I really need to watch this, it seems. What a fun read! And the screen caps you chose are adorable.

"After a few episodes, I even managed to get onboard with the love story and somehow suspend my disbelief that someone would fall for Lee Sun-joon over Moon Jae-shin..." I want to watch this show SOOO BADLY but that's the main reason I couldn't press "next episode"...this...this gives me hope. i've only ever heard great things about this show!

Also @kimchiturka, not only was this well written, now I totally want to now what your favorite dramas are that have moved this out of the number 1 slot!

My dilemma this last weekend: Moonlight Drawn by Clouds vs Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
I opted for the former so of course there's a passionate ode to the latter. Well, I didn't need a life or anything.
*Moves to top of list*

Aww, I haven't watched this drama in ages. I had thought it was gonna be all fluff, but it turned out to be a great drama. (THE BROMANCE WAS EPIC! I miss you, Song Joong Ki!) Your post brings back good memories, @kimchiturka. Thank you for the write-up. ^^

Excellent choice, without the friendship this would have been another version of candy falling for the worst possible man

Aww i love their friendship too! Thanks for writing this beautiful article about them!

Oh, I remember that moment when Jae-shin lit the arrows for Sun-joon too. Internal aww.

This Joseon Jalgeum quartet will always be one of very favourite friendships. (I'll never forget the numerous MVs showing the bromances... which I sometimes suspect I liked more than the main romance.)

Yes yes yes. Except for anything in reference to the ending as i never saw the last handful of episodes. Because apparently i had second led syndrome so hard that when they finally got together i stopped watching. I didn’t have a name for it then because i thought i was above it all and man i was already a kdrama veteran. I had managed to watch most dramas through at the time before that show. Because for the sake of drama watching i was going to push through (most dramas). Alas i have no regret stopping where i did and it has lead me down the dark alleyways of quiting other dramas midway (i.e. my secret romance). But gosh i would watch it all over again for the bromance and bonding and squeals and friendship and the unrequited second lead to AGAIN drop it before it ends 🙋🏾‍♀️

Wonderfully written.
it's one among my favorite dramas though I've not watched it but I've read the recaps more then dozens of time over the years.
All the characters had depth in them but I seriously agree with you that we can't choose who was the favorite here.
The second lead syndrome is damn too high here.
To all the beanies who have not watched SUNGKYUNKWAN SCANDAL do watch it and I assure you that you'll love it more then modern dramas even if you're not into sageuk dramas.

The Joseon F4 is one of my favourite little band of friends.

Enhances by one of my favourite characters in dramaland, GuYongHa, the most fabulous man with the most love to give.

Great write-up @turka! I still haven't watched this but now I feel I have too. I'm only watching 3 dramas at the moment ... I'm sure there's time for one more.

I really loved this drama but my second lead syndrom was very strong. In term acting, YAI was so better than Yoonchun and I prefered his character, he was more interesting.

But it's their friendship was great, funny and cute. I can't forget the picture when they all were walking in the street like F4 from Joseon :D

Ahh... SKK scandal!! My fave saeguk drama!! This drama is the reason for my ultimate girl crush to Park Min Young... I like Mickey in here too, which is why I didn't have second lead sindrome. I like Sun Joon eventho he is more uptight in the drama. In the novel, Sun Joon is more charming and even he initiates 18+ (ehem...) steamy romance with Yoon Hee. LOL!! Sadly, the ending of SKK scandal drama was not that good, but still enough for me to love it until now..

I'm so glad all you Beanies here liked it! :) SKK is definitely a must-watch for me – it is exactly as Javabeans and Girlfriday wrote in the Ratings – „so cute and well done“. And not just in the friendship department - in the aspect of depicting cross-dressing in Joseon, it is by far the best drama I saw. And it is true, it really does lose some steam towards the end, but for me, it was still a good ending and the last episode had its share of epic-ness. :D Also, there were some truly poignant parent-child moments there and those were my second favorite thing about this drama - but that wasn't the theme here so I didn't include it in the text.

«Too often, the second guy appears to be there only to spark jealousy in the first lead, and the female lead barely perceives his existence (SO annoying), while the third guy may be only slightly more than comical relief».... wait, here are you talking about "You are beautiful"???? 😂😂😂😂
I have not watch this drama, so I don't know if it comes close to YAB somehow (I hope not, because I plan to watch it one day), but I can see that it has in common three boys and a girl dressed like a boy. Hum... I can only be glad here we are talking about real friendship, which is something YAB lacked totally.
Thank you for this post. It renew my decision to watch this show. 😅

What I remember about this Joseon F4 is Song Joong Ki and Yoo Ah In won best couple award >.<

One of my favorite Korean dramas ever! To me, Yoo Ah In stole the thunder. It was an epic second lead syndrome thanks to Moon Jae Shin aka Guroh aka Crazy Horse.

The drama that introduced me to Yuchoon and JYJ! Sigh. SKKS is one my go-to dramas when I need to rewatch something. Such a good and fun drama.
Thank you for the write-up! ^^

Ooohhh..
I adored this series back last summer.
Now I'm thinking of starting rooftop prince since that drama is said to be awesome too :)

You expressed the perfection of these friendships perfectly! I’m rewatching this show again right now, and while I may fast forward through the politics the friendships between the quarter hold up wonderfully through the years of drama watching ~~~ 🤗🤗🤗
It was my third kdrama and first sageuk too, and the first I watched with that “epic” factor you described so well. Thank you @turka

This is one of my favorite dramas of all time! ♥

As you said, each character of the quartet was so compelling in their own right, I also had a problem picking which one was my fave. They weren't there just to fill-in the numbers (since 4 seems to be the magic number for friends), each of the characters were so memorable that they could each have their own drama spin-off and I'd be totally interested

This was a lovely post! You made me want to rewatch this drama again! It's been 5+ years since I watched it, but like you, I only have fond memories for the drama, no doubt because the wonderful friendships you wrote about here.
I also remember this drama as the one that made me go over my internet limit at the time :P (back when I was a student and had a measly usage limit, unlike now)

Viewers usually focus on the romance in this drama and on the wonderful bromance between Jaeshin and Yongha, so it was awesome that you wrote about all 4 as individuals and as a quartet. I appreciated how all 4 were intelligent and looked out for each other.

Thanks for writing about this drama which I cannot pronounce until now. It was one of my earlier top faves. It’s still on my top 10 after 10 years of watching Kdramas and a hundred dramas after. You’re absolutely right about Moon Jae Shi! He was first second lead syndrome.

One of my favourite dramas for a multitude of reasons, but especially the friendships. This is beautiful article! Well done! @kimchiturka