Love Scout Ep 1 earns superb ratings – especially as it airs opposite When the Phone Rings

The first episode of the new SBS drama Love Scout (aka 나의 완벽한 비서) performed exceptionally well last night.

Especially as it was airing directly opposite the hit MBC drama When the Phone Rings, which grabbed its highest ever ratings on Friday night.

According to Nielsen Korea, Love Scout, Episode 1 earned a very solid 5.2 percent of the nationwide audience, while garnering a slightly lower 4.9 percent from viewers in Seoul.

Outside South Korea, the new K-drama is streaming via Viki where it is also currently being rated a very high 9.8 out of 10 from almost 200 users of the platform.

Whether that exceptionally high rating holds as more viewers watch the new series time will tell, but social media comments about the Korean romance drama from international viewers are also extremely positive so far.

What is Love Scout?

The latest SBS drama stars the main cast of Han Ji Min (Behind Your Touch), Lee Joon Hyuk (Dong Jae, the Good or the Bastard), Kim Do Hoon (Your Honor) and Kim Yoon Hye (Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born).

Asian Wiki describes its plot like this:

A successful and confident woman, Kang Ji Yun (Han Ji Min), is the CEO of a headhunting company. To survive in the fiercely competitive headhunting field, she puts everything she has into her work.

Outside of her job, she doesn’t know how to do anything. She has a secretary named Yoo Eun Ho (Lee Joon Hyuk) who takes care of pretty much everything for her.

Unlike his boss, the secretary is friendly, well-mannered, and considerate of other people. He is a single father, who is also good at parenting and housework.

The second episode of Love Scout has already been released via Viki.

And, yes, from Episode 1 alone, I recommend it.

It’s nicely-written, beautifully acted and it’s great to get yet one more romance drama featuring middle-aged actors (Han Ji Min is 42 and Lee Joon Hyuk will soon turn 41) and, thus, middle-aged characters.

Now, let’s see how its ratings fare tonight as it goes up against the series finale of When the Phone Rings.