According to the July 9 report from Nielsen Korea, the premiere of "Scholar Who Walks the Night" recorded 7.7 percent in nationwide viewership. In addition, the supernatural period drama received 8.1 percent of viewers in the Seoul metropolitan area.
"Scholar Who Walks the Night" kicked off with performances from its central cast members Lee Joon Gi, Kim So Eun, Lee Soo Hyuk and Lee Yoo Bi. Having previously starred in period dramas, Lee Joon Gi and Kim So Eun are believable in their portrayal of nobles, while Lee Soo Hyuk reflects pure evil as the vampire Gwi.
Lee Joon Gi portrays Kim Sung Yeol, a learned nobleman who was the right-hand-man of the Crown Prince (Lee Hyun Woo). Lee Sook Soo is Gwi, a vampire who terrorizes the monarchy, feeding on its courtesans and the household, at his will. When the Crown Prince challenges his frightening reign, Gwi retaliates with a massacre of the kingdom.
Sung Yeol is transformed into a vampire in an effort to stop Gwi, but his beloved maiden Lee Myung Hee (Kim So Eun) is the casualty of his battle to defend humanity. The interactions between Sung Yeol and Myung Hee reflect a beautiful innocence, hinting at the potential for solid romance in future episodes of the series.
The first episode concludes with a time-jump that leads viewers 120 years into the future. Lee Yoo Bi is Jo Yang Sun, a book peddler who works under the guise of a male commoner.
TVXQ's Changmin also stars in the series as Crown Prince Lee Yoon.
The SBS melodrama "Mask" continued to lead the Wednesday-Thursday dramas with 10.8 percent of nationwide viewers, reflecting a decrease from 11.1 percent for its July 2 episode. The KBS 2 series, "Masked Prosecutor" recorded 5.9 percent.
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About the writer: Adrienne Stanley is a contributing editor for KDramastars. She is also a contributing writer for KpopStarz, MTV Iggy, Viki and CJ Entertainment's KCON blog. Her passions include a love of K-pop and Asian drama. When she is not writing, she is hanging out on Twitter (@retrogirladdy).
