Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010)

Only watched for Yoo Ah In

Here's the thing, I can see why people like this drama, especially if it's a nostalgic thing for them. Unfortunately, watching it now more than ten years later with no sentimental feelings towards it, it really does not hold up. It comes across as janky and low budget and barely held together.
Okay, so I'm going to sound like a hater, but let me vent here for a moment. I really hated the FL and ML. They both had the personality of mayonnaise and were about as interesting (more so in the case of the ML, who was not a very good actor). Due to this, I actually skipped most of their scenes, which surprise surprise is almost the whole drama.
But on that note, I weirdly really liked Song Joonki's character. He's not an actor that I typically enjoy, but he was really great in this drama and I finally understood why people liked him. He was probably the strongest actor here (sorry Yoo Ah In, I love you, but this is early days for you and you clearly hadn't reached your final form yet). Yoo Ah In, while not as strong as Song Joonki, was still good too and I really only watched both of their scenes throughout the drama.
I'm definitely hating on this a lot, but I did finish it because it does have that "something" that a lot of the classic kdramas have.

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I'm on the fence about period dramas/shows/movies in general, and this one didn't swing me in any direction. I don't think it was a bad drama, but I didn't find the story to be particularly interesting.

The romance is very, very, very slow burn. That alone wasn't much of an issue to me, but I thought Lee Sun Joon and Moon Jae Shin were boring characters, and they have so many scenes that I struggled a bit to finish the episodes.

This drama absolutely sold Song Joong Ki to me, though. His character, Goo Jong Ha, was definitely the most endearing of the group, and I looked forward to his scenes on every episode. He was very flouncy and energetic, a good comic relief without being exaggerated, and in the few occasions he had more dramatic scenes, he killed it.

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Sungkyunkwan Scandal vs In a Class of Her Own

WARNING: This is going to be very long! I have posted the same review on both dramas.

This review is mostly a comparison of the two. So, for people that have watched one or the other and wish to decide whether to watch the remake or the original, this may be helpful.
To begin with I would like to point out the differences in how I watched the dramas. I am Chinese and can understand the language a lot more than I can Korean (but I am not fluent, so I still need subs). I am also more familiar with the Chinese entertainment industry, therefore discovering In a Class of Her Own first. I watched that drama within about a week. However, with Sungkyunkwan Scandal it took months to complete, and I watched it at a much more staggered approach. The only reason I had retained the plot in my head was because I had watched In a Class of Her Own. This does not mean that I preferred the remake – it is just that I took different approaches to watching the versions.

The Quartet and the Korean or Chinese equivalent
Kim Yoon-Shik/Hee (Park Min Young) and Xue Wenbin/xi (Ju Jingyi)
Lee Sun-Joon (Park Yoo Chun) and Feng Chengjun (Song Weilong)
Moon Jae-Shin (Yoo Ah In) and Lei Zixin (Wang Ruichang)
Gu Yong-Ha (Song Joong Ki) and Yu Lexuan (Bi Wenjun)


For those who are interested in the drama…

Is the plot compelling or interesting? Which to choose?
The plot is not particularly out of the ordinary. Sungkyunkwan Scandal came out in 2010 and there have been plenty other stories before and after this, based on the tale of The Butterfly Lovers, that involve a female crossdressing as a man to join an all-male school. If you are looking for a political and romance drama, then I would recommend Sungkyunkwan Scandal. If you are looking for a more light-hearted, comedic drama that highlights friendship over romance, then In a Class of Her Own would be better. In both, it shows the bonds that people can make no matter the class. A huge positive of the dramas is the friendship between the main 4.
If you can’t decide whether you want to watch the remake after watching the original, then I’ll say that plotlines that were less developed in the 20 episodes of the original are almost all further explored in the remake. The Chinese version is almost like a fan service remake for Sungkyunkwan Scandal, simplifying the original plot and satisfying the fans by focusing on points that were less explored.


Characters:

Kim Yoon Hee and Xue Wenxi
I don’t have a big opinion on our female lead. She is a rather typical female lead who is independent and will do anything for those she loves. Kim Yoon Hee is more straightforward in her ambitons and goals as well as with her romantic feelings towards Lee Sun Joon, and I believe she is smarter, which made her have a bigger impression on me.

Does she look like a guy?
You may find this a weird query to have but you would be surprised as to how many people commented on this matter. I personally didn’t care whether she actually looked like a guy – sure I occasionally thought ‘It’s so obvious that she is a girl!’ but it didn’t bother my viewing of the dramas. I watched both dramas on Viki with the timed comments on and lots of people repeatedly pointed out the obliviousness of the guys on the fact that the female lead was clearly a girl. So, I will simply say: Park Min Young looked more convincing as a man than Ju Jingyi. This may be due to the difference in quality since one aired in 2010 and the other in 2020, or the costuming and the makeup. Ju Jingyi has very ‘feminine’ and ‘delicate’ features, she’s tiny and it doesn’t help that the three other leads are practically giants (she’s 1.59m and the actor playing Yu Lexuan is 1.87m). Another point would be that Ju Jingyi’s makeup was very obvious, her skin is naturally really pale, and they made her lips red with pink eyeshadow on her lids, which stood out a lot.



Lee Sun-Joon and Feng Chengjun
Sorry to lovers of our male lead but I found him to be quite a bland male lead in comparison to the supporting roles in both adaptations. In my opinion Lee Sun-Joon was more tolerable and appealing compared to Feng Chengjun. But the character overall is just not that interesting, purely for the fact that he is too perfect. Some may find that extremely appealing for a character, however I needed him to have a flaw which he didn’t. He’s good academically, he’s good at sports (archery), he’s nice, rich and can fight. In most dramas he would be the perfect second lead but, in this case, they tried to make the male lead have all the characteristics that people love of the second lead and not execute it well. Lee Sun-Joon had a few flaws which were slightly fleshed out, but Feng Chengjun had practically none. Both actors played the character the best they could. I personally preferred Park Yoo-Chun’s version over Song Weilong’s.


Moon Jae-Shin and Lei Zixin
Our second leads, who everyone roots for but unfortunately doesn’t get the girl. Both characters are similar in the versions. Lei Zixin is more aggressive than Moon Jae-shin and is far more hostile and protective over Wenxi than Jae-Shin was over Yoon-Hee. This is largely due to the more prominent role of second male lead that Zixin had. The bl aspects between him and Lexuan/Yong-Ha that were in the original were less obvious. In the Korean original, Moon Jae-Shin is secretly actually very smart whereas Lei Zixin is less intelligent in the Chinese remake. It’s as though most of his intelligence went to Yu Lexuan’s character in order to make Yu Lexuan a bigger character role. I would choose Yoo Ah-In’s Moon Jae-Shin over Wang Ruichang’s Lei Zixin.


Gu Yong-Ha and Yu Lexuan
They are the third male leads (???) if you can count them as that. I am biased over this character as Yu Lexuan was what introduced me to the Chinese adaptation, as he is played by NEXT’s Bi Wenjun. This character is probably my favourite out of the four leads. The two versions of the character are quite different. Gu Yong-Ha is more flirtatious and carefree- almost ditzy at times, whereas Yu Lexuan is mysterious, sly and intelligent. Yu Lexuan is a more developed character compared to Gu Yong Ha and has a larger role in the drama than the original. However, I can’t choose between the two on who I prefer. The character as whole was my favourite so if I had to choose between the amount of screen time, then Bi Wenjun’s Yu Lexuan had more than Song Joong-Ki’s Go Yong-Ha.


Differences in Plot – Things I liked and didn’t like:

How each of them found out she was a girl?

Before watching SS, I hadn’t considered that they would change the order of how they discover that she’s a girl in the remake. Different people discover who she is in different ways. A large factor for the change was because of the more significance Yu Lexuan had in the story in comparison to Go Yong Ha.
The first discovery was when Moon Jae-Shin sees Kim Yoon-Hee bathing in the shed. Go Yong Ha had directed her to bathe in the shed claiming that ‘no one went there’. This was a comedic scene since upon discovery Moon Jae-Shin did his best to try and prevent the other two from entering the shed whilst Kim Yoon-Hee was oblivious to the lengths he was going to prevent them from going in. This comedic scene was different in In a Class of Her Own, where Yu Lexuan is the one that catches her bathing. Lexuan too goes to lengths to prevent people from the academy from entering the shed during their ghost hunt. However, he also considers revealing that she is a girl to the student council president in order to save his reputation. Both end up helping the female lead from discovery behind the scenes.
The next discovery is when Lee Sun-Joon saves Kim Yoon Hee from drowning and as he is about to do CPR, he notices… the boobs. We have the two classic ways of discovering that your friend is actually a female, both involve seeing the other’s body rather than a direct and honest reveal. In the remake, it is Lei Zixin who does CPR on Xue Wenxi. I am not sure who’s I prefer in this incidence, since both suit the context of their own drama. Lee Sun-Joon was full on questioning his sexuality at that point and the relief he feels when he finds out she is a girl is like a weight lifted off his chest (bc homophobia). With Zixin he is coyer and doesn’t actually reveal to Wenxi that he knows that she is cross dressing which makes it comedic in the aspect that he has to keep her secret whilst trying to act normal and hiding it from everyone - even Lexuan who already knows.

The final discovery is not included in Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Go Yong-Ha is probably the first one to actually figure out that she is a girl but never explicitly says so, or is it shown when he finds out. He just provides a lot of hints and jokes whilst saying ‘I’m Gong Yong-Ha’. Feng Chengjun is the last one to find out the real identity of his ‘Bin-di’ in ‘In a Class of Her Own’. His was a rather cheap way to find out, it was like the writers had forgotten that the male lead hadn’t yet found out the true gender of the female lead and they just threw it in there. He finds out after overhearing the conversation between Wenxi and her kidnappers.

The reveal of Yu Lexuan and Go Yong-Ha’s background
This was a change in the remake that I preferred. Their background is generally the same they are both from non-wealthy families in comparison to the ideal for the scholars. The difference lies in how it was originally hidden. Go Yong-Ha’s family had been added to a minister’s family genealogy after they had gained land owned by his family. That way it was hidden from everyone. Yu Lexuan is from a poorer family which is excused when first discovered since Wenxi was also like that. However, he was also a child born out of wedlock which was not allowed in the school. How his background was hidden was actually through the School Council President Han Shengzi (Korean: Ha In Soo), who had known his background but helped him into the school and from there Lexuan would have to be in his debt. This I preferred because it not only explained Lexuan’s actions but also added depth to Han Shengzi.

The Han/ Ha family
This is my favourite change that In a class of her own made. Both the school council president, Han Shengzi and his sister, Han Shumin have their redemption. Han Shumin is much more independent and strong-willed after the rejection from Feng Chengjun, then Ha Hyo Eun. Although Shumin is still annoying at times, she still decided to study and tried to make herself a better person.
Han Shengzi was way more pitiful and less evil then, he was in Sungkyunkwan Scandal. As a school council president, he had more depth in terms of his friendship with the council members and Yu Lexuan. Also, there was an actual explanation on the relationship between him and the courtesan, Mu Xiaoman, which made his hatred for Wenxi more understandable.

Overall, I would say that both dramas have the flaws and their differences. The original is of course the original - it’s more serious whereas the remake is light-hearted and modernised. It depends on preference for which is better.

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Wow double wow… make it triple!

I just finished watching my first K-drama, and I must say that it exceeded my expectations. Although I was initially hesitant to listen to Korean as I'm more used to Chinese, the fantastic acting, superb scriptwriting, and perfect casting quickly won me over. The chemistry between the actors was palpable, and the engaging music, especially the beautiful violin pieces, added a special touch to the whole experience. I was particularly impressed by the lack of major inconsistencies, which is usually a pet peeve of mine.

Compared to the Chinese version of this story, which I found immature and unpolished, this Korean version was tenfold better. It accurately portrayed class inequality, and the geisha-eng character was way more believable and well-cast than in the Chinese version, where she looked like a kid in disguise. Although the king walking around as a commoner was a bit unbelievable, I still enjoyed the quartet in both dramas.

However, I must point out some flaws that detracted from the show's perfection. The directors and scriptwriters could have done better with certain details, such as the handkerchief on top of the hair, the clothes bandage on a deep cut without sewing or medicine, and the hand on the hair instead of the forehead. Also, it was unrealistic that a person could disguise themselves as a gesheang in just a few minutes, and a single red bruise after getting kicked by ten guys was not convincing.

Despite these minor faults, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama, and it has made me a fan of K-dramas. I appreciate that K-dramas are more open-minded regarding sex and LGBT+ and do not ridicule man love man like some Chinese dramas. The conversation about loving and being attracted to a man was intriguing and handled sensitively. The only downside was the epilogue, which could have been better even if the ending was happy.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this drama to everyone. It's a must-watch that deserves to be rewatched. Kudos to the quartet, who stole my heart with their performances.

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Fabulous drama!

I am on 16 of 20 episodes, and I just had to give this drama a 10 rating!
It is very entertaining and fun and addicting!
The acting, the story, the drama, the suspense, the music- all very good. I love it!
This is going in my top 3 favorite ancient costume Korean dramas!
We'll see how it ends, but boy, what lovely story!

I used to watch Chinese drama to the point of actively trying to learn the language.
Well, I must say that Korean stories have tapped into something special, especially because it feels like more realistic and moving storytelling.

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This was the first historical drama that I've ever seen and also the first one that I've drooped. Even if the story is pretty simple, you need the love the historic dramas to watch this type of series. It's really boring since everything is made in just one place and keeps repeating himself. I also didn't like the main lead, he was really plain and his expressionless face made me tired of this drama in no time.

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Tiring

At 13 yrs old, this drama was probably a novelty back then hence the high ratings. However, if compared with recent historicals that have similar themes, it falls far short of entertaining. The female lead character for one was a waste of space who had nothing going for her except her wide-eyed naïveté which grew annoying after a while. Likewise the male lead character who excelled at stoic and arrogant with no redeeming qualities. The actors were fine, it’s the writing that failed and as much as I tried, I simply couldn’t get through another episode of their shenanigans.

Dropped.

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Une histoire dynamique et rythmée

Après être tombée par hasard sur le drama chinois "In A Class of Her Own", que j'ai trouvé sympa mais qui m'a souvent barbée à cause de ses longueurs et son absence d'épaisseur, j'ai eu envie de me lancer dans la version originale coréenne. De nombreux commentaires trouvaient cette version bien mieux que son remake, et bien que ce drama date de 2010, je partage sans conteste cet avis.

A peu de choses près il y a beaucoup de similarités entre ces deux versions, tant au niveau des personnages que de l'intrigue, des rebondissements, de l'enchaînement des scènes et des passages-clés. Pourtant, j'ai eu l'impression de voir 2 dramas complètement différents parce que - censure chinoise oblige- le remake est bien plus édulcoré et gentillet que le matériau de base. En effet cette version coréenne est quant à elle bien plus rythmée et dynamique, il y a peu de longueurs malgré sa durée, l'histoire décolle dès le départ et non pas au bout du 25ème épisode, et les personnages sont mieux creusés. Je ne ferai pas une review détaillée de l'intrigue parce que j'ai déjà rédigé une critique de "In A Class of Her Own", mais si vous deviez choisir une seule version entre ces deux-là je vous conseillerais indubitablement "Sungkyunkwan Scandal". Rien que l'amitié entre ces quatre étudiants, issus chacun de classes sociales différentes, a des implications politiques et symboliques bien plus marquées dans la version coréenne, et réellement susceptibles d'ébranler les bases sur lesquelles se fondent le pouvoir et les privilèges de l'élite. L'opposition entre la classe des nobles et les idéaux d'harmonie du roi est mieux détaillée, les conséquences qui découleraient de la découverte d'un texte perdu (les dernières volontés du précédent roi) seraient bien plus importantes, tout comme la révélation du sexe de l'héroïne qui risque littéralement la peine de mort pour elle et sa famille sitôt que le secret sera éventé (contrairement à la version chinoise où tout ceci paraît un peu plus léger, avec en guise de punition des coups de bâton et le renvoi de l'école). Les références à l'homosexualité et la relation ambigüe entre l'étudiant rebelle et le dandy, sont davantage soulignés même si bien sûr, une telle version de 2010 ne pouvait pas aller trop loin sur ce sujet. Quant au président du conseil des élèves, je l'ai trouvé plus effrayant et dangereux que dans son remake : convaincu que seule la classe des nobles mérite tous les pouvoirs, fervent défenseur de ses idéaux et méprisant envers les faibles, il ne recule pas devant certaines bassesses pour atteindre son but.

En parlant de ce dernier, ma seule critique concernera justement ce personnage. Bien qu'il constitue un bon antagoniste qui cherche sans cesse à nuire à notre sympathique quatuor (permettant ainsi de renforcer leur amitié), je trouve qu'il manque parfois de profondeur. A part plisser les yeux d'un air menaçant, plisser les yeux avec un sourire narquois et plisser les yeux d'un air crispé en fermant le poing dans son dos quand il veut masquer sa colère, le jeu de l'acteur n'apporte hélas pas vraiment de nuances à son personnage qui disposait pourtant d'une bonne base pour le rendre plus intéressant. D'ailleurs son arc aurait pu être mieux développé, l'amour qu'il éprouve pour la courtisane avait de quoi rendre les choses plus intéressantes mais cet espace n'a malheureusement pas été exploité comme il faut. Il est persuadé que sa classe lui donne des droits d'office et surtout que cela doit suffire à mériter l'amour de cette femme de classe inférieure, tandis que celle-ci se refuse obstinément à lui et préfère offrir son cœur à un étudiant insignifiant. Je trouve que cette dynamique de base aurait pu donner quelque chose de vraiment sympa et notamment un arc de rédemption passionnant, s'ils avaient vraiment travaillé ces deux personnages, et pris le temps d'explorer une histoire d'amour (quasi inexistante au final dans cette version alors qu'elle semble en bonne voie dans le remake chinois) entre un homme comprenant que ce n'est pas grâce à sa naissance et sa volonté de soumettre mais par un cœur sincère et le respect envers l'autre que l'on gagne l'attention d'une femme, et cette courtisane finissant par aimer celui qu'il aurait pu devenir dès lors qu'il aurait cessé de la considérer comme un dû. D'ailleurs certains détails concernant cette dernière (notamment des dialogues suggérant un passif et un drame familial, les liens obscurs qu'elle entretient avec le ministre de la guerre et les moyens de pression dont il dispose pour se servir d'elle mais dont le spectateur ne saura rien) m'ont semblé trop légers et remplis de trous, comme s'ils avaient prévu de développer davantage son histoire avant de l'abandonner au dernier moment par manque de temps ou bien sur ordre des producteurs. En tout cas leur relation a laissé un léger goût d'inachevé à la romantique que je suis et la fin un peu précipitée (dommage qu'on ne sache pas ce que deviennent certains personnages) m'a quelque peu frustrée. Mais bon, puisque c'est comme ça je laisserai vagabonder mon imagination pour leur offrir une jolie conclusion, c'est bien aussi...

En résumé, j'ai trouvé cette version de 2010 beaucoup plus passionnante que son remake de 2020, et malgré cette décennie d'écart à aucun moment je n'ai eu l'impression de voir un drama daté. Même la bande-son m'a eu l'air plus sympa que la version chinoise, et contrairement à cette dernière, on a droit à 2- 3 bisous (certes très gentils, mais au moins il y en a !). Le thème de la lutte des classes n'est pas nouveau mais il ne cessera jamais d'être d'actualité et je l'ai trouvé mieux traité ici. Il est vrai que par moments, tous les beaux idéaux du ML semblent assez peu réalistes et que c'est parfois agaçant pour une spectatrice telle que moi : ok on peut vaincre n'importe quel obstacle quand on est déterminé, qu'on travaille dur et qu'on y croit, sauf que ce discours est clairement celui d'un dominant à qui il ne viendrait jamais à l'idée que certaines portes ne seront jamais ouvertes pour les femmes quels que soient leurs efforts acharnés. Mais on va se consoler en se disant que c'est un drama historique, que ça colle à l'époque et que lui-même revoit ses positions en reconnaissant clairement sa bien-aimée comme son égale. Quoi qu'il en soit j'ai passé un excellent moment devant ce drama au point que je l'ai visionné d'une traite. Alors que je suis en général peu friande des historiques coréens (pour des raisons purement esthétiques, c'est personnel et ça n'engage que moi), eh bien je me suis fait l'effet de redécouvrir, après avoir commencé par le surgelé, le goût d'un savoureux plat fait-maison.

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