Green for Lady Cho: the color-coded hanbok of Netflix's The Scandal (interview)

Dress Netflix's The Scandal, a Dangerous Liaisons remake set in 18th-century Joseon, for a September 2026 premiere — out from the shadow of 2003's Untold Scandal, which spent nearly half of its 5 billion won budget on costumes and props.

Give each lead a signature colour that tracks their arc — Lady Cho's green darkens toward black as her emotions harden; widowed Hui-yeon wears undyed white.

Kim researched Sin Yun-bok's genre paintings and excavated Joseon garments, layered authentic undergarments (some dyed pink), pulled hair ornaments and gat hats from her 20-year personal collection — including works by intangible-heritage masters — and matched accessories to each costume with written instructions on how each piece must be worn.

The series premiered on Netflix on 18 September 2026; the interview gives no viewership figures. Kim frames the look as advocacy for 'fashion hanbok' — tradition that preserves its value while letting the wearer express individuality.

In an interview with Korea JoongAng Daily published on 9 October 2026, hanbok designer Kim Young-jin — whose clients include BTS and Tilda Swinton — walked through the costume system she built for Netflix's The Scandal, which premiered on 18 September. The series reimagines the 18th-century French novel Dangerous Liaisons in 18th-century Joseon, under the burden of 2003's Untold Scandal, Korea's first full-fledged costume drama. Kim recalled production files each as thick as a brick, the title printed in seven colours — one per main character.

Each lead has a signature colour that moves with their arc. Lady Cho, played by Son Ye-jin, could easily have been red or wine, but Kim chose green: a sprout-like fresh green for her young self, deepening almost to black as her emotions intensify. Kim said the neutrality and openness of green suited an exceptionally talented, captivating woman who lives in an era where virtually nothing is allowed to her. The widowed Hui-yeon, played by Nana, wears sosaek — the warm, undyed white of cotton or hemp — while Cho Won, played by Ji Chang-wook, wears blue.

Underneath the outer layers, Kim built period undergarments — sokjeoksam, sokjeogori, darisokgot and more — and refused to cut corners even for pieces seen only briefly in oil-lamp night scenes; some are pink, an inference she defends from excavated garments showing Joseon-era people dyed intimate pieces to taste. Accessories — dwikkoji ornaments, binyeo hairpins, gat hats — came from a collection amassed over 20 years, matched to each costume with written instructions, because get even one colour wrong, she says, and you change the temperature of the entire room.

Colour carries the storytelling: seven signature palettes give viewers a silent map of character and emotional shift without a word of dialogue.

Green over red for Lady Cho was a character read, not a styling whim — neutrality and openness for a talented woman the era allows nothing.

Research into Sin Yun-bok's paintings and excavated garments grounds the design, so the invented details sit on a credible period base.

Nothing was too small to fund properly: handmade undergarments and matched heritage accessories keep continuity through intimate scenes and long shoots.

The strongest period invention sits on strict research: pick one rule — colour as character — and apply it from the outer robe to the underwear, so even your inventions read as coherent.

The Scandal premiered on Netflix on 18 September 2026. The interview reports no ratings or review figures. Kim hopes the term 'fashion hanbok' gains wider use: her approach preserves the strengths and value of tradition while allowing wearers to express individuality. She also said production budgets were limited but she could not bring herself to use hastily made accessories — so she supplied pieces from her own two-decade collection and prepared detailed instructions on the angle and manner in which each should be worn.