Netflix’s newest Korean series The Scandal is already attracting major attention in South Korea.
Released on September 18, 2026, all eight episodes became available at once, and the series quickly climbed to No. 1 on Netflix’s daily Top 10 TV chart in South Korea.
Starring Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, and Nana, The Scandal brings a familiar but provocative story back to the screen, more than 20 years after the original Korean film Untold Scandal.
A New Take on Untold Scandal
The Scandal is based on the same source material as the 2003 film Untold Scandal, which was inspired by French writer Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic novel Les Liaisons dangereuses.
The 2003 film relocated the story to the Joseon era and starred Bae Yong-joon, Lee Mi-sook, and Jeon Do-yeon. Despite receiving an adults-only rating, the movie attracted around 4.15 million moviegoers in Korea.
The Netflix series revisits that story with a completely new cast and a contemporary perspective.
Son Ye-jin plays Lady Jo, a talented woman who feels restricted by the expectations placed on women in Joseon. Ji Chang-wook takes on the role of Jo-won, a notorious womanizer, while Nana plays Hee-yeon, who becomes caught up in their dangerous game.
A Dangerous Game of Love and Desire
At the center of The Scandal is a provocative wager between Lady Jo and Jo-won.
Lady Jo lives in a society where women face strict social expectations, while Jo-won is known for his romantic adventures. Their game begins as a challenge, but their actions gradually become entangled with genuine emotions and complicated relationships.
Hee-yeon is also drawn into their world, creating a tense relationship among the three main characters.
Rather than presenting the story simply as a traditional romance, the series explores questions surrounding desire, identity, freedom, and the choices people make when their society imposes strict boundaries on them.
Why the Joseon Setting Matters
One of the most interesting elements of The Scandal is its distinctly Korean setting.
The story is built around the social hierarchy and customs of Joseon. The restrictions placed on women, the expectations surrounding relationships, and the importance of social status all influence how the characters behave.
At the same time, the emotions driving the characters are universal.
Love, jealousy, attraction, ambition, and the desire for freedom can be understood by audiences anywhere in the world. By placing those emotions inside the very specific world of Joseon, The Scandal offers international viewers a story that feels different from a contemporary romance.
This combination has become an important part of the appeal of Korean dramas and films around the world.
Rather than removing distinctly Korean elements to make a story easier for international audiences to understand, Korean productions can sometimes use their unique historical and cultural settings as part of what makes them interesting.
Eight Episodes Give the Story More Room to Develop
Another major difference is the format.
The 2003 Untold Scandal had to tell its story within a single feature film. The Netflix series, however, unfolds across eight episodes.
That gives the new production more space to explore the characters' motivations, relationships, and changing emotions.
Viewers can spend more time with Lady Jo, Jo-won, and Hee-yeon as their relationships develop and the consequences of their choices become increasingly complicated.
For fans familiar with the original film, this creates an opportunity to see a familiar story from a different perspective.
For viewers discovering the story for the first time, the Netflix series stands on its own as a provocative Joseon-era drama.
From a Korean Film Classic to a Global Netflix Series
The journey of this story is also notable.
More than two decades ago, Untold Scandal reached Korean movie theaters and became one of the country's notable provocative period films.
Now, the story has been reinterpreted for a completely different era of entertainment.
Instead of being released primarily to Korean theater audiences, The Scandal arrived on Netflix with a global audience from day one.
That shift reflects how dramatically Korean content has changed over the past two decades.
Korean dramas and films are no longer produced only for domestic audiences before eventually finding international viewers. Global streaming platforms now allow Korean stories to reach audiences around the world almost simultaneously.
And The Scandal offers something particularly Korean: a story of love and desire unfolding within the social rules and cultural world of Joseon.
The Scandal Has Already Made a Strong Start
With Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook, and Nana at the center, a famous source story behind it, and a Joseon setting filled with complicated relationships, The Scandal arrived on Netflix with plenty of attention.
Its immediate rise to No. 1 on Netflix Korea's daily Top 10 TV chart shows that Korean viewers were quick to check out the new adaptation.
The bigger question is how international audiences will respond.
For viewers who remember Untold Scandal, the Netflix series offers a chance to revisit a familiar story through a modern lens. For international K-drama fans, it introduces a provocative tale of love and desire against one of Korea's most distinctive historical backdrops.
More than 20 years after Untold Scandal, the story has returned — this time for the Netflix era.