Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

This was such a cute story. It was rough in the historical days of South Korea for women. I am understanding the rights of women in this present day. Back then your body was a breeder for the King to keep his bloodline for his Kingdom. Not only in Korea but all over the world back in that period. I am happy that this drama showed that a woman can do the work as a man.

Park Yoo Chun (Lee Sun Joon) OMGosh, I was wondering why an excellent actor didn’t make any more movies after 2015. What a loss to the world of Korean actors and future dramas. In the United States, if someone was charged with drugs, a court order would be done to help the person who had an addiction. Why the South Korean courts didn’t help this actor, I am at a loss for words. This actor needed help and even the company he worked for gave up on him. What a waste. I am saddened.

Park Min Young did great in this story, and she keeps on being great! I love her.
I have no more words.

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I saw this drama because I was watching all Yoo Ah In dramas like a year ago. I am so happy that I found it. The story is good and the characters are great. I enjoyed it so much to the point I can actually repeat the drama any day just because I miss the characters on the drama. You will enjoy it. It is funny with a little bit of drama and some romance here and there. Overall an excellent drama mostly if you are not into period dramas this could be a great starter. Besides you might learn about the Korean culture and how things where for woman back then. One of my all time favorite now. Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah In stole my heart.

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Impressions

This drama was really a pop culture drama with little historical accuracy and glamor.

It's not horrible though. The scandal keeps you in your seat wanting to watch more. Whether this is due to the director's skill or the cast appeal and popularity, that is hard to say. The fact the main male character, Micky Yoochun, is a popular kpop artist and it is his first time really acting is clearly obvious. That's not mentioning his stoic face and lack of expression in many scenes, even if he is supposed to be portrayed as a strict, inflexible nobleman.

On the other hand, the female lead Park Min Young as Kim Yoon Hee has had some prior experience acting, though I haven't seen her act before this drama. She's relatively good. Min Young expresses her emotions using her face only and that's is like most female actress. After all, she has such a pretty face. I didn't like how she started as a confident, brave girl to an eyes-watering, non-confrontational wimp in the middle and suddenly regains her wits near the end.

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I really enjoy Korean Historical dramas, especially these types. This drama had me glued. I was actually rooting for the FL and the 2nd male lead as I wasn’t fond of the main ML character. My favorite character was Gu Yong-ha, played by Song Joong-ki. He honestly made the drama interesting. I also liked the way the drama end with the main villain, Ha In-soo, though it was very sad to read that actor passed away in real life. Overall this drama is on the top of my favorite dramas, 100% worth the watch. My low rate on rewatch isn’t due to the drama but generally I do not rewatch any dramas nor movies.

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Addictive- yes, that was watching Sungkyunkwan for me at FIRST sitting. Imagine, I've finished 8 episodes (that was about 8 hours and so) straight! I had my sleep at early 3 in the morning, and again, another night-wrecking the next day (it has 20 episodes in lenght).

The quartet really got the charm to hook you up!

Lee seon joon? (played by Park Mickey Yoochun: JYJ member) smart and disciplined student who was the center of envy of the school president, who found himself fall for another man...Will he stick to his principles? Or will he disclaim principles for love?

Gu Yung Ha? (played by Song Joong Ki) gay or just too GAY(sweet and touchy)... He cherish his best friend Jae Shin so much! He was smart and tacky, and so cool that he was the charm of the this TV series.

Moon Jae Shin? (played by Yu Ah-In) tough rebellous guy with the bare chest flung on screen, :p he was so damn rugged cutie who has pure luck beside him (everytime he terrorizes at night).

Kim Hyun Shik? (played by Park Min Young) the main lead who used his brother's name and pretended to be a boy, due to untended events, she pursued pretending inside sungkyunkwan university that led to that so called 'SUNGKYUNKWAN SCANDAL' with Jae Shin.

I really like Song Joong Ki here, he was oozing with charm and cuteness while Yu Ah-In's smile melts my bone! ayieeeh!

It really had a good start but the end is a disappointment! I am not satisfied with the smooth take of the events on the last episodes. Though it gave cues to what happen to the quartet, it didn't gave anything about how the student president end up with along with the other characters (hmmm.. I guess the episode which he save the gaeseng suggests that he ends up with her..oh well!). I believe many will agree with me about this.

Another thing, the story run so smoothly to the protagonists, nothing heart breaking at all (well, if it really should be lively, we can do nothing about it), the rush in every episodes and the uncomprehensible (i can't understand it!) ending.

Wew!

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Despite not liking historical shows, I decided to give Sungkyunkwan Scandal a try since I've seen many people add this show to their favorites list, I was curious about Micky Yoo Chun's acting and I didn't want to be biased like I was with Master's Sun (which turned out to be a great kdrama btw). Like many shows, the story was not original nor profound. What made this entertaining was the character interactions. I especially found the Sun Joon-Jae Shin, Yoon Shik-Cho Sun and Yoon Shik- Jae Shin interactions worth while to see. Misunderstandings which can often be annoying in other dramas were well used for comedic and other purposes in this story. The ninja fighting wasn't extreme but some moves (like sideways mid-air spin) were cool even if they were unnecessary.

For all the characters, the actors were pretty well suited for their roles. I must say, however, Yoo Ah In stole the show. I don't think you'll find one review that doesn't mention him. I see now why this is his breakthrough performance. I've never seen someone play the carefree, bad boy (I can't think of another term for it, but it's not in the perverted sense) type of role so well. His hiccups were so cute and he just had a huggability factor throughout the whole show. I want to see him in a romcom. In addition, I liked how the president acted like a jealous spoiled child who was deprived of something he wanted and used petty but thought out means to get it. It made me want to root for him at times. The professor and Sun Joon's father seemed respectable. Yoo chun and Min Young weren't bad but unfortunately weren't memorable either. Joong Ki's winks were memorable but kind of weird. He did have the best crying skills of the bunch however, which is good for him but at the same time indicates where others fall short. Although the actors fit their roles well and were believable for the most part they seemed to lack the ability to create a moving performance during the more climactic scenes so the intensity didn't seem to escalate during the times they should have. Though I didn't expect much from the rest towards the end, I was somewhat sad to see Yoo Ah In's performance during the climax since the rest of his performance was so outstanding.

The music was well chosen. The ending song stood out the most to me.

I don't typically rewatch shows and this is no exception. As for recommending this show, I would recommend it if you want something entertaining and comedic at times. I wouldn't expect something too moving or very romantic though.

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STORY 6/10
Since it took me so long to actually finish this series, I wouldn't recommend it if you're new to K-dramas or if you're choosing your first historical. The show is relatively slow-paced, mostly episodic and the important storylines tend to be...well, illogical at times, and some are left unresolved. Due to its episodic nature and some over-the-top comedic moments, Sungkyunkwan Scandal is actually much closer to Hana Kimi than to more mature Coffee Prince in the realm of cross-dressing dramas. I strongly feel that it was a shame that so much time was spent on long gazes (especially between the main couple), way too long dialogues between villains (their scheming was mostly pointless anyway), antics of the villain's sister and the villain's stupid sidekicks, or flashbacks (so many of them!). Instead, I would appreciate better developed relationships between other people than the two leads: Goo Yong Ha and Moon Jae Shin, Cho Sun and Ha In Soo or Kim Yoon Hee and (the real) Kim Yoon Shik...the list goes on.

There is another matter that strongly impacted my evaluation and that is the ending. (I will try to be as vague and spoiler-free as possible.) Honestly the last 2-3 episodes were a mess. First, it doesn't really make sense that the characters who served as wise mentors to our young heroes were incapable of doing some basic investigation and needed a help of students to solve a 10-year-old mystery.
Second, it never felt like the stakes were high enough – especially regarding Kim Yoon Hee's situation. A much needed emotional climax just never came and the matter was resolved too quickly and too smoothly to my liking. Yoon Hee is also uncharacteristically passive (and mostly silent) in her (potentially great) dialogue scenes with some big players in the last episode.
Third, way too many loose ends. Starting with the heroine's fate (regarding which we are left with way too many questions), through unresolved side-stories of several key players (e.g. Cho Sun and Ha In Soo) to the lack of epilogue regarding the political situation in the country (not all of us have knowledge of Joseon's history)...the list goes on.
Simply said, from all the K-dramas I've finished so far, Sungkyunkwan Scandal had the least satisfying - albeit cute - ending.

ACTING/CAST 9/10
While the two leads (Park Yoo Chun as Lee Sun Joon and Park Min Young as Kim Yoon Hee) were nice, they were ultimately rather boring and predictable, especially in comparison with the duo we were all rooting for: Song Joong Ki as Goo Yong Ha and Yoo Ah In as Moon Jae Shin, who were amazing, both character-wise and acting-wise. This was actually the first drama during which I experienced the infamous "second lead syndrome": they actually made Moon Jae Shin so perfect, that I can't understand why they didn't pair him up with the heroine (or with Goo Yong Ha for that matter).

MUSIC 7.5/10
Nice score, not something I'd need to buy a CD for, but several definitely memorable tracks and songs. Extra points for the main song ("Found You" by JYJ) that I can't get out of my head ;).

REWATCH VALUE 7.5/10
I'd say that the rewatch value is quite high because once you know what to expect, it's actually a really well-acted and cheerful – if somewhat cheesy – drama to revisit.

OVERALL 7.5/10

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I scored this high only because It's been a long time since I enjoyed a drama and anticipated so much of it that I finished this in record time. And maybe it's because of this, that I was a little bit upset with the drama ending so quickly because I actually wanted more and didn't want it to be over. At 20 episodes, which I usually think is a good enough number, now it is too short. I love the characters as individuals with their own brand of personality and as a group how they lean on each other and help each other grow. This is one of the times that I wish that the writers did not end things with a neatly tied bows and explored more of the ending. I am really hoping for a sequel to this drama.

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A must-see for any K-drama fan

It looks like it has been a while since anyone has reviewed this one and I felt the need to put it out there, in this time of summer self-quarantine, when we’re all avidly looking for something to keep our interest. This does that, in spades.
It’s lighthearted without being ridiculous, has serious moments without weighing you down, and still manages to grab you and make you think with ideologically challenging questions. So without further ado...

Reasons to watch:

There’s a decent plot. One we’ve seen, of course, sure. But it follows it pretty faithfully, and doesn’t forget what it’s doing halfway through. That alone feels rare nowadays. It may be silly occasionally, but it’s not insulting. It can actually be pretty clever. My favorite thought provoking line: “Are you aware that with passion comes responsibility?”

The acting. This has an insanely all-star cast, with the actors we love now in the roles that pretty much started them on their path to fame. The performances are brilliant, to say the very least. There is an air of the three musketeers- adding in a female D’Artagnan, naturally- about the quartet. Especially if you can see Porthos taking on shades of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Aramis becoming Zorro. Add in an angsty Athos being unwillingly attracted to D’Artagnan (who just looks at him with dewy, loving eyes and emotionally slays him), and the Scarlet Pimpernel chasing Zorro with a playfully lusty grin, and that’s basically this show. I hope I didn’t confuse you with my analogies. :) But if you know the iconic characters I’m talking about, you will totally get it when you watch this show.

The second leads. Ok yeah I mentioned them already. BUT. In case I haven’t convinced you yet… the two men literally have the entire spectrum covered for anyone who likes men. (I worded that carefully.)
Take one man that stimulates most of the world intellectually, and then toss him in a role that is a walking dose of sexual pheromones. Then make him all hot and sweaty for a quarter of his scenes. (Raises eyebrow.) If you are still breathing, I will not understand how you could not be attracted to Yoo Ah In, especially in this.
If that doesn’t win you over (checks your pulse) then the sly eyed, promiscuous and surprisingly canny Song Joon Ki will with his irresistibly wicked grin. I don’t care how pretty this guy is, he is not to be underestimated.
Put the two of them together, and they are more than just the sum of their parts. Honestly, if I saw the two of them were cast in a puppy food commercial together, I would go out of my way to watch it after this. They are THAT good. And now I've made myself slightly ill with all the effusive praise. Le sigh.

The ONLY thing that was slightly off putting for me was the occasionally startling OST. Sometimes the music was ill advised, sometimes it was distracting. Sometimes it was pretty. It was mostly confused with what it wanted to do.
And critically, the baddies are just bad for the sake of being bad, and I like to know their motivations are something more interesting than entitlement/greed/pure evil. A lot of the gratuitous scenes, while not boring, could have been done away with to give us more on the people we are interested in, such as Cho Sun’s back story, and the terrible two’s 10 year history. The benevolent king- what pivotal moment might have made him different from most? And the eldest Moon brother, his story would have been interesting. Good shows typically leave you wanting more, and this certainly does. I just had fun with it.

Reasons Not to Watch: You don't like K-dramas. Or you need something deeply and intellectually stimulating with no frills.


TL/DR: Just watch it.

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Originally I was really reluctant to watch a historical drama, but this one had me hooked from the start.

The actors are great, I love Park Yoo Chun, whom I had previously seen in Rooftop Prince and even Park Min Young was really good. They had great chemistry and played their roles really well.

It's strange that it's another gender bender drama but it doesn't feel like one. I was excited to see each episode and marathoned the first half of this show. I fell in love with Lee Sun Joon but at times he frustrated the heck out of me, seriously how could they all mistake her for a man? I found the lead female was also really interesting because she was a very strong character. I liked that even the story had a lot of interesting plot twists but towards the end I got tired of the political intrigue.

The only thing I didn't like, and it was a big one, that the end felt very rushed and the romance was weak. It had a great build up with great chemistry and when it finished I felt a bit let down.

Overall though this is a really great drama that I'd definitely recommend watching.

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