“The Scholar who walks the night” (Korean Drama) Review

We have arrived at our last October post featuring a ghost/vampire drama. This week we are taking a look at ‘The Scholar Who Walks The Night’.

This drama is based on the manwha of the same name written by Jo Joo-Hee and illustrated by Han Seung-Hee.

WARNING!! This is by far THE goriest drama I’ve ever seen.

Despite my **cough** limited expertise in this genre, this statement should NOT be taken lightly.

‘Why am I even here?’ was a frequent thought going through my brain as I watched this back in 2015.

Well, the short answer to that is ‘Because of Lee Joon-Gi’. The long answer is ‘Because of Lee Joon-Gi, Lee Soo-Hyuk and Lee Yu-Bi, and my fascination with anything manwha related’.

But watch it I did. In the trusted company of my pillow shield **Yay!!** and R. Both were essential to me finishing ‘The Scholar Who Walks The Night’. The former for obvious reasons and the later to tell me when it was safe to stop covering behind the former. #KdramaFansUnite

And eventually there was a cute/quirky love story sprinkled into the mix.

Now then, let’s try to summarize the story of this drama spanning several centuries.

Starring

Lee Joon-Gi as Kim Sung-Yeol
Lee Yu-Bi as Jo Yang-Sun/Seo Jin
Shim Chang-Min as Crown Prince Lee Yoon
Lee Soo-Hyuk as Gwi
Kim So-Eun as Lee Myung-Hee/Choi Hye-Ryung

Backstory

It is the Joseon dynasty and Kim Sung-Yeol (Lee Joon-Gi) is a gifted young scholar. Sung-Yeol’s intelligence and social status have placed him in close proximity to Crown Prince JongHyun (Lee Hyun-Woo).

**Let’s have a fan-girl moment for this cameo!!**

Crown Prince JongHyun: ***“How can a king who serves a vampire, make a world for humans?”***

Beyond their official roles the two become really close friends due to their similar characters and closeness in age.

Fighting as one, Sung-Yeol and Crown Prince JongHyun resolve to win over and destroy Gwi.

Gwi is a evil vampire who has been terrifying the kingdom. Despite efforts to eliminate him, this vampire seems to only become stronger.

But things go horribly wrong.

Running for his life, Sung-Yeol ends up in the company of a Guardian Vampire.

When the Guardian Vampire falls victim to an attack, he decides to pass on his powers to the young scholar.

Against his will, Sung-Yeol becomes a Guardian Vampire equipped with a special robe that protects him from sunlight. His main task is to bring vampires to justice that refuse to follow the rules.

The Scholar Who Walks The Night

In addition to burdening him with this new identity, the failed attempt to end Gwi also robbed Sung-Yeol of his loved ones.

More than a century goes by and far from giving up, Sung-Yeol is determined to find a way to win against Gwi.

Certain that Crown Prince JongHyun left him a vital written clue, he has made it his life’s mission to find this clue.

His search for said clue leads him to writer Jo Yang-Sun (Lee Yu-Bi), who – to his surprise – turns out to be female.

Yang-Sun has been cross-dressing as a male in order to support her family. Females are prohibited access to any libraries and from working as writers, so she saw no choice but to take these measures.

Although initially only viewing him as a well-paying customer, Yang-Sun soon finds herself increasingly intrigued by the mysterious scholar and his request.

Gwi

Gwi (Lee Soo-Hyuk) is a powerful vampire turned evil by ignoring rules coveting something not meant to be his.

Through a pact made with the current kings ancestors, Gwi rules through fear instilled by endless terror as a result of him killing anyone opposing him.

Gwi: “200 years ago, when a country called Goryeo was about to fall, your ancestor came to see me: If he had the power, he could establish a country and become King. So I killed everybody that was against your ancestor and established this country.”

Living in a cave underneath the palace, Gwi has been using the kings as puppets for his purpose.

Many do not know and those who do are his supporters, or keep quiet out of fear for their life and/or the well-being of their loved ones.

However, as of late things have gotten complicated. The current heir to the throne, Crown Prince Lee Yoon (Shim Chang-Min), seems hesitant to acknowledge Gwi as his master.