One of the current Korean drama season’s “little gems” is the ongoing historical romance Missing Crown Prince, Episode 5, which just grabbed its highest nationwide rating yet.
Even though it was competing with Queen of Tears as that drama aired in the same time slot on Korean TV.
That rating, according to Nielsen Korea, was 2.79 percent nationwide, which is an increase from its previous episode’s 2.51 percent.
That rating also put the MBN drama in the #2 spot in its time slot on cable TV.
Seoul ratings for the MBN drama drop
Oddly, in Seoul, however, Missing Crown Prince, Episode 5 did not earn its highest rating in that region but, in fact, earned its lowest ever rating at 2.15 percent — down from Episode 2’s 2.17 percent.
A strange result as the ratings nationwide and in Seoul often tend to mirror each other.
Then again, the ratings for Queen of Tears last night were quite a big higher in Seoul than nationwide, which could account for the discrepancy.
The next episode of Missing Crown Prince will air on MBN tonight in South Korea — although with Queen of Tears airing its series finale at the same time, I would not be surprised if we see a ratings drop.
Once that hit drama ends though, and competition is lower, I expect Missing Crown Prince to start grabbing higher ratings, both on Saturday and Sunday nights, as it features a unique plot and solid performances from its entire main cast.
The 20-episode Missing Crown Prince stars Suho, Hong Ye Ji, Myung Se Bin, Kim Joo Hun, and Kim Min Kyu, and airs every Saturday and Sunday on MBN.
Outside South Korea, the streaming platform Viki is airing it for its international subscribers.