From left, Go Youn-jung, IU and Shin Hae-sun / Xportsnews
In a twist that is rare for Korea’s fiercely competitive weekend TV slots, three rival dramas airing at similar times are all increasing — not splitting — viewership.
Led by star names like IU, Go Youn-jung and Shin Hae-sun, the trio of series has simultaneously hit new ratings highs, creating an unusual “all boats rise” effect in the Saturday primetime battleground.
The three shows — MBC’s Friday-Saturday drama “Perfect Crown,” JTBC’s Saturday-Sunday drama “We Are All Trying Here” and tvN’s Saturday-Sunday drama “Filing for Love” — air in overlapping weekend slots, traditionally a zero-sum game for TV ratings.
Instead, each is building momentum.
“Perfect Crown,” starring IU and Byun Woo-seok, has emerged as the most stable hit. After debuting at 7.8 percent, the drama climbed to 10.8 percent in its seventh episode and 11.2 percent in its eight, firmly establishing itself as a weekend leader.
Scenes from "Perfect Crown" / Courtesy of MBC
The show is also gaining traction overseas. It stayed in the Top 10 on Disney+ in the United States for 21 days and entered the Top 10 in 47 countries, highlighting the continued global pull of K-romance.
JTBC’s “We Are All Trying Here,” starring Go Youn-jung and Koo Kyo-hwan, is seeing slower but steady growth. After dipping to 2.1 percent, it rebounded to 2.5 percent in episode 5 and 2.9 percent in episode 6, also marking its highest ratings yet.
Scenes from "We Are All Trying Here" / Courtesy of JTBC
Source: Korea Times News
