Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Sungkyunkwan Scandal (성균관 스캔들) is a 2010 Korean period drama; a romantic comedy following a girl who disguises herself as a man in order to make ends meet and the group of friends she meets while masquerading in a Confucian school, known for producing government officials. It stars Micky Yoochun, Park Min Young, Song Joong Ki, and Yoo Ah In. The synopsis is as follows:

Sungkyunkwan Scandal is set in Sungkyunkwan University in the late Joseon era during the reign of King Jeongjo, revolving around the exploits and love stories of four youths. When her younger brother's illness worsens and their family is in danger of being evicted from their house for lack of money, Kim Yoon Hee enters the school under his name, disguised as a boy in her desperation to support him. There, she becomes friends with the intelligent and upright Lee Sun Joon, the playboy Goo Yong Ha and rebellious Moon Jae Shin.

First off, what drew me to this drama was not the cast - though I surely grew to love them as the drama progressed - it was the plot. I'm a sucker for girl-masquerading-as-a-guy plotlines and having a straight guy question his own sexuality and all the humorous events that ensue in due course. That being said, although I know of DBSK and I do like some of their songs, I don't know much about them. Now, I can say that I definitely know Yoochun, though. ^^ My favorite's still Yoo Ah In... but that's not the point. There were a lot of comments about Yoochun's lack of acting skills, or so I remember when it had first started airing. Even so, I didn't see it as a hindrance. I still loved the drama and it tickled me funny. He's not the most expressive guy, but when is that important? The message got through. Cute moments are plenty but it also touches upon the more serious topics of social and gender equality, which was fairly nonexistent in the time setting of the drama.

I have to say it wasn't all that painful to watch, romantic-wise, so don't be afraid to watch it if you hate the roller coaster ride of feelings romantic dramas tend to take you on. There's unrequited love, for sure, but I seriously had no love for the other girl - she annoyed me - though I did feel for the other guy. It wasn't unbearable, though, since that left him all to myself. ^_^ Anyway, I love the plot and the plot twists and the riddles here and there; it keeps you guessing. There is action as well, so it's not all fun and games and such. As usual, I'm surprised she stayed a secret for that long, but it is a drama, so it's a given. All in all, I really did enjoy this drama - the filming, the message(s), the plot, the eye candy...

I watched it on hulu, since the videos are high quality, though there are commercials.