Despite a slowdown in the content industry and a constrained production environment in the first half of 2024, certain K-dramas stood out, seducing the hearts of viewers and consolidating their success. We bring you a recap of the drama landscape for the first half of the year.
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The number one “Queen of Tears”
The combination of a star screenwriter and exceptional actors has well and truly rewritten history. tvN’s weekend drama “Queen of Tears,” which concluded in late April, revolves around the three-year marriage of chaebol heiress Hong Hae In (Kim Ji Won) and Baek Hyun Woo (Kim Soo Hyun), originally from Yongduri village. It is especially their chemistry and their performances that have earned them great popularity.
In the latest episode, “Queen of Tears” achieved a record viewership rating of 24,9% (Nielsen Korea), setting a new record for tvN dramas. The series also held the top spot in the combined TV-OTT rankings for eight consecutive weeks (from the first week of March to the fourth week of April) and was featured for ten consecutive weeks in the Official Worldwide Top Ten TV Series Rankings non-English speaking Netflix.
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The “Lovely Runner” phenomenon
If Queen of Tears dominated the audiences, “Lovely Runner”, which ended last month, had no equal in terms of buzz. This Monday-Tuesday tvN drama blended a time jump with elements of youth drama as well as thriller to captivate female viewers in their 20s and 40s.
The peak audience rating of 5,8% hasn’t stopped the series from becoming immensely popular, especially with younger viewers. It topped the TV-OTT polls on drama popularity for four consecutive weeks, while its actors Byeon Woo Seok and Kim Hye Yoon occupied the first and second place respectively in the TV-OTT rankings on the craze for actors during the same period.
It must be said that it is mainly thanks to his main role as “Ryu Sun Jae” that Byeon Woo Seok, who became a model, rose to fame while Kim Hye Yoon continues to be a popular star.
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tvN’s success began with ‘Marry My Husband’
Long before “Queen of Tears” and “Lovely Runner,” there was “Marry My Husband” which first aired on January 1 and kicked off tvN’s success. As a romantic comedy, “Marry My Husband” tells the story of Kang Ji Won (Park Min Young), who gets a second chance at life and tries to get revenge on her best friend and her husband.
What quickly increased the viewership of this drama was its rapid development and the actors’ passionate performances, all mixed with melodramatic plots. With an audience rate of 12,0%, “Marry My Husband” not only won the TV-OTT buzz rankings, but also topped the number of paying subscribers for tvN and was the first K-drama on Amazon Prime Video to rank first in the global daily TV series rankings.
Subtle but meaningful dramas
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Pyramid Games
Released in February on TVING, “Pyramid Game” takes place at Baekyeon High School, where students are subjected to brutal violence as part of a cruel survival hierarchy determined by a secret vote. The dense and rapid representation of the bullies, the victims as well as the witnesses captured the attention of viewers aged 10 to 20.
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LTNS
Another TVING drama, titled “LTNS,” released in January, also made waves with its genre and bold storyline. Short for “Long Time No Sex”, this drama features bold sexual content rarely found in dramas, not limited to provocative infidelity stories, but intricately depicting relationships and emotions, which which earned him critical acclaim.
Major productions that were not successful
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The Escape of the Seven
SBS’s “The Escape of the Seven”, known for its exceptionally high production budget of 45 billion KRW or approximately 33 million USD, ended in May with a bittersweet note. The controversial subject and plot, however, did not allow famous screenwriter Kim Soon Ok to continue her successful series.
The series’ viewership rating was 7,7% while the second season, “The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection,” finished with 4,4%, marking a decline in previously unstoppable momentum. of SBS for its weekend dramas.
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Gyeongseong Creature
Starring the great actors Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee, the Netflix original series “Gyeongseong Creature”, the ten episodes of the first part of which were broadcast between December 2023 and January 2024, aimed to differentiate itself by combining the historical and creature genres.
The colossal budget of 70 billion KRW (approximately 51 million USD) did not prevent the drama from receiving mixed reviews due to its rough progression and the unnatural combination of a historical setting and romance. . We are waiting to see what success it will have in the next season 2.
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Uncle Samsik
The original Disney Plus series entitled “Uncle Samsik” did not escape these difficulties. The series, based on modern Korean history, has faced criticism for its excessive complexity and slow pace of development, despite high expectations surrounding Song Kang Ho’s participation in the series. first-ever drama as well as a production budget of 40 billion won.
Which of the K-dramas on this list captured your attention the most?