Untold Scandal

Untold Scandal is a 2003 South Korean drama set in the late eighteenth century, during the Joseon dynasty. Lady Cho, a noblewoman who maintains the appearance of an obedient wife while secretly arranging erotic games, challenges her younger cousin Jo-won, a cultured man who has turned down a government post in favour of pursuing pleasure, to seduce a young woman named So-ok before she becomes her husband's concubine. She promises herself to him if he succeeds. His attention soon shifts to Lady Jeong, a virtuous Catholic widow who has remained celibate since her husband's death nine years earlier, making her a far more difficult conquest than the notorious playboy expects.

The film adapts the novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, relocating its story of aristocratic intrigue and seduction from eighteenth-century France to Korea. E J-yong directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Kim Dae-woo and Kim Hyeon-jeong, following his 1998 debut An Affair; producers were Lee Eugene and Oh Jung-wan. Bae Yong-jun plays Jo-won, Lee Mi-sook plays Madam Jo, and Jeon Do-yeon plays Lady Jeong, with Jo Hyun-jae, Lee So-yeon and Jeon Yang-ja among a credited cast of 25.

Released in October 2003, the film earned about 6 million USD worldwide. Its critics' rating stands at 7 out of 10 from 30 reviews, ahead of the audience scores of 6.8 on IMDb from around 2,900 votes and 6.4 on TMDB from 63 votes.