| Director: | Lee Sung-joon |
| Composer: | Oh Joon Sung (오준성) |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Language: | Korean |
| Num Episodes: | 20 |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Company: | Content K |
| Channel: | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation |
The Scholar Who Walks the Night[1] [2] is a 2015 South Korean television series based on the manhwa of the same name written by Jo Joo-hee and illustrated by Han Seung-hee.[3] [4] [5] Starring Lee Joon-gi, Lee Yu-bi, Shim Chang-min, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Kim So-eun, it aired on MBC from July 8 to September 10, 2015 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
The drama reunited Lee Joon-gi and Kim So-eun who both starred in the 2006 film, Fly, Daddy, Fly.[12]
Set in an alternate Joseon dynasty, Jo Yang-sun (Lee Yu-bi) is the daughter of a nobleman whose family loses everything when her father is framed for treason. To make ends meet, Yang-sun begins cross-dressing as a male bookseller and meets the handsome and mysterious scholar Kim Sung-yeol (Lee Joon-gi), who works at the Hongmungwan. Kim Sung-yeol has spent 120 years as a guardian vampire who is responsible for getting rid of any vampire who disobeys the rules. As a guardian vampire, he is able to go out in sunlight as long as he wears his special black robe. Sung-yeol continues to be haunted by the long-ago death of his first love, Lee Myung-hee (Kim So-eun), who sacrificed herself for him 120 years ago. Sung-yeol decides to pay Yang-sun a high price if she is able to find the memorandum of his best friend, the late Crown Prince Jonghyun, which contains the secret to killing Gwi (Lee Soo-hyuk) and avenge the death of his family and lover. After the second meeting with Yang-sun, Sung-yeol finds out that Yang-sun is a girl. However, he decides to keep it as a secret to avoid awkwardness with Yang-sun. Yang-sun tries very hard to find the memorandum as she promised since she also needs money to cure her sister's leg. On a trip to find the old book seller from Yuan with Yang-sun, Sung-yeol meets Choi Hye-ryung, Myung-hee's present-day doppelgänger who is an aloof nobleman's daughter. Hye-ryung's father is a Right Minister of the king. He has the highest authority in the king's court compared to other ministers. He has also been loyally serving Gwi for a long time. In order to prove his loyalty, he even sacrificed Hye-ryung when she was 10 years old to become Gwi's food toy. However, due to her loyalty and gentle treatment towards Gwi, he has unconsciously fallen in love with Hye-ryung and secretly plans to change her into a vampire, even though he already has 100% control of the royal court. Gwi resides in the underground royal palace and uses his powers and political machinations to prevent Crown Prince Lee Yoon (Shim Chang-min) from ascending to the throne, as he knows that Crown Prince Lee Yoon is secretly planning to get rid of him like his late ancestor, Crown Prince Jonghyun.
Gwi is also aware of Sung-yeol's plan to kill him. He becomes furious when he learns that Sung-yeol has gotten close to finding the secret to killing him. Gwi tries to harm Yang-sun several times, but Sung-yeol was able to save Yang-sun since Sung-yeol also has the ability to sense Gwi's presence. Gwi becomes anxious after he smells Yang-sun's blood and decides to get rid of Yang-sun as a precaution. After a while, Sung-yeol secretly falls in love with Yang-sun after he discovers that Hye-ryung is one of Gwi's followers.
Jo Seung, Yang-sun's adopted father, is the secret keeper of the Crown Prince Jonghyun's memorandum. Jo Seung is a former servant of Yang-sun's biological father, Lord Seo Jung Do, who served the Crown Prince Lee Yoon's late father, Crown Prince Sadong, as his Right Minister. Jo Seung was changed into vampire by Gwi as a punishment and tries to harm Yang-sun. Unbeknownst to Sung-yeol, Yang-sun was saved by him 10 years ago and Sung-yeol killed Yang-sun's father in order to save her. Although she has been bitten by her father, Yang-sun/Seo-jin did not change into a vampire because she has the blood of Gwi. Yang-sun's biological mother is the direct descendant of Gwi from her mother's side. Her biological mother had raised her as a boy in order to protect her because she knows that her daughter needs to be sacrificed as a weapon to kill Gwi. What is the secret plan in the Crown Prince Jonghyun's memorandum? How can Sung-yeol save Yang-sun from being sacrificed? Will Lee Yoon become a puppet king controlled by Gwi like his ancestor? Will Sang-yeol and Yang-sun be able to live happily ever after?
A loyal and courageous scholar who is a close friend of Crown Prince Jonghyun. He turns into a vengeful vampire following the deaths of his family and friend.
A cheerful and kind bookseller, who goes around dressed as a man in order to earn money for her family. She is the direct descendant of Gwi from her mother's side.
The son of Crown Prince Sadong. He seeks to take revenge on Gwi, who was responsible for the death of his father.
A bloodthirsty and evil vampire who wishes to rule over humans, who likes Choi Hye-ryung.
Sung-yeol's first love and fiancée.She was deeply in love with Sung-yeol and she gave her life to save Sung-yeol.
Choi Hye-ryung daughter of the prime minister, resemble Lee Myung who serves Gwi. She secretly falls in love with Prince Lee Yoon as she striving to become Joseon's Queen as revenge for her father.
The head of Hwayang-gak and one of Sung-yeol's confidant. She has a one-sided love for him since he was her savior.
Sung-yeol's confidant and head of the household.
A Sungkyunkwan scholar and close friend of Lee Yoon.
Lee Yoon's martial arts teacher and personal guard. He is also a best friend of Crown Prince Sadong.
Lee Yoon's grandfather
Lee Yoon's father. He was killed by Gwi when he attempted to find the secret to kill Gwi to stop the Gwi's puppet king monarchy
Yang-sun's foster father. He is sick and unable to work to support his family. He is the keeper of Crown Prince Jonghyun's memorandum.
Yang-sun's foster mother
Yang Sun's sister. She is unable to walk.
The prime minister who is the main opposer to the King and Crown Prince. He is the father of Hye-ryung.
The chief left minister who supports the King and is one of his close confidants. He is the grandfather of Hak-yong.
The defense minister who is the prime minister's associate.
The original "Lustful Student", who wanted to get rid of Gwi, but was killed in the process.
The Guardian Gwi.
An accident while filming on set (simply described by producers as "a fall") on June 10, 2015 caused both Lee Joon-gi and Lee Yu-bi to be hospitalized, for a nasal fracture and a herniated lumbar disc, respectively.[13] [14]
| The Scholar who walks the night OST | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various artists |
| Recorded: | 2015 |
| Genre: | Soundtrack |
| Label: | Vitamin Entertainment Music Store Company |
| Episode | Broadcast date | TNmS ratings[15] | AGB Nielsen ratings[16] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul Capital Area | |||
| 1 | July 8, 2015 | 7.7% | 8.1% | |||
| 2 | July 9, 2015 | 6.8% | 8.9% | 6.8% | 7.3% | |
| 3 | July 15, 2015 | 7.2% | 7.7% | 7.8% | ||
| 4 | July 16, 2015 | 7.1% | 8.2% | 7.7% | 8.5% | |
| 5 | July 22, 2015 | 7.3% | 9.0% | 7.8% | ||
| 6 | July 23, 2015 | 6.4% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 8.7% | |
| 7 | July 29, 2015 | 6.9% | 8.0% | 7.9% | 8.3% | |
| 8 | July 30, 2015 | 7.3% | 7.9% | 7.4% | 7.8% | |
| 9 | August 5, 2015 | 8.7% | 8.6% | |||
| 10 | August 6, 2015 | 6.5% | 7.5% | 7.4% | 7.4% | |
| 11 | August 12, 2015 | 6.5% | 7.7% | 6.9% | 6.8% | |
| 12 | August 13, 2015 | 6.3% | 7.1% | 7.4% | 7.1% | |
| 13 | August 19, 2015 | 7.3% | 7.9% | 7.6% | 7.3% | |
| 14 | August 20, 2015 | 6.6% | 7.2% | 7.0% | 7.5% | |
| 15 | August 26, 2015 | 6.5% | 7.1% | 6.5% | ||
| 16 | August 27, 2015 | 6.8% | 6.9% | |||
| 17 | September 2, 2015 | 7.2% | 7.9% | 8.0% | 7.8% | |
| 18 | September 3, 2015 | 7.1% | 7.8% | 7.9% | 8.0% | |
| 19 | September 9, 2015 | 7.3% | 8.3% | |||
| 20 | September 10, 2015 | 7.2% | 8.0% | 7.7% | 7.9% | |
| Average | 6.9% | 8.0% | 7.4% | 7.8% | ||
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Lee Joon-gi | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Lee Yu-bi | ||||
| Best New Actor in a Miniseries | Lee Soo-hyuk | ||||
| Best New Actress in a Miniseries | Lee Yu-bi | ||||
| Top 10 Stars Award | Lee Joon-gi | ||||
| 2016 | Best Historical Drama | The Scholar Who Walks the Night |