Park Hae-jin and Jo Bo-ah‘s new drama Forest is off to a good start after it premiered Wednesday night with decent TV ratings.

According to Nielsen Korea, the first two episodes of Forest obtained nationwide ratings of 7.1 and 7.4 percent, which are close to the final episode ratings (6.8 and 8.5 percent) recorded by its predecessor, Woman Of 9.9 Billion. In terms of the number of viewers, the series pulled in 1.2 million people nationwide.

Promotional poster for Forest featuring Park Hae-jin and Jo Bo-ah

Meanwhile, The Game: Towards Zero, which was broadcast one hour earlier on MBC, recorded 3.1 and 4.2 percent for its 5th and 6th episode, respectively. These figures are higher than the 2.5 and 3.7 percent it obtained in its previous episodes. tvN’s Money Game also saw a jump in ratings from 1.3 percent in the previous episode to 2.2 percent in its latest broadcast.

Forest is the sixth Korean drama to premiere in January 2020, following Channel A’s Touch, SBS’s Dr. Romantic 2, Money Game, and The Game: Towards Zero, and MBC’s XX. January has a total of seven prime-time drama premieres, including JTBC’s Itaewon Class that is set to kick off its broadcast on January 31.

Forest is a completely pre-produced drama about two people whose lives are changed after living together in a mysterious forest that harbors secrets about their childhood. Park Hae-jin (Man To Man) plays a successful businessman who leaves the corporate world and joins a special rescue team in the countryside. There, he meets Jo Bo-ah’s (My Strange Hero) character, a promising who suffers from a trauma that keeps her from fully focusing on her career.

Park Hae-jin and Jo Bo-ah as seen during the press conference for Forest on January 29.

During the press conference for Forest on January 29, PD Oh Jong-rok described it as a “healing drama” about how the main characters with their own pain heal each other while living together in a forest.

Forest airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10 p.m. KST on KBS2. It will be replaced by Kim Myung-soo and Shin Ye-eun’s Welcome in March.

Comment

Park Hae-jin’s Forest is finally here! Last December I was curious why I haven’t heard about the drama lately when it’s 100% pre-produced and filming was already completed in August (during this time, the series was called Secret). Then the new year came and KBS2 confirmed its premiere date and broadcast schedule! I didn’t watch any past work from the drama’s director (The Greatest Wedding, Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy) and screenwriter, so I’m not sure what to expect from the show. But since it was completely pre-produced, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it can deliver. KBS2 must also have so much trust in the series, considering the network placed it on the Wednesday-Thursday time slot whose dramas—from Liver Or Die to When The Camellia Blooms—enjoyed high TV ratings throughout 2019.

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