KOREAN DRAMA REVIEW
The Scandal / 스캔들 (2026)
Korean title: 스캔들
2026 · 8 episodes · Korean Drama · Historical / Romance / Melodrama
Son Ye-jin as Lady Cho · Ji Chang-wook as Cho Won · NANA as Ahn Hui-yeon
Main Couple: Cho Won × Ahn Hui-yeon
A PERSONAL VIEWING JOURNAL
🌸 My Review
🌸 My Reaction
Well… this was certainly one way to kick off my K-drama review era. 😂
We have manipulation, forbidden feelings, messy relationships, terrible decisions, and Ji Chang-wook running around Joseon as an extremely charming disaster.
Naturally, everything goes wrong. 😭
I gave The Scandal 3.5/5, and the easiest thing for me to say is:
Ji Chang-wook was excellent. ❤️🔥
Cho Won could have easily been nothing more than a handsome playboy, but Chang-wook gave him enough sadness, arrogance, charm, and emotional damage to make him much more interesting.
Was Cho Won a red flag? Absolutely.
Was he an extremely well-acted red flag? Also absolutely. 😂
📖 The Plot
Lady Cho is an intelligent noblewoman trapped inside the restrictions placed on women in Joseon society.
Cho Won, her cousin and longtime emotional complication, is a notorious womanizer who treats romance like a game.
The two make a wager involving Ahn Hui-yeon, a widowed noblewoman known for her virtue. Cho Won initially approaches Hui-yeon as part of that wager.
And then, because apparently nobody in this drama believes in making life easy, he starts developing genuine feelings for her.
That is where the entire situation begins falling apart.
❤️ Cho Won & Hui-yeon
The biggest problem is obvious: the relationship begins with deception.
Hui-yeon believes Cho Won's interest is sincere. Cho Won knows she originally became part of a wager.
However, Cho Won eventually does fall for her for real, and Hui-yeon develops genuine feelings for him.
By the later episodes their relationship becomes emotionally and physically intimate.
So this is definitely not one of those dramas where we wait eight episodes for one awkward forehead kiss. 😂🔥
Unfortunately, the stronger the relationship becomes, the worse the fallout feels.
👑 Lady Cho & Cho Won
These two are another kind of mess. 👀
Lady Cho and Cho Won have unresolved feelings and a complicated history. The drama establishes that they are cousins, making their relationship a major taboo element.
Cho Won once wanted a life with her, but Lady Cho chose another path. She also struggles with the idea of him truly moving on.
Ma'am.
PLEASE PICK A STRUGGLE. 😭😂
🔥 Romance, Chemistry & Intimacy
This is a noticeably mature K-drama.
There is strong romantic tension, kissing, physical affection, mature intimacy, and adult relationship themes.
The chemistry is strongest whenever Ji Chang-wook gets to fully lean into Cho Won's seductive personality.
And once again:
Ji Chang-wook was excellent. 😂❤️
💔 THE ENDING — FULL SPOILERS
No. The Scandal does not have a happy ending.
Hui-yeon learns that Cho Won's pursuit originally began because of the wager.
Cho Won admits the truth.
Hui-yeon is devastated and leaves him. There is no romantic reconciliation.
Cho Won also realizes Lady Cho is never truly going to choose a life with him.
Near the end, Cho Won disappears after going into the river. His body is not shown, creating a small technical ambiguity, but the drama presents him as presumed dead.
Hui-yeon survives and chooses to continue living her own life.
Lady Cho survives but loses Cho Won.
Ending Classification: Tragic Ending
- Main couple: Not together
- Cho Won: Presumed dead
- Hui-yeon: Alive
- Reconciliation: None
Of course the writers did not give us a happy little reunion. 🙄😂
RELATIONSHIP MILESTONES
❤️ Relationship Timeline
Full spoilers. The relationship ends after the wager is revealed; the later separation is permanent.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Initial attraction
Cho Won pursues Hui-yeon as part of the wager.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Major romantic shift
His interest gradually becomes genuine.
-
Exact episode not recorded
First kiss
Exact episode not confidently verified.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Confession
Genuine feelings develop; he later tells her the truth about the wager.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Official relationship
They effectively become lovers in the later episodes.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Engagement/Marriage
None.
-
Final episode
Breakup
Final episode after Hui-yeon learns the truth.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Separation
Permanent after the revelation.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Reconciliation
None.
-
Exact episode not recorded
Final status
Not Together. Hui-yeon survives; Cho Won is presumed dead.
Breakup / Separation Status
- Actual breakup: Yes, in the final episode after the wager is revealed.
- Separation: Permanent; no reconciliation.
- Final status: Not Together. Hui-yeon survives; Cho Won is presumed dead.
💗 Shen Zhiyi’s Drama Reality Check
Finished · 8 episodes · Full spoilers below.
- 💕 Romance
- High, but intentionally messy and tragic.
- 🔥 Chemistry
- Strong. Ji Chang-wook carries much of the romantic tension.
- 💋 Kissing
- Moderate to high.
- 🤗 Skinship
- Moderate to high later in the drama.
- 🌶️ Spiciness / Adult Intimacy
- High for a mainstream K-drama; mature physical intimacy is part of the relationship.
- 🚩 ML Red Flag
- High. Cho Won initially pursues Hui-yeon under false pretenses because of the wager.
- 👑 Female Lead Competence
- Lady Cho is intelligent, strategic, and manipulative. Hui-yeon ultimately makes an independent choice about her future.
- ⏱️ Romance Timing
- Pursuit starts early; genuine feelings develop middle-to-late drama.
- ❤️🔥 Relationship Payoff
- Strong romantic/physical payoff but painful emotional ending.
- 💔 Breakup
- Yes. Hui-yeon ends the relationship after learning the truth.
- ⏳ Separation / Conflict
- Major — deception, jealousy, social restrictions, and the wager destroy the relationship.
- 💍 Final Relationship Status
- Not Together.
- 📖 Plot
- Seduction, manipulation, jealousy, forbidden feelings, and people treating romance like a game until the consequences become real.
- 🐾 Animal Harm
- No specific dog/cat harm identified; scene-by-scene verification unavailable.
About these assessments
My impressions cover what I watched. Later research is labeled on dropped reviews. Kissing, affection and adult intimacy are separate; coercion does not count as romantic spice. Being apart does not automatically mean a breakup.
THE ROMANCE CHECK
Quick Answers
Relationship spoilers below.
- Does The Scandal have a happy ending?
- No. Tragic Ending; the main couple is not together.
- Do Cho Won and Hui-yeon break up?
- Yes. Hui-yeon leaves after learning the truth about the wager in the final episode.
- Do they reconcile?
- No.
- When do they become lovers?
- In the later episodes; an exact episode is not confidently verified.
- Do they marry?
- No.
- Does Cho Won die?
- He disappears into the river and is presumed dead. His body is not shown.
- Final main-couple status
- Not Together. Hui-yeon survives and continues her own life.
⭐ FINAL RATING: 3.5/5
Messy people.
Terrible romantic decisions.
Manipulation everywhere.
A tragic ending.
And one extremely charismatic Joseon playboy standing in the middle of the chaos.
Ji Chang-wook was excellent. ❤️🔥
That is still my strongest takeaway. 😂
U.S. Availability / Where to Watch
Netflix — official series listing
Netflix official listing confirmed. U.S. playback, subtitles, audio and full-series quality were not independently retested.
Sources / Viewing Scope
Finished all 8 episodes. Full spoilers. Exact first-kiss and official-relationship episodes are not confidently verified. Cho Won is presumed dead; his body is not shown.