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]

SBS's new fantasy historical drama The Haunted Palace is already making waves both in South Korea and around the world.

Starring Yook Sung Jae and Bona, the show exploded in popularity during its very first week — topping Netflix charts in multiple countries and hitting double-digit TV ratings straight out of the gate.

On Korean television, The Haunted Palace shocked viewers with a strong start. Episode 1 pulled in a peak nationwide rating of 10.7%, instantly breaking the double-digit barrier.

The Seoul area rating and the national average were both 9.2%, making it the highest-rated premiere of any SBS drama in 2025 so far.

It also beat out other SBS dramas like Love Scout and Buried Hearts, and even took the #1 spot among all mini-series aired that week, showing that this drama isn’t just trending — it’s leading the pack. (According to Nielsen Korea)

And the success didn’t stop on TV.

As soon as The Haunted Palace dropped on Netflix, it jumped straight to #1 on “Today’s Top 10 TV Shows in South Korea”, proving its massive popularity on streaming platforms.

Globally, it also ranked #1 in the TV series category in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, showing that international fans are just as hooked.
(According to FlixPatrol, April 21)

The drama is also doing incredibly well on South Korea’s own streaming trend charts. On KinoLights — a platform that tracks trends across all streaming services — The Haunted Palace ranked #1 overall, beating both films and dramas. (As of April 19)

Fans are loving the unique story, which mixes fantasy, comedy, and creepy mystery. The drama follows Yeori, a shaman who denies her fate, and Kang Cheol I, a mythical Imoogi spirit trapped inside her first love’s body. Together, they face off against a terrifying ghost called Palcheok Gui — who has a dark grudge against the royal family.

Episode 2 added even more excitement, with Kang Cheol I hilariously struggling to live like a normal human after 1,000 years.

At the same time, Yeori starts hearing the voice of Yoon Gap’s spirit and tries to save him. By the end of the episode, it’s revealed that Prince Wonja (played by Park Jae Joon) is going mad due to Palcheok Gui — and that the ghost has already consumed Yoon Gap’s soul. The showdown between Kang Cheol I, Yeori, and the evil spirit is just getting started.

With high ratings and top OTT rankings, The Haunted Palace is quickly becoming one of the biggest drama hits of the year.

Episode 3 of The Haunted Palace airs on Friday, April 25 at 9:50 PM KST on SBS.

Source: [1]