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| "The King: Eternal Monarch." Courtesy of SBS |
By Dong Sun-hwa
SBS's romantic fantasy "The King: Eternal Monarch," starring Lee Min-ho and Kim Go-eun, has been one of the year's most anticipated TV series, but is yet to impress viewers.
The first episode on April 17 scored 11.4 percent viewership, but the rating has been falling since, apart from a slight rebound on Saturday to 9.7 percent.
The 16-part drama, set in a "parallel universe," is a romantic story about two people living in different "worlds." Lee Min-ho plays Lee Gon, an imaginary Korean Emperor who tries to fight against evil, and Kim Go-eun appears as detective Jung Tae-eul.
The series has been the talk of the town from the beginning because it was to be penned by star writer Kim Eun-sook. She was behind the success of hit soap operas including "Descendants of the Sun (2016)", "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016)" and "Mr. Sunshine (2018)." Most of her creations posted record viewership here and gained massive popularity in Asia, propelling actors such as Song Joong-ki to stardom.
People's expectations for her latest offering reached a peak when two high-profile actors were revealed for the lead roles. The show is Lee Min-ho's first drama since he was discharged from the military last April.
But "The King: Eternal Monarch" is struggling. Numerous viewers point out that its storyline is hard to grasp and that the overall directing lacks proficiency.
"It was difficult for me to understand the plot without having previous knowledge about a 'parallel universe,'" a viewer commented.
Another wrote, "It seems the scenes are not connected to each other."
Some people also claim the script is making them cringe, while others said the acting was not subtle enough.
"I cannot really get immersed in the series and empathize with the characters," a viewer said.
