Ji Chang-wook and Nana find themselves at the center of a dangerous love affair set in the Joseon era in the Netflix series 'The Scandal.'

Netflix's 'The Scandal' is an eight-part series set in a Joseon steeped in oppression and taboo, depicting love, desire, seduction, and shifting emotions. Ji Chang-wook plays Jo-won, known as Joseon's greatest lothario, while Nana plays Hee-yeon, a woman who has long preserved her chastity. Son Ye-jin plays Lady Cho, the wife of a noble household, positioned at the heart of the affair.

Their relationship does not begin as an ordinary romance. As Hee-yeon becomes entangled in the dangerous game of love waged between Lady Cho and Jo-won, unexpected feelings begin to bloom between Jo-won and Hee-yeon.

◆ Original Lineage... A Joseon Reinterpretation of the 18th-Century 'Dangerous Liaisons'

The work's roots connect to the notion of a 'tale of love between men and women.' This Netflix series is based on the 18th-century French novel 'Dangerous Liaisons' and follows the lineage of the 2003 film 'Untold Scandal,' which transposed the same source material to the Joseon era.

However, this series does not simply repeat the film's setup. Leveraging the longer format of a series, the characters do not reveal their inner feelings all at once; instead, the show is notable for the way emotions build gradually through letters, conversations, and waiting.

◆ From Seduction to Sincerity... Jo-won and Hee-yeon Waver

For Jo-won, who has known countless women, Hee-yeon is not one to give her heart easily. Even though his approach to her began as mere seduction, as time passes even Jo-won's own feelings begin to waver, and Hee-yeon likewise reveals complicated emotions caught between wariness and attraction.

Through this process, 'The Scandal' reimagines the sensibility of a tale of romance with a modern touch. Beyond a simple story of mutual attraction, it is structured so that the temperature of the relationship gradually rises as calculation and desire, waiting and jealousy intertwine around love.

Netflix's official introduction also presents the process of Jo-won and Hee-yeon growing closer as they spend time together as a key storyline. The two grow closer away from the world's prying eyes, and whether a relationship that began as a wager on love can turn into genuine feeling serves as a major axis of the latter half.

The core appeal of the work lies in the tension of not easily distinguishing love from seduction, sincerity from calculation. As a man who treated desire like a game meets a woman who did not grant love easily, the balance of power in the relationship keeps flipping.

◆ Ranking Race at the Netizens' Awards

Interest in the three lead actors continues at the Netizens' Awards in October. Son Ye-jin is competing in the top 10 race at 8th place in the Best Actress category, while Nana sits at 17th in the same category. Ji Chang-wook is at 20th place in the Best Actor category, receiving fans' votes.

It is also notable that the three actors who meet in a single work through 'The Scandal' are each running their own ranking race at the Netizens' Awards. Within the work, the three are tightly intertwined over love and desire, while outside the work, the Netizens' Awards offer a way to gauge the warmth of fans' feelings toward the three actors.

Netflix's 'The Scandal,' centered on Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, and Nana, unfolds a Joseon-style dangerous liaison where desire and love collide, revisiting a story once familiar through 'Untold Scandal' in a new series format. Attention is focused on what moves Son Ye-jin, currently 8th in the Best Actress category, along with Nana at 17th and Ji Chang-wook at 20th in the Best Actor category, will make in the remainder of October, alongside interest in 'The Scandal.'

[This article was written based on publicly available information about the work and official introductions. Descriptions of characters and relationships follow the settings within the story. AI assistance was used in writing and editing this article.]