Connection Ep 3 beats Bitter Sweet Hell in the ratings, but both Kdramas look like smash-hits

Connection and Bitter Sweet Hell main leads

With the third episodes of two extremely good Korean dramas airing on Friday nights in South Korea — Connection on SBS and Bitter Sweet Hell on MBC — it has been difficult for some K-drama fans, who are already overwhelmed with superb shows to watch, to choose which of the two to add to their watchlist.

As an avid Korean drama fan myself, I am here to tell you — watch both of them — as both are absolutely riveting, and feature some of the best writing and acting of the current K-drama season.

Something drama fans in South Korea are apparently figuring out as well, as both Connection and Bitter Sweet Hell grabbed new all-time high ratings last night.

Connection is most-watched K-drama of Friday night for second time

For Connection especially, Friday night in South Korea turned out to be a great night as the K-drama grabbed 7.0 percent of the nationwide audience.

That was .80 percent higher than Bitter Sweet Hell’s very strong 6.2 percent, as well as an increase of .90 percent from Connection‘s previous episode, and its second time as the #1 most-watched drama of the night.

In Seoul, Connection came out ahead in the ratings game as well, earning 6.7 percent of the audience share to Bitter Sweet Hell‘s 6.3 percent.

Not that those ratings take anything away from Bitter Sweet Hell, which is a fabulous drama in its own right as, with both dramas airing in the same time slot, it’s just a fact of life that one has to win over the other one.

Besides, Bitter Sweet Hell‘s nationwide rating of 6.2 percent last night was also a very nice jump from its previous episode’s 5.5 percent.

Many international viewers only have legal access to Connection right now

For European and North American viewers outside South Korea, however, it is a little easier to choose which one to watch at the moment as Bitter Sweet Hell will not premiere on Viki for another two weeks (no idea why, as delaying its streaming makes little sense!).

Meanwhile, Connection is now streaming via KOCOWA.

Connection stars the stellar cast of Ji Sung, Jeon Mi Do, Kwon Yool, and Kim Kyung Nam, while Bitter Sweet Hell‘s main leads — Kim Hee Sun, Lee Hye Young, Kim Nam Hee, and Yeonwoo — are also absolutely brilliant.

Let’s see how both perform later on tonight in the South Korean ratings when their respective fourth episodes air then, eh?

About Michelle Topham

Brit-American journalist based in Austria, former radio DJ at 97X WOXY, and Founder/CEO of Leo Sigh. I've covered K-drama, K-pop, J-pop and music news for over a decade.