The teenage faces of Son Ye-jin and Ji Chang-wook in The Scandal were created with computer graphics. Ilgan Sports reported the detail on September 22, following a cast appearance in a Netflix Korea video released the previous day.
The effect gives younger appearances to Lady Cho and Cho Won. De-aging is digital work that makes a performer appear younger on screen.
Son Ye-jin’s earlier films supplied a reference
According to Ilgan Sports, Son said the team referred to her appearances in work from her twenties, particularly The Classic, when creating her younger face. She also described recognizing her younger self in the finished result.
The reporting describes a visual reference, rather than saying scenes from The Classic were inserted into The Scandal. It identifies computer graphics without naming the software or claiming that generative AI was used.
Watch the official cast conversation
The Netflix Korea conversation is embedded on this page. Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and NANA discuss the series, with a behind-the-scenes chapter beginning at 10:34. That chapter introduces the wider production discussion.
The video also covers the central wager and the relationships among Lady Cho, Cho Won and Hui-yeon. It contains story discussion, so viewers avoiding plot details may prefer to finish the series first.
The actors behind the three leads
Son Ye-jin plays Lady Cho, Ji Chang-wook plays Cho Won, and NANA plays Hui-yeon. Netflix’s Joseon-era drama follows a secret wager that draws the three into a contest of desire and control. The photographs on this page are promotional actor portraits, not the digitally altered teenage scenes.
Who’s who in The Scandal
For episode lengths and the central story, read our complete The Scandal guide.
