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| A poster for the KBS TV series 'My Only One' features actor Choi Soo-jong, front, and Uee as a father and daughter who have not met for 28 years. Korea Times file. |
By Jung Hae-myoung
In an age where Netflix and other digital media provide streaming services that outshine traditional broadcasters in the race for viewership, TV broadcasts are finding it harder to gain attention from viewers. A 20 percent viewership rate or higher is seen as something too high for broadcasters to reach.
Yet for KBS, the story is not so dark with its series "My Only One" which airs Saturday and Sunday. Its viewership hit a record 49.4 percent Sunday. If it hits 50 percent or higher, it will become the first TV series to hit the 50-percent range in nine years since the 2010 hit drama "Bread, Love and Dreams." The viewership of the 2010 TV series hit a record 50. 8 percent for its last episode.
According to Nielson Korea, My Only One also saw a rating of 44.1 percent on Saturday.
The TV series revolves around a woman Kim Do-ran played by Uee who meets her biological father after being separated for 28 years. Her life becomes turbulent as her father turns out to be a suspected murderer. Despite this, she chooses to stand by him and endure hard times together.
In episode 104 which aired Sunday when the viewer ratings reached their high, Kim's father Soo-il (played by Choi Soo-jong) was cleared of false murder charges against him following the testimony of a homeless man who was a witness in the case.
The TV series has drawn both positive and negative responses from viewers. Criticism comes as the drama uses the same old topics, such as dementia, birth secrets and tensions between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law which are core to many previous Korean dramas.
Despite such criticism, there is no doubt that a viewership rating of 50 percent is something remarkable for a network TV series.
"The actors' solid performance is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. Especially audiences empathize with Kang Soo-il (played by Choi Soo-jong) and his situation because his life path shows what Korean fathers have lived," said Kwon Hyuk-joong, a culture critic.
"The drama also strikes a chord with viewers in their 20s for its new-retro atmosphere which is rarely seen in other Korean family dramas," Kwon added.
With two more episodes to go, My Only One has an audience wondering if it can pass 50 percent viewership and finish "happily ever after."
My Only One is a weekend family drama airing on KBS from 7:55 p.m. to 9:10 p.m. with the finale, episode 106, airing March 17.
