5 Korean dramas that were more successful than expected: One The Woman, The Red Sleeve, and more
Unexpectedly, these dramas below made big hits despite getting little promotions and not receiving as many expectations as Jirisan, Snowdrop, etc.
One The Woman
“One The Woman” tells about the life of 2 women who have the same appearance, female prosecutor Jo Yeon Joo and Kang Min Na, the daughter-in-law of a chaebol family. An incident happened and caused Jo Yeon Joo to exchange her identity with Kang Min Na’s, leading to lots of problems.
As this was Honey Lee’s return on the small screen for the first time after 3 years, many people wondered if she could still prove her title of an actress who guarantees high ratings. With its last episode reaching up to 18.5%, “One The Woman” made it to the list of this year’s drama hits.
Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)
“Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)” is a Korean TV series that depicts love stories centering around 3 families of 3 people who work together at a broadcasting station.
Although casting no famous stars, this drama still proved that the topic of love affairs could still attract keen attention from Korean viewers. Recording the highest rating of 16,582%, “Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)” has brought huge success to the newly established cable channel TV Chosun. The next seasons are said to be in the middle of filming.
Royal Secret Agent
“Royal Secret Agent” is a detective-historical drama telling about a government position in the Joseon dynasty known as “Secret royal inspector”.
As the viewers didn’t expect much from this drama, its first episode only recorded 5% in viewership. However, thanks to L and Kwon Nara’s impressive performances throughout all episodes, the drama ended successfully with a rating of 14%.
The Red Sleeve
It is not exaggerated to say that “The Red Sleeve” is the most successful historical drama in the past few years. Although “The Red Sleeve” was not promoted as a big project and it mainly cast new actors, the drama eventually topped the popularity chart for many weeks consecutively, surpassing many other dramas with the same broadcasting time, such as “Jirisan” and “Now, We Are Breaking Up”.
Set in the Joseon dynasty, “The Red Sleeve” centered around the royal romance of a king, who prioritizes his country, and a court lady who is always ready to sacrifice herself to protect the king.
Bossam: Steal The Fate
This is another historical drama that gained unexpected success in 2021. The last episode of “Bossam” reached 9.8%, recording the highest rating pearl of all-time for MBN. The female lead actress Yuri (SNSD) received lots of compliments for both her visual and acting skills.
In “Bossam: Steal The Fate”, Yuri played an unlucky princess Soo Kyung, who becomes a widow on her own wedding day. Jung Il-woo took on the role of Ba Woo, a person who mistakenly kidnaps Soo Kyung. After that, the two fall in love with each other and overcome many challenges together.
