Sungkyunkwan Scandal (Korean성균관 스캔들) is a South Korean historical drama starring Park Yoo-chun, Park Min-young, Song Joong-ki, and Yoo Ah-in.[1][2][3] Directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Kim Tae-hee,[4][5] it is based on Jung Eun-gwol's bestselling 2007 novel The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars [ko].[6][7][8] It aired on KBS2 from August 30 to November 2, 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Promotional poster
GenreHistorical
Coming-of-age
Romantic-comedy
Based onThe Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars [ko]
by Jung Eun-gwol
Written byKim Tae-hee
Directed byKim Won-seok
Hwang In-hyuk
StarringPark Yoo-chun
Park Min-young
Song Joong-ki
Yoo Ah-in
Theme music composerEom Gi-yeob
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producersKwak Ki-won
Kim Dong-rae
Baek Chang-joo
ProducerYoo Gun-shik
CinematographyKim Seung-ho
Min Myung-woo
EditorsLee Hyun-mi
Lee Young-rim
Production companiesRaemongraein
C-JeS Entertainment
Original release
NetworkKBS2
Release30 August (2010-08-30) –
2 November 2010 (2010-11-02)
Korean name
Hangul
성균관 스캔들
Hanja
스캔들
Revised RomanizationSeonggyungwan Seukaendeul
McCune–ReischauerSŏnggyun'gwan Sŭk'aendŭl

Synopsis

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Set during an era when society does not permit females to be either educated or employed, Kim Yoon-hee (Park Min-young) 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 for Sungkyunkwan, Joseon's highest educational institute. She gets caught by the upright Lee Sun-joon (Park Yoo-chun), 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 (Song Joong-ki), put up with the constant mood swings of her rebel roommate Moon Jae-shin (Yoo Ah-in), avoid getting in trouble with the strict student body president Ha In-soo (Jun Tae-soo), 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".[9]

The background to the drama is the reign of King Jeongjo and his struggles in dealing with the factional politics of his time, struggles in which he enlists the quartet. The final episodes deal with the Geumdeung document [ko].[10] And Sungkyunkwan, that place of Confucian learning, is the place where students and teachers learn from each other, causing radical changes in their thinking, and so sacred a place is it, that even royal guards may not enter.

Cast

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Main

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Supporting

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Extended

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  • 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, chief state councillor
  • Choi Dong-joon as Moon Geun-soo, minister of Saheonbu and Jae-shin's Father
  • Kim Kwang-kyu 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 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 Yusaeng
  • Bae Jae-ho as Soron Yusaeng
  • Eom Bo-yong as Cheon-dong
  • Kim Dan-yool as Bok-dong
  • Lee Tae-ri[a] 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

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  • Lee In as Park Dal-jae (episode 1)
  • Lee Won-jong as Shaman (episode 8)
  • Park Chul-min 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

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  1. ^ Credited as Lee Min-ho.

Reception

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The series attracted a fervent fanbase that belied its modest mid-teen ratings.[21][22][23][24] 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, the number of episode viewings on the KBS website, as well as units of DVDs and OST albums sold.[25][26] The original soundtrack, which featured Park Yoo-chun's band JYJ, sold 110,000 copies in a couple of weeks.[27] The old campus of Sungkyunkwan University (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

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Episode # Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS Ratings[28] AGB Nielsen[29]
Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area
1 30 August 2010 7.7% 8.6% 6.3% 8.7%
2 31 August 2010 7.2% 8.2% 6.3% 9.0%
3 6 September 2010 8.0% 8.1% 7.3% 9.3%
4 7 September 2010 7.6% 8.0% 7.5% 8.8%
5 13 September 2010 7.8% 8.1% 8.0% 9.5%
6 14 September 2010 8.0% 7.8% 8.4% 8.4%
7 20 September 2010 9.7% 9.0% 8.7% 9.0%
8 21 September 2010 8.2% 8.2% 7.9% 9.5%
9 27 September 2010 9.8% 9.2% 9.2% 9.6%
10 28 September 2010 10.1% 9.3% 10.2% 10.6%
11 4 October 2010 9.2% 8.8% 10.4% 10.5%
12 5 October 2010 9.9% 9.7% 10.7% 11.1%
13 11 October 2010 11.2% 11.1% 12.8% 13.1%
14 12 October 2010 10.3% 10.1% 10.9% 10.9%
15 18 October 2010 13.0% 13.0% 13.1% 14.0%
16 19 October 2010 13.7% 13.7% 14.3% 15.1%
17 25 October 2010 12.9% 13.1% 13.0% 13.9%
18 26 October 2010 12.0% 11.9% 12.6% 13.4%
19 1 November 2010 12.5% 12.2% 11.8% 12.6%
20 2 November 2010 13.3% 13.2% 12.8% 13.4%
Average 10.1% - 10.1% -

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2010 Top Excellence Award, Actor Kim Kap-soo Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Song Joong-ki Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama Park Min-young Won
Best New Actor Park Yoochun Won
Yoo Ah-in Nominated
Netizens' Award, Actor Park Yoochun Won
Song Joong-ki Nominated
Yoo Ah-in Nominated
Netizens' Award, Actress Park Min-young Won
Popularity Award, Actor Song Joong-ki Won
Best Couple Award Park Yoochun and Park Min-young Won
Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki Won
2011 Best Drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal Nominated
Best Actress (TV) Park Min-young Nominated
Best New Director (TV) Kim Won-seok Won
Best New Actor (TV) Park Yoochun Won
Most Popular Actor (TV) Won
Outstanding Korean Drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal Won
Outstanding Korean Actor Park Yoochun Won
Outstanding Korean Actress Park Min-young Nominated
Outstanding Korean Drama OST "Found You" - JYJ Nominated
People's Choice Award Park Yoochun Won
Best Drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal Nominated
Best Director Kim Won-seok Won
Best Actress Park Min-young Nominated
Best New Actor Park Yoochun Nominated
Song Joong-ki Nominated
Best New Actress Kim Min-seo Nominated
38th Korea Broadcasting Awards
Best Mid-length Drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal Won
2012
55th New York Festivals International
Television & Film Awards[35][36][37]
Bronze World Medal for Best Miniseries Won

Theatrical versions

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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."[38]

For the drama's first anniversary, Korean cable channel QTV (a joint venture between Turner Broadcasting System and JoongAng Ilbo's affiliate, IS Plus) re-edited the series into a two-hour TV movie which aired on September 10, 2011.[39]

References

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  1. ^ Lee, Ji-hye; Kim, Lynn (16 July 2010). "KBS TV series Sungkyunkwan Scandal press conf - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. ^ Lee, Ji-hye; Hong, Lucia (16 July 2010). "KBS TV series Sungkyunkwan Scandal press conf - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ^ Lee, Ji-hye; Kim, Jessica (18 August 2010). "Song Joong-ki says will suggest Micky bed scene if ratings fall". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok; Choi, Ji-eun (5 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: KBS drama SungKyunKwan Scandal writer Kim Tae-hee - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  5. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok; Choi, Ji-eun (5 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: KBS drama SungKyunKwan Scandal writer Kim Tae-hee - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ^ "The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars". Han Books. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  7. ^ Lee, Ji-hye; Kim, Jessica (18 August 2010). "3 keypoints of attraction for TV series Sungkyunkwan Scandal". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. ^ Park, Min-young (27 December 2010). "Shortcut to bestseller: Put it on popular drama". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  9. ^ Lee, Ga-on; Lee, Seung-han (31 December 2010). "2010 10Asia's Awards: "Thank You" List". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  10. ^ Hyekyung Noh (October 2015). "[DBR] 정조의 '금등문서' 공개, 유언비어와 갈등만 남긴 사도세자 죽음의 비밀 King Jeongjo's 'Geumdeung Document' revealed, the secret of Crown Prince Sado's death that left only rumors and conflicts". 동아비즈니스리뷰. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  11. ^ Han, Sang-hee (22 August 2010). "Micky's challenge: from idol to actor". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  12. ^ Wee, Geun-wu (1 December 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actress Park Min-young - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  13. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (1 December 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actress Park Min-young - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  14. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (1 December 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actress Park Min-young - Part 3". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  15. ^ Lee, Seung-han (5 February 2011). "Park Min-young's Song Picks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  16. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (12 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Yoo A-in - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  17. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (12 November 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Yoo A-in - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  18. ^ Lee, Ji-hye (8 December 2010). "Actor Yoo A-in's Song Picks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  19. ^ Lee, Ji-hye (28 January 2011). "Actor Yoo A-in's Movie Picks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  20. ^ Wee, Geun-u (14 September 2010). "MY NAME IS: Jun Tae-su". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  21. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (31 December 2010). "2010 10Asia's Awards: Drama & Director of the Year". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  22. ^ Kim, Heidi (3 November 2010). "SBS Giant on top of TV charts for five straight weeks". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  23. ^ "Talented Young Hunks Draw Young Female Fans to TV Dramas". The Chosun Ilbo. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  24. ^ "Buzzwords of Year 2010 in Pop Culture". KBS Global. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  25. ^ '성스' 제작진 "우리도 연장하고 싶다". Yonhap (in Korean). 24 October 2010. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  26. ^ Hong, Lucia (25 April 2011). "Sungkyunkwan Scandal DVD enters Oricon chart in top 5". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  27. ^ "동방신기 3人 '성균관스캔들' OST 2주만에 11만장 판매 기염". Newsen (in Korean). 2010-09-29. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  28. ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  29. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  30. ^ Cho, Bum-ja (3 January 2010). "Jang Hyuk scores top prize at KBS Drama Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  31. ^ Hong, Lucia (27 May 2011). "Hyun Bin, Lee Byung-hun win top prizes at Paeksang" 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28
  32. ^ "Outstanding Korea Drama Prize Category". Seoul International Drama Awards - Archive. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  33. ^ Hong, Lucia (1 September 2011). "Chinese series Three Kingdoms wins grand prize at Seoul Drama Awards" 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28
  34. ^ "Winners of the 2011 Korea Drama Awards". Korea Tourism Organization. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  35. ^ "Korean Drama Wins U.S. TV Festival Award". The Chosun Ilbo. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  36. ^ Cho, Chung-un (19 April 2012). "Sungkyunkwan Scandal wins bronze award at N.Y. TV Festival". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  37. ^ Suk, Monica (19 April 2012). "Park Yuchun's Sungkyunkwan Scandal garners bronze at NY Int'l TV Festival". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  38. ^ "You're Beautiful and Sungkyungwan Scandal to be shown in Japanese theaters". Hancinema. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  39. ^ "QTV to Air Sungkyunkwan Scandal: The Movie". Soompi. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
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