Tempted

 

Tempted  is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Woo Do-hwan, Park Soo-young, Kim Min-jae, and Moon Ga-young. It is loosely based on the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The series aired on MBC from March 12, 2018 to May 1, 2018 on Mondays and Tuesdays during the 22:00 (KST) time slot for 32 episodes. The series was released internationally on Netflix starting from February 1, 2020.

A romantic melodrama that depicts the lives of a young man and woman who begin to discover their true feelings whilst playing the dangerous game of love. The show is based on the classic 18th century French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. In an act of revenge, wealthy heir Kwon Shi-hyun (Woo Do-hwan) makes a bet with his friends to seduce Eun Tae-hee (Park Soo-young), a hardworking female college student who no longer believes in love after watching the demise of her parents' marriage. After Eun Tae-hee meets Kwon Shi-hyun her views on love begin to change. As Shi-hyun's secret deepens, his feelings for Tae-hee become real.

Main Cast

Woo Do-hwan as Kwon Shi-hyun

Ji Min-hyuk as young Kwon Shi-hyun

The sole grandson and heir in the JK Group conglomerate who bets his life in a dangerous game of love. As he tries to seduce Tae-hee he gradually begins to fall for her.

Park Soo-young (Joy) as Eun Tae-hee

A 20-year-old hardworking college student, who after watching her parents unhappy marriage fall apart, believes that being swayed by love is the most pitiful thing until she meets Shi-hyun.

Moon Ga-young as Choi Soo-ji

Kim Min-ju as young Choi Soo-ji

The daughter of a hospital director and the initiator of Tae-hee's seduction. She has been Shi-hyun and Se-joo's friend since childhood, but she loves Shi-hyun.

Kim Min-jae as Lee Se-joo

A playboy chaebol who is Shi-hyun and Soo-ji's best friend and is madly in love with Soo-ji but rather has her as his friend as he knows about her feelings towards Shi-hyun

 

The series is formerly known as Love Game: The Great Seduction 

Yeo Jin-goo was first offered the male lead role, but declined

The first script reading of the cast was held on January 16, 2018 at MBC Station in Sangam-dong.

 

The series had a mixed reception in South Korea, but was well-received internationally. The drama had an overall Nationwide average audience share of 3.2% according to TNmS and 2.2% according to Nielsen Korea. Internationally, Tempted recorded the highest figure in individual programs since the US-based subscription service Kocowa launched with a peak daily market share of 14.9%, and achieved a rating of 9.3/10 on the global premium licensed streaming site Viki. In South Korea the main criticisms were stated to be the failure of the writer and director to set the genre and script issues. According to the Good Data Corporation survey of TV, Tempted was ranked first place in online video consumption of all dramas airing in South Korea, first in the list of top 10 most talked about dramas, and Park Soo-young and Woo Do-hwan were ranked second and third respectively in the list of top 10 most talked about actors and actresses in South Korea. Despite the question of idol singers in lead roles, Park Soo-young was subsequently praised for her improvement and potential in acting after erasing her idol color as lead actress. Woo Do-hwan was also praised for his ability to express a wide range of emotions in the drama, with the first and second leads commended for inhabiting their characters with the material given.