formed on 17 April 2008 by splitting Kasganj, Patiali and Sahawar Tehsils from Etah district. Sant Tulsidas was born in the district and Amir Khu ...

Yusaeng'' *Bae Jae-ho as ''

Yusaeng'' *Eom Bo-yong as Cheon-dong *Kim Dan-yool as Bok-dong *

Lee Tae-ri Lee Tae-ri () (born Lee Min-ho; June 28, 1993) is a South Korean actor. He is well-known for his role as young Yang Myung in ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (2012), Song Man-bo in ''Rooftop Prince'' (2012), Jung Joo-hwan in '' The Beauty Inside'' (20 ...

as Bok-soo, Bok-dong's elder brother *Oh Na-mi as Mi-hyun, Hyo-eun's friend *Ahn Nam-hee as Jung-hyun, Hyo-eun's friend *Nam Myung-ryul as Kim Seung-heon, Yoon-hee's Father

Cameos

* Lee In as Park Dal-jae (episode 1) *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

as Shaman (episode 8) *

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he spen ...

as Yoon Hyung-gu (episode 9, 17~18) *Ki Im-beom as Song Yong-tae (episode 9~10) *Lee Dal-hyung as Yong-ha's father (episode 17~18)

Notes

Reception

The series attracted a fervent fanbase that belied its modest mid-teen ratings. Its cult popularity was manifested in the very high online activity on the message boards of its official website and in popular portal

DC Inside DC Inside ( ko, 디시인사이드), frequently noted under the initialism DC, is a South Korean internet forum. Initially established as a community dedicated to digital cameras and photography, it has met broad notoriety in Korea due to its u ...

, the number of episode viewings on the KBS website, as well as units of DVDs and OST albums sold. The original soundtrack, which featured

's band JYJ, sold 110,000 copies in a couple of weeks. The old campus of

Sungkyunkwan University Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU or simply ''Seongdae'', Hangul: 성균관대학교; Hanja: 成均館大學校) is a private comprehensive research university in South Korea. The institution traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan, found ...

(SKKU) was the setting for the fusion historical drama, which also starred alumnus Song Joong-ki, resulting in increased interest in SKKU from international audiences who watched the drama.

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Theatrical versions

The series was edited into a theatrical version which screened in Japanese cinemas from May 6–19, 2011 as part of the "Dokimeki☆Ikemen Festival." For the drama's first anniversary, Korean cable channel QTV (a joint venture between

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

and

JoongAng Ilbo ''The JoongAng'', formally known as ''JoongAng Ilbo'', is a South Korean daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and a newspaper of record for South Korea. The paper also p ...

's affiliate, IS Plus) re-edited the series into a two-hour TV movie which aired on September 10, 2011.

References

External links

* * * * {{IMDb title, 2745682 Korean Broadcasting System television dramas South Korean historical television series Television series set in the Joseon dynasty 2010 South Korean television series debuts 2010 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Television series by C-JeS Entertainment Television shows based on South Korean novels Television series by RaemongRaein