The Haunted Palace EP16 ends series with RECORD ratings and international fans loving the ending

As I predicted yesterday, the SBS series The Haunted Palace, Episode 16 ended the K-drama’s run last night with its highest ever ratings, both nationally and from viewers in Seoul.

The Korean drama’s national rating hit an all-time high of 11.0 percent, versus its previous episode of 9.4 percent — so a very nice jump for the series finale.

In Seoul, The Haunted Palace, Episode 16 earned a lower 10.1 percent, but that is still substantially higher than the 9.0 percent it garnered for Episode 15 on Friday night.

International viewers reaction to The Haunted Palace, Episode 16

It also appears most international viewers, at least the ones commenting on MDL and Viki, are happy with how The Haunted Palace ended.

Especially as there were fears it would be an unhappy ending.

Comments range from somewhat positive to very, including:

Really enjoyed the show even though the plot dragged in the last episodes and got a little boring for me. As someone who doesn’t really watch saeguk or fantasy, I’m glad I watched this!!

and

Rated 9 in initial episodes. Ended up with 8 which ain’t bad. Thoroughly enjoyed the show as it aired.

as well as some who are overwhelmingly positive, including:

One of the few times that the finale didn’t seem rushed and ended well while tying up loose ends. It was pretty perfect!

Give Kim Ji hoon all the awards. He killed it the last two episodes and was so gripping playing dual roles. Hope to see him in other dramas in the future, instead of playing villains and secondary roles.

Will miss this show. It has the perfect balance of mystery, humor and romance.

and this

I absolutely loved this drama! The characters were well casted. The plot was smooth and cohesive. The backstories were relevant. Even the fantasy displayed was appropriate.

A truly stellar performance. I cried with the characters, laughed with them and giggled at the silliness. I felt the anguish and fear, but most of all, I was deliriously happy that it all ended well.

The Haunted Palace stars the excellent main cast of Bona, Yook Sung Jae, and Kim Ji Hoon. All 16 episodes are now streaming on Viki internationally.