The drama 'Queen of Tears', featuring the stellar cast of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won, has made a splash by surpassing the KBS weekend drama and clinching the top spot in Saturday's overall ratings.

As per Nielsen Korea, a renowned ratings research firm, the 9th episode of the tvN weekend drama 'Queen of Tears', aired on April 6th, scored a nationwide rating of 15.6% (rounded off to two decimal places, 15.570%) on a paid platform.

Although the rating of 'Queen of Tears' dipped by 0.5% points from the 9th episode rating of 16.1%, it still managed to record the highest rating among all terrestrial, comprehensive, and cable programs aired that day.

Interestingly, 'Queen of Tears' has become the first tvN weekend drama to outperform a KBS 2TV weekend drama. This is a first in the history of tvN weekend dramas since their inception in 2017, a feat even the highest-rated tvN weekend drama 'Crash Landing on You', starring Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin, couldn't achieve.

The KBS 2TV weekend drama 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic' episode 5, aired on the same day, recorded a rating of 15.0% based on nationwide households and 14.2% based on households in the metropolitan area. In contrast, the metropolitan household rating of 'Queen of Tears' stood at 17.2%.

'Queen of Tears' managed to secure the overall No.1 rating in terrestrial, comprehensive, and cable broadcasts that day by surpassing 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic' in both nationwide and metropolitan household ratings.

Other dramas aired on the day, apart from 'Queen of Tears' and 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic', included MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'Wonderful World' at 6.8%, JTBC's Saturday-Sunday drama 'Hyde' at 4.5%, and SBS's Friday-Saturday drama 'Resurrection of Seven' at 2.7%, as per Nielsen Korea nationwide ratings.

The recent slump in ratings of KBS 2TV weekend dramas paved the way for 'Queen of Tears' to make this record. KBS 2TV's weekend dramas have been unable to cross a 30% rating since 'Currently Beautiful' was aired in April 2022. This was followed by a series of dramas recording 20% ratings, leading to a ratings slump. The slump continued with 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic', which premiered on March 23rd last month, and is also currently experiencing a ratings slump.

Thanks to the early ratings slump of KBS's weekend drama 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic', the tvN weekend drama 'Queen of Tears' was able to claim the 'Saturday No.1 rating' spot. This crisis for KBS's weekend drama turned out to be a golden opportunity for the tvN weekend drama.

Although 'Queen of Tears' differs from 'Beauty and Mr. Romantic' in terms of broadcast time, it has successfully captured both ratings and buzz. This has led to expectations of a change in the ranking of the highest ratings in the history of tvN's weekend drama. After surpassing the ratings of KBS's weekend drama, all eyes are on what record it will set in the future.

Meanwhile, 'Queen of Tears' is a drama that tells the story of a dizzying crisis and a love story that starts again like a miracle of a 3-year-old couple, Hong Hae In (played by Kim Ji Won), the third generation of the Queens Group conglomerate and the queen of department stores, and Baek Hyun Woo (played by Kim Soo Hyun), the son of a dragon head and the prince of a supermarket. It is broadcast every Saturday and Sunday at 9:20 PM.

Source[1]

Lee Jun Young recently opened up about the emotional toll of playing a villain—and how one powerful scene made him break down in tears behind the scenes.

On the May 1st episode of KBS 2TV’s variety show Problem Child in House, Lee Jun Young appeared alongside co-star Jung Eun Ji to promote their new KBS drama Pump Up the Healthy Love.

During the show, Lee Jun Young was asked about the most unforgettable villain he’s played. He chose his role as Han Su Gang in the film Brave Citizen.

He explained, “It was really tough to film. I had to act like I was leading school violence, and there was even a scene where I bullied a grandmother.”

The hosts were surprised, pointing out how kind and gentle he seems in real life. Lee Jun Young shared how he transforms for such roles.

“I try to act as bad as I can, but sometimes the director says, ‘You still look too nice.’ Then I focus even harder and adjust right away.”

He also revealed that filming one particular scene hit him hard emotionally. “My real grandmother was sick at the time,” he said.

“In one scene, there’s a grandma selling gimbap, and I ad-libbed by stubbing a cigarette out on the gimbap. I was really into character, but after filming, I just broke down. So many thoughts came to me and I started crying.”

Fans praised his dedication to acting but also felt moved by how deeply the role affected him. Lee Jun Young’s honesty gave a raw look at how even fictional roles can hit close to home.

Source: [1]