''Untold Scandal'' (; lit. "Scandal: The Love Story of Men and Women in Joseon") is a 2003

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n romantic drama film directed by

E J-yong E J-yong (; born September 5, 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His feature films include ''An Affair'' (1998), '' Untold Scandal'' (2003), '' Dasepo Naughty Girls'' (2006), and '' Actresses'' (2009). Early life E J-yong ( ...

, and starring Bae Yong-joon,

Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an Ac ...

, and

Lee Mi-sook Lee Mi-sook (born April 2, 1960) is a South Korean actress. One of the best-known actresses of 1980s Korean cinema, Lee's most famous films from this era include Bae Chang-ho's ''Whale Hunting'' and ''The Winter That Year Was Warm'', Lee Doo-yong ...

. Loosely based on the 1782 French novel ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...

'', this adaptation takes place in late 18th century Korea, during the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

. In Korea the film was given an R-18 rating by the Korean Film Ethics Commission. The film was a major commercial success, and became the fourth highest grossing domestic film of 2003 with 3,522,747 tickets sold nationwide.

Plot

A beautiful but cynical and manipulative noblewoman makes a bet with her free-spirited womanizing cousin that he can have sex with her if he is able to seduce a young woman of great virtue. He accepts the challenge with enthusiasm though not suspecting the nasty trap he is walking into.

Cast

* Bae Yong-joon – Jo-won (Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont) *

– Lady Jeong (Madame Marie de Tourvel) *

– Lady Cho (Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil) * Lee So-yeon – Lee So-ok (Cécile de Volanges) * Jo Hyun-jae – Kwon In-ho (Cécile's music tutor Chevalier Raphael Danceny) * Lee Mi-ji – So-ok's mother (Cécile's mother Madame de Volanges) * – Madam Jo's husband (Merteuil's former love, the Comte de Gercourt) * Choi Ban-ya – Chu Wol-yi * Choi Sung-min – slave * Jeon Yang-ja – Vice-Premier's wife * Seo Yoon-ah – Jung-geum * Han Yi-bin – Eun-sil * Jung Jae-jin – elder 2 * Kong Ho-suk – elder 3 * Na Han-il – Nobleman Yoo

Differences from the original novel

Monsieur de Tourvel (Madame Marie de Tourvel/Lady Jeong's husband), who was away for a court case in the novel, was in the film deceased, making Lady Jeong a widow of nine years. Furthermore, Lady Jeong lived in

Ganghwa Island Ganghwa Island (Hangul ; Hanja ), also known by its native name Ganghwado, is a South Korean island in the estuary of the Han River. It is in the Yellow Sea, off Korea's west coast. The island is separated from Gimpo (on the South Korean mainlan ...

, and in the film, she is living in Seoul as there was a plague at her hometown at that time. Jo-won (Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont) and Madam Jo (Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil) were in the film cousins (Jo-won the younger cousin), and it is revealed that Jo-won's first love was Madam Jo, whereas in the novel, they were rivals, yet using the same tools for their revenge: sex. Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil (Madam Jo)'s former lover is arranged to be Cécile's future husband in the novel, but in the film, his character is Madam Jo's husband. In So-ok's case, she is being made into a concubine of Madam Jo's husband for the continuity of the family lineage with the elders' consent. Lee So-ok (Cécile de Volanges) was ushered in to Madam Jo's care to be the concubine of her husband, and is conspiring with Jo-won to make her pregnant for revenge (with Madam Jo telling her husband what really happened to So-ok at her husband's deathbed). Chevalier Raphael Danceny was originally Cécile's music tutor in the novel, but in the film, Kwon In-ho (Raphael Danceny's counterpart) is the youngest son of Madam Jo's next-door neighbor and also Lady Jeong's cousin.

Awards and nominations

2003

Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

NETPAC Award The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...

2003 Blue Dragon Film Awards"Untold Scandal - Awards"
''Cinemasie''. Retrieved 2012-06-04. * Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon * Nomination – Best Actress –

* Nomination – Best Actress –

2004

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

* Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon 2004

Verona Film Festival Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in north ...

* Stefano Reggiani Prize (from the Veneto's Order of Journalists) * Best Artistic, Technical, or Creative Contribution 2004 Grand Bell Awards * Best Costume Design – Jung Ku-ho, Kim Hee-ju * Nomination – Best Film * Nomination – Best Director –

* Nomination – Best Actress –

* Nomination – Best New Actor – Bae Yong-joon * Nomination – Best Planning – Lee Yoo-jin * Nomination – Best Adapted Screenplay –

Kim Dae-woo Kim Dae-woo (born 1962) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kim started his filmmaking career by winning the 1991 Korean Film Council Screenplay Contest. He was an accomplished screenwriter with a number of hit scripts, includin ...

, Kim Hyeon-jeong * Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Byeong-il * Nomination – Best Art Direction – Jung Ku-ho * Nomination – Best Music – Lee Byung-woo 2004

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

* Best Director –

Best Music Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

– Lee Byung-woo * Best Visual Effects – Lee Jeon-hyeong * Best Sound Effects – Lee Seung-chul 2004 Korean Film Awards * Best Art Direction – Jung Ku-ho * Nomination – Best Actress –

* Nomination – Best Director –

* Nomination – Best Cinematography – Kim Byeong-il * Nomination – Best Music – Lee Byung-woo

References

External links

*
''Untold Scandal''
at Tiscali UK/

TalkTalk Group TalkTalk Telecom Group plc (commonly known as TalkTalk Group, trading as TalkTalk) is a company which provides pay television and Internet access services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003 as a subsidiary ...

(website created by UK actor and designer

Adam Jennings Adam Jennings (born November 17, 1982) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Jennings was also a member of the Det ...

) * * {{Les Liaisons dangereuses 2003 films 2003 romantic drama films South Korean romantic drama films South Korean historical drama films Films set in the 18th century Films set in the Joseon dynasty Films based on French novels Films based on works by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Films directed by E J-yong Films with screenplays by Kim Dae-woo 2000s Korean-language films Works based on Les Liaisons dangereuses 2000s South Korean films