The following dramas have underwhelming performances in Korea, but are well-received by international viewers.
A Korean drama with low domestic viewership ratings but receives explosive response internationally is not uncommon. 5 dramas released in 2021 as listed below are the prime examples. However, not every buzzworthy series generates positive reviews.
True Beauty
With an average rating of 3.794% and the peak rating of 4.579%, True Beauty is not considered a commercial success in Korea. However, internationally, this drama went viral on SNS and constantly became the topic of discussion.
There are many reasons to explain the appeal of True Beauty to international viewers. First and foremost is the eye-catching visuals of the main cast including Cha Eun Woo, Moon Ga Young and Hwang In Yeop. Next, although the drama’s storyline is a bit cheesy, it is still fun and entertaining. After True Beauty, the popularity of the leading cast members were taken to another level in the international market.
Nevertheless
Sometimes having low ratings in Korea does not mean that the drama should be called a flop. Nevertheless is an example. Having an episode with a rating that fell to 0% and the highest rating was only over 2%, but Nevertheless consistently trended on Netflix’s Top 10 during its broadcast. Videos cut from the drama also earn millions of views on YouTube.
Posts discussing the storyline of each episode drew high engagement on social media platforms. Not every discussion about Nevertheless is filled with positive comments due to the drama’s controversial plot, but it is better to be talked about than to be forgotten.
Now, We Are Breaking Up
At first, the rating of Now, We Are Breaking Up was only considered low compared to Song Hye Kyo‘s reputation and considering the fact that it is a Fri-Sat drama broadcast in a favorable time slot on SBS. However, with the rating of only 4.9% in the latest episode, there should be no more excuses for the failure of Now, We Are Breaking Up domestically. However, the drama still does pretty well internationally.
Now, We Are Breaking Up ranks high on the list of most watched shows weekly on online streaming platforms. The level of discussion for Now We Are Breaking Up is not bad either, although it has been receiving more negative reactions to how bland the plot is getting.
Our Beloved Summer
The rating of Our Beloved Summer has started to steadily increase since episode 3 and especially has climbed to 4% in the latest episode. Even so, it’s still a low rating. Despite not gaining much popularity in Korea, Our Beloved Summer is loved by the international audience, which explains all the positive reactions they have for the drama.
Regarding Our Beloved Summer, a series of compliments about its content, details, acting, actors, soundtrack that international audiences have for the drama have been posted. It can be said that this is the most popular Korean drama to the international audience in the final quarter of 2021. With its popularity growing steadily both in Korea and abroad now, maybe when the drama is over, its rating will surprise us.
Snowdrop
Since the time of its filming, Snowdrop has been entangled in a lot of controversies. Jisoo’s acting debut production really attracted so much fuss that everyone thought it was a difficult debut. However, overcoming all the difficulties, the drama was still broadcast normally. Since episode 1, the drama has faced a large number of petitions because of its historical falsification controversy. Despite public opinion and audience turning away, JTBC didn’t stop broadcasting, so the audience got angry and criticized even more, which was why the rating dropped from 3.9% straight down to 1.7% in just the 2nd week. An extremely uncertain future is predicted for Snowdrop, as Korean audiences do not easily change their minds.
Despite so many difficulties in the domestic market, Snowdrop can enjoy its popularity abroad. Foreign fans simply consider it an ordinary modern-day drama. Moreover, BLACKPINK and Jisoo have a very large fanbase, which wants to give their idol a meaningful gift for her debut as an actress. The favorable opinion mixed with the negative opinion, so the heated debate about this work grows even more. It can be said that Snowdrop has been the focus since the day it started airing.
Since Korean dramas went international, foreign audiences have been able to watch them very early and join the atmosphere of waiting for each episode with domestic fans, so it is not so strange for a drama to be a flop in Korea but popular abroad. I think this is also an advantage for the production crew because at least they know somewhere the movie is still very well received. Hopefully “Snowdrop” can cope with the difficulties and persist in broadcasting until the end so that international audiences can still enjoy it.
