Netflix’s new Korean historical drama Scandal had no trouble getting attention.
The eight-episode series, starring Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana, was released in full on September 18.
Just one day later, it reached No. 1 on Netflix’s daily Top 10 series chart in South Korea.
That sounds like an immediate success.
But popularity and agreement are two very different things.
Once Korean viewers actually started watching all eight episodes, reactions became surprisingly divided.
Some praised the drama’s beautiful cinematography, performances and expanded character stories.
Others had a much simpler complaint:
Why does a story that worked as a movie feel so slow as an eight-episode series?
And that debate may reveal the biggest difference between the 2003 Scandal and Netflix’s 2026 remake.
First, Korean Viewers Were Definitely Curious
The new Scandal arrived with unusually high expectations.
It isn’t simply another historical romance.
The series reimagines the story previously adapted in the acclaimed 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal, which itself was based on the French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons).
The original Korean film starred Lee Mi-sook, Bae Yong-joon and Jeon Do-yeon.
This time, those central roles are played by Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana.
For Korean viewers who remember the movie, comparison was almost unavoidable.
Even the new cast acknowledged that pressure before release.
Ji Chang-wook said the 2003 film had left a strong impression on him, while Nana said she hoped viewers who loved the original could enjoy comparing the differences.
And viewers clearly wanted to see the result.
The series climbed to No. 1 in Korea almost immediately.
But then the arguments started.
The Biggest Complaint: “It Feels Too Stretched Out”
This may be the most interesting criticism because it comes directly from the remake’s biggest structural change.
The 2003 Scandal was a movie.
The 2026 Scandal is an eight-episode series.
That gives the new version much more time to explain why the characters behave the way they do.
Son Ye-jin herself emphasized before release that the series contains far more character backstory than the movie. Director Jung Ji-woo also said the characters and their relationships had been substantially rewritten.
For some viewers, that’s a strength.
For others, it’s the problem.
One Korean viewer on TheQoo complained that stretching the original story into a drama made it feel too slow, despite liking all three lead actors. A Korean review similarly argued that once the central seduction game begins, the longer running time causes the momentum to drop.
That creates an interesting paradox.
The remake has more story, but some viewers feel it has less tension.
More Backstory Doesn’t Automatically Mean More Emotion
This is where the criticism becomes more specific.
The new series spends additional time explaining Jo Won, Lady Cho and Hui-yeon.
That should theoretically make their decisions more believable.
But some Korean reviews argue that the opposite happens with Hui-yeon.
One review criticized the series for failing to make the development of Hui-yeon’s feelings for Jo Won convincing enough, despite having much more screen time than the film. Another argued that the expanded supporting stories don’t always come together into one strong narrative.
That’s important.
The criticism isn’t simply:
“The drama is too long.”
It’s closer to:
“If you’re going to make the story longer, the extra time needs to make the emotional transformation more convincing.”
For some Korean critics and viewers, Scandal hasn’t completely achieved that.
But Others Think the Longer Format Makes the Characters Better
And this is exactly where the reaction splits.
The creators never intended to simply reproduce the movie.
Son Ye-jin said the expanded format allowed the characters to become less one-dimensional, while Ji Chang-wook explained that the series could explore where Jo Won came from, why he became this person and where his choices eventually take him.
That difference can be felt especially strongly in Lady Cho.
Lee Mi-sook’s interpretation in the 2003 film remains memorable for many Korean viewers.
But Son Ye-jin isn’t simply trying to recreate it.
A recent Korean review contrasted the two interpretations: where Lee Mi-sook’s version emphasized sensuality, Son’s Lady Cho comes across as more openly dignified and aristocratic while carrying the frustration of a talented woman trapped by the restrictions of Joseon society.
That’s not necessarily better or worse.
It’s different.
And that difference explains part of the divided reaction.
Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook Are Getting Significant Praise
Even some of the harsher reviews make an interesting exception.
They praise the leads.
Son Ye-jin has drawn positive notices for portraying Lady Cho’s conflicting desires: status, love, ambition and anger at being unable to use her abilities freely because she is a woman in Joseon society.
Ji Chang-wook has also been praised for giving Jo Won more than the image of a simple womanizer. The series explores his attachment to Lady Cho, his loneliness and the destructive obsession underneath his charm.
And ordinary viewer reactions aren’t uniformly negative either.
Some Korean community posts simply describe the drama as enjoyable and particularly praise its movie-like direction, while others say they quickly became absorbed in the performances.
So describing the Korean response as “bad” would be misleading.
It’s more complicated.
People are watching. People are talking. And they disagree about what works.
Nana May Be the Most Divisive Casting
Among the three central actors, Nana’s Hui-yeon appears to be attracting some of the sharpest criticism.
The issue isn’t necessarily that viewers think Nana is a bad actor.
Some reactions question whether her naturally striking, glamorous appearance fits a character who has spent years suppressing herself as a young widow trapped by expectations of chastity.
One Korean review argued that Nana’s height and strong visual presence make it difficult to completely accept the deliberately faded, withdrawn image the character is supposed to project.
That’s a casting debate rather than a simple acting debate.
And it illustrates another challenge facing this remake.
Korean viewers aren’t meeting these characters for the first time.
Many still remember Jeon Do-yeon’s version of the role.
Every new interpretation is competing with a performance that has existed in Korean popular culture for more than two decades.
Then There Is the Question Everyone Asked Before Release: How Steamy Is It?
This was probably inevitable.
The original Scandal became famous partly because of its adult content, and the Netflix remake carries an adults-only rating as well.
Before release, director Jung Ji-woo was directly asked about the level of sexual content.
His response was essentially that viewers could expect it.
And yes—the released drama contains explicit romantic and sexual material. Korean coverage after release described viewers as reacting to a notably high level of adult content.
But here’s the more interesting part.
Being more explicit doesn’t automatically make something feel more sensual.
One Korean viewer who had reached Episode 6 made exactly that distinction, saying the sex scenes didn’t feel particularly erotic while finding the three leads more interesting when they were together than when their individual stories were separated.
That may explain why the “19+” marketing isn’t the entire story.
The real question isn’t how much the series shows.
It’s whether the psychological tension between the characters is as dangerous and seductive as the images themselves.
The Visual Side Is Much Less Controversial
One area appears easier to appreciate: the production itself.
From the beginning, Jung Ji-woo emphasized that he wanted to portray late Joseon society as more sophisticated and visually refined than audiences sometimes imagine. The production uses hanbok, letters, folk paintings and pansori as important parts of its visual and emotional language.
Even among mixed reactions, viewers have commented on the cinematic quality of the direction.
For international viewers, this may become one of the remake’s biggest attractions.
Because Netflix’s Scandal isn’t merely retelling Dangerous Liaisons.
It is using desire, clothing, architecture, social hierarchy and the restrictions placed on women to make that story specifically Korean.
The Original Movie Is Both an Advantage and a Problem
I think this explains much of the Korean reaction.
International viewers discovering Scandal through Netflix may simply ask:
“Is this a good drama?”
Many Korean viewers are asking a different question:
“What did this version do differently from the movie I remember?”
Those aren’t the same standard.
The original film was a major Korean hit in 2003 and became particularly notable as an adults-only period film.
So every change attracts attention.
A different Lady Cho.
A different Jo Won.
A different Hui-yeon.
More backstory.
A longer running time.
A different ending.
More explanation.
And possibly a different kind of sensuality.
For viewers without memories of the original, those things simply belong to the new show.
For Korean viewers who know the movie, every one of them becomes a comparison.
So Do Korean Viewers Like Netflix’s Scandal?
There isn’t one answer.
The early numbers tell us something important:
Korean viewers were extremely interested.
Reaching No. 1 on Netflix Korea one day after release proves that much.
But the discussion after release shows something more interesting.
Some viewers think the eight-episode format gives the characters more depth.
Others think it sacrifices the dangerous momentum that made the film effective.
Some admire Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook’s interpretations.
Others struggle with the casting or characterization, particularly Hui-yeon.
Some appreciate the adult content.
Others think explicit scenes alone don’t necessarily create erotic tension.
And many can still admire the visual beauty even while criticizing the storytelling.
Perhaps that division is inevitable.
The 2026 Scandal isn’t trying to erase the 2003 film.
It’s trying to reinterpret it.
And for Korean viewers who remember the original, watching the new Scandal isn’t only about discovering what happens next.
It’s also about deciding whether a story they already know needed to be told differently.