Anyone who watches Korean dramas knows Saturday night is an extremely competitive night for shows.
After all, most Saturdays, five or six K-dramas air on South Korean TV. And that means each one has to all but fight for its audience share, with some ultimately failing.
The Tale of Lady Ok, Episode 11’s ratings plummet
One of those struggling last night was the excellent historical drama The Tale of Lady Ok, which saw big ratings drops in both monitored regions.
An odd occurrence as the Korean drama has earned excellent ratings since it premiered on November 30th, with steadily increasing viewership ever since.
To the point that, last Sunday night, the tenth episode of The Tale of Lady Ok earned its highest ratings yet — 11.06 percent nationwide and an even higher 11.84 percent in Seoul.
Last night, however, The Tale of Lady Ok, Episode 11’s ratings plummeted back down to 7.68 percent nationwide, and 8.32 percent in Seoul.
Ratings that are similar to those the K-drama earned for Episode 3 on December 8th.
Odd, eh?
International viewers still awarding high ratings to The Tale of Lady Ok
Strangely too, The Tale of Lady Ok is still performing very well with international viewers.
Viewers who are also leaving overwhelmingly positive comments about the Korean drama, its plot and its actors.
My Drama List viewers, for instance, are still rating it a high 8.2 out of 10, a rating that has stayed steady throughout its run, while IMDB users are still awarding it a solid 8.0 out of 10.
Meanwhile, according to Flix Patrol, the Korean drama has also been in the Netflix Top 10 in seven Asian countries this week, including South Korea, where it is still in the #5 spot.
In other words, this sudden ratings drop for The Tale of Lady Ok is very likely nothing more than an aberration that will rectify itself for Episode 12 tonight.
We will keep you informed here at Leo Sigh.
The Tale of Lady Ok stars Im Ji Yeon, Choo Young Woo, Yeonwoo and Kim Jae Won, and airs every Saturday and Sunday evenings on JTBC in South Korea.
KOCOWA streams it for international audiences outside Asia.
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, anime, and manga news for over a decade.