Most “Hopeless” K-drama Currently: Bad Acting + Unfathomable Plot
Right from the first episode, this newly-released K-drama has greatly disappointed the audience and received heavy criticism.
“Scandal” is KBS’s latest weekly drama, drawing significant attention from the start as it marks the return of actress Han Chae-young, who is nicknamed as Korea’s Barbie Doll.
The first episode aired on the evening of June 17, but it didn’t achieve favorable results. Specifically, it recorded the lowest opening viewership ratings for any KBS daily drama in the past four years.
According to Nielsen Korea, “Scandal” premiered with a rating of 7.2%, which is 0.8% lower than the premiere rating of “The Two Sisters.” “The Two Sisters” was already considered to be a drag on KBS, as its ratings never surpassed 10% throughout its broadcast. Despite high expectations, “Scandal” had an even worse start than its predecessor, which was expected to “save” the network.
Not only did “Scandal” fall short compared to “The Two Sisters,” but its opening rating was also lower than all KBS daily dramas over the past four years. Here are the opening ratings for KBS daily dramas from 2024 back to 2020: “Scandal” (7.2%), “The Two Sisters” (8%), “The Elegant Empire” (9.4%), “Woman in a Veil” (10.4%), “Vengeance of the Bride” (12.8%), “Gold Mask” (11.5%), “Red Shoes” (12.8%), “Miss Monte-Cristo” (14.6%), “Man in a Veil” (10.4%), and “Fatal Promise” (12.5%).
These numbers highlight a severe crisis for KBS daily dramas. The “hopeless” scripts, filled with excessive drama and targeting housewives, seem to be out of favor in Korea. “Scandal” followed this formula and failed spectacularly right from the first episode. Although the first episode was packed with drama, it did not succeed in drawing viewers in.
Below are some comments from netizens:
- Both lead actresses’ acting is stiff, and the script is a chaotic mess.
- I barely managed to finish “The Two Sisters,” and now there’s an even worse drama.
- The shame of KBS. The network should consider making 16-episode miniseries like other networks and stop making long dramas; it’s outdated.
- Apart from the beautiful actors and scenery, the first episode left nothing memorable, so the low rating is deserved.
Despite it being just the first episode, viewers have harshly criticized Han Chae-young’s acting. True to her nickname as Korea’s Barbie, even though she’s aged, Han Chae-young still looks like a doll and acts just as stiffly.
In the K-drama, she plays Moon Jeong-in, the CEO of Jeongin Entertainment. Jeong-in is extremely ambitious, trying to seize her husband’s assets, and she pays with her life in the very first episode, leaving viewers questioning the future content of the series.
Source: K14, KBS
