This was a real treat of all sorts. Though not entirely original with your typical gender bender genre: girl disguises herself as man, overcomes obstacles in a traditional society dominated by men while falling in love with her best male friend who does not know that "he" is really a she; one will truly root for the main character the whole way through the heartwarming journey.
However what truly made this so special was the beloved Jalguem Quartet which sealed the deal for me, and stole everyone's hearts whether you are Team Yoochun or Jaeshin, while Yeorim isn't left out either getting his fair share of the love though the latter can be debated as an understatement. And of course being amused every single time how the "pretty boy" hat is Park Min Young was doing exactly that in the drama - stealing the hearts of helpless Joseon ladies (and men...I'll say no more) and viewers alike who can not help but root for our daring brainy heroine as she defies tradition and expectations. Looking back now several years later one can safely say is a first real glimpse of what started it all for several stars (who were all about 24 at that time)who have gone on to have established acting careers. The expressive Yoo Ah-In, charismatic Song Joong Ki and lovely Park Min Young, while Yoochun from JYJ is a pleasant surprise for one of his first ever try at this acting thing. The Quartet also got along well on and off set, and the chemistry onscreen shows. For the bromance-shippers of Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah-In, of course this came as no surprise.
I do also want to credit the drama and its writers for making this more than just a gender-bender comedy . For one, even though the drama's premise is that of an empowered female as the clear-cut star I want to thank the writers for NOT making the males into idiots (with exception of few intended ones) which happens a lot for this genre so to not overshadow the female or something. In fact she was surrounded by brilliant men, which makes her empowerment even more credible. And I do also appreciate their touch on a rather controversial issue even by today's standards, but was entirely the taboo of taboos back in those times. It is the first in an ancient drama I've seen, and done ever so gracefully.
All in all, it was a very easy drama to watch, and the characters so easy to fall in love with. This is up there as a personal favorite of mine. Soundtrack and everything else only served to be a nice compliment to all that was going on. I tend to skip with dramas, but did not do so once with this one. Never a dull moment with Sungkyunkwan.
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