‘The Haunted Palace’ Takes the Lead as Korean Weekend Dramas Battle for Ratings

Korean weekend dramas are kicking off with intense ratings battles, and SBS’s new historical fantasy series The Haunted Palace is coming out on top.

According to Nielsen Korea, the SBS Friday-Saturday Drama The Haunted Palace, starring Yook Sung-jae and Kim Ji-yeon, recorded an impressive 8.3% viewership rating on its latest episode broadcasted on the 19th. Although this was a slight drop from its premiere episode’s 9.2%, it still led among dramas airing in the same time slot.

MBC’s Barney and the Boys struggled to capture audience attention, dropping from the previous day’s 1.5% to just 1.1%, barely staying above the 1% line.

Meanwhile, the JTBC Saturday-Sunday Drama More Beautiful Than Heaven debuted with a respectable 5.7% rating. While it did not reach the 10.3% peak of its predecessor The Art of Negotiation, it marked a solid start for this new emotional piece.

tvN’s heartwarming medical slice-of-life Resident Playbook also gained traction. The show hit a new personal best with an average of 5.1% in Seoul and 4.5% nationwide, reflecting a positive trajectory among viewers.

As major Korean broadcasters continue to roll out fresh content, the battle for top ratings this season is shaping up to be as gripping as the dramas themselves.