Something that has puzzled me since the second episode of the ongoing Korean drama My Demon aired is why the K-drama is not performing as well in South Korea as it is internationally?
After all, it has a stellar cast headed by two of the most beautiful people in Korea (Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang), the story is fun and interesting, the music is lovely and the cinematography in every episode has been stellar.
Why then did My Demon kick off its nationwide ratings at 4.5 percent, but then has not been able to surpass that rating in the four episodes since?
A scenario that played out again last night with My Demon, Episode 5, as the K-drama was back to its lowest ever rating of 3.4 percent after its previous episode rose to 4.0 percent last week.
The same scenario also played out with viewers in Seoul, where the drama earned 3.6 percent, which is down from its previous episode’s 4.0 percent and quite a ways away from Episode 1’s rating of 5.1 percent.
My guess is the only thing that is stopping My Demon earning record ratings every Friday and Saturday night is that, unfortunately, the Korean romance drama is airing directly opposite MBC’s hit drama The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract, which saw a big ratings rise last night.
And that is a drama that has done nothing but rise in the ratings as every new episode releases.
My Demon and Netflix viewers
Luckily for My Demon and its cast and crew, however, the drama is kicking major butt on Netflix where it is currently the #2 most-watched non-English TV show on the streaming platform.
In fact last week, not only had My Demon jumped from its #4 spot the week before to last week’s #2, but it was also in the Top 10 in 63 countries.
In other words, don’t feel sorry for the cast and crew of My Demon as, even if its ratings are not rising in Korea, they are still quite solid, but the Korean drama’s glory really lies in its huge success on Netflix.
My Demon stars Kim Yoo Jung, Song Kang, Lee Sang Yi, and Kim Hae Soo, and airs every Friday and Saturday night on SBS TV in South Korea, with new episodes uploaded to Netflix for international viewers soon after.
Its next episode will be out later on tonight.