The webtoon “W” may have beaten its competitors, “Uncontrollably Fond” and “Doctors,” in the ratings game, but it has yet to break the record of KBS’s “Descendants of the Sun” despite its unique storyline.
The series is ending on Sept. 14, which means it has only four more episodes to air before it bows out. So far, the highest rating the show has achieved is a 12.3 percent viewership share when it aired Episode 10 on Aug. 24. It certainly is way too low compared to the 40 percent rating that “Descendants of the Sun” got towards the end of the 16-episode blockbuster.
When the three dramas premiered a few weeks ago, there was much speculation which of them would be able to match the popularity of the military-medical drama that made Song Joong-ki and Song Hye Kyo household names not only in South Korea and China but also other Asian nations where “Descendants of the Sun” aired.
None appears to have achieved that, which means “W” stars Han Hyo Joo and Lee Jong Suk could not dethrone the two Songs yet from their pedestal. Although “W” so far has failed to break the record of “Descendants of the Sun,” the MBC-produced webtoon, nevertheless, impressed a lot of viewers with its supernatural plot and unique storyline as it tackles the impossible love story between Oh Yeon Joo, played by Han Hyo Joo, who is a real-life surgeon, and Kang Chul, played by Lee Jong Suk, a fictional webcomic character, noted Chatt Sports Net.
“Descendants of the Sun” opened a lot of doors for Song Joong-ki and Song Hye Kyo who were not even the first choices of NEW. It has earned for the two Hallyu stars billions of won in endorsements and new projects that despite a China ban on Korean celebrities from holding fan meets in the Asian giant, Song Joong-ki was able to promote live on stage a Chinese cosmetic brand he was endorsing in a Chinese city.
Actors of new forthcoming dramas could only hope the good fortune of the two Songs would also happen to them and their shows.