Sungkyunkwan Scandal


Sungkyunkwan Scandal is a South Korean historical drama starring Park Min-young, Park Yoo-chun, Yoo Ah-in and Song Joong-ki. Directed by Kim Won-seok and written by Kim Tae-hee, it is based on Jung Eun-gwol's bestselling 2007 novel :ko:성균관 유생들의 나날|The Lives of Sungkyunkwan Confucian Scholars. It aired on KBS2 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 for the upcoming entrance examination in the prestigious Sungkyunkwan, the Joseon Dynasty'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, avoid getting in trouble with the strict student body president Ha In-soo, 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

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, the number of episode viewings on the KBS website, as well as units of DVDs and OST albums sold. The original soundtrack, which featured Park Yoo-chun's band JYJ, sold 110,000 copies in a couple of weeks. The old campus of Sungkyunkwan University 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

International broadcast

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 re-edited the series into a two-hour TV movie which aired on September 10, 2011.