The Scandal Netflix: Son Ye-jin Drama Tops Korea Chart
Netflix's The Scandal has held the No. 1 spot on its Korean daily Top 10 TV chart since it dropped all eight episodes on September 18. Son Ye-jin plays Lady Jo, a widowed noblewoman in Joseon-era Korea who plots to ruin rivals through seduction and manipulation, with Ji Chang-wook as Jo Won, her partner in the game, and Nana as Hui-yeon.
The series is rated 19+ and adapts Les Liaisons dangereuses, the 1782 French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Korean cinema has been here before: the 2003 film Untold Scandal moved the same story to 18th-century Joseon and drew about 4.15 million admissions. Creators Jung Ji-woo and Kim Jae-joong bring it back as a full series, with Han Sun-hwa also in the cast.
Netflix's global numbers for the first tracking week, September 14-20, cover only three days of viewing. In that window The Scandal ranked No. 7 among non-English TV titles with 1.9 million views and 14.5 million hours viewed, on a runtime of 7 hours 46 minutes. It landed in the non-English TV Top 10 in 10 countries: South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Critics gave it steady, not rapturous, marks. The South China Morning Post rated it 4 out of 5 and called Joseon patriarchy a "perfect backdrop" for the story. India Today also gave 4 out of 5 but said the series is not as groundbreaking as its title promises, and that its intimate scenes feel calculated. Leisurebyte, at 4 out of 5, praised the leads' chemistry and the visuals, and marked down the slow pacing and convenient plot choices.
For US viewers, the closest reference is Dangerous Liaisons, the 1988 Glenn Close and John Malkovich film, or Cruel Intentions, the 1999 teen version. The Joseon setting changes what the schemers stand to lose: reputation and family standing, in a society where a woman's only leverage is what others believe about her.
Son Ye-jin is a draw on her own: international viewers know her best from Crash Landing on You (2019), opposite Hyun Bin, whom she later married. Ji Chang-wook built his fan base on action roles in The K2 and Healer, so casting him as a manipulator is a departure.
The second tracking week will show whether the show holds. Netflix publishes its full September 21-27 numbers next Tuesday, and that will be the first week with all seven days of viewing.
