JTBC’s Woman of Dignity has broken its own record again on Saturday night, achieving an all-time high nationwide viewership rating of 9.986 % which surpasses the peak rating of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon by 0.32 percentage point. Data from Nielsen Korea show that Strong Woman Do Bong Soon has recorded a peak rating of 9.668 % and maintained the record of having achieved the highest episode rating among all cable dramas in the first half 2017 for about four months.

In terms of ratings among households in Seoul, Woman of Dignity also posted its biggest achievement to date and exceeded the record achieved by Strong Woman of Do Bong Soon. Its 10.364 % is higher by 0.10 percentage point against Strong Woman Do Bong Soon‘s 10.261 %. When it comes to nationwide average ratings, however, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon still dominates the 2017 ranking to date with its impressive 7.649 % followed by Woman of Dignity‘s 5.746 % (based on the 16 episodes that had been aired). Rounding out the top 5 are Secret Forest (4.562 %), Tunnel (4.674 %), and Voice (4.357 %).

Woman of Dignity is now the 7th highest-rated Korean cable drama of all time as far as peak ratings are concerned. Its 9.986 % rating has almost beat Oh Hae Young Again‘s 9.991 % and follows Childless Comfort‘s 10.715 %, Reply 1994‘s 11.90 %, Signal‘s 12.544 %, Goblin‘s 18.680 %, and Reply 1988‘s 18.803 %.

Woman of Dignity is a completely pre-produced drama which was filmed from August 2016 to February 2017. It was written by Baek Mi-kyung, the same screenwriter who penned Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, and directed by Kim Yoon-chul whose credits to its name include the Kdrama classic My Name is Kim Sam-soon. PD Kim reunited with Kim Sun-a, the lead star of the said 2004 drama, for another milestone series in her 20-year acting career.

The 20-episode drama starring Kim Sun-a (Masked Prosecutor) and Kim Hee-sun (Angry Mom) premiered on June 16, 2017, and since then has been gaining popularity among local viewers. It centers on elegant woman Woo Ah-jin, played by Kim Hee-sun, who is living a life of luxury and peace by marrying a quasi-chaebol man, until poor woman Park Bok-ja, played by Kim Sun-a, walks into her life. Jung Duk-hyun, a culture critic, said that the series is not just as soap opera about couple’s affairs but a “social drama” in which the confrontation of the two women symbolizes the power and class structure in society.

Woman of Dignity will end on August 19 and will be replaced by Age of Youth 2.

Source: 1