Park Seo-joon and Kim Da-mi‘s ongoing drama Itaewon Class continues to break TV rating record as its ninth and latest episode Friday night obtained a nationwide rating of 13.965%, according to Nielsen Korea.

The latest figure—which translates to an estimated 3.6 million viewers nationwide—is the highest rating of the drama to date, surpassing the previous record of 12.562% (episode 8). Itaewon Class is now the second-highest-rated Korean drama of JTBC as far as peak rating is concerned, next only to SKY Castle. It ranks seventh and sixth among all cable dramas in terms of peak and average ratings, respectively. It is also one of the four most-watched dramas in February.

TV Ratings of Itaewon Class. Each new episode performs better than the previous one.

Itaewon Class, which premiered on January 31, centers on a man named Park Sae-ro-yi (Park Seo-joon), who, after spending two years in jail and working hard for seven years, opens a pub in a popular tourist spot in Seoul called Itaewon. The story revolves around his journey towards making his business successful while taking on the CEO (Yoo Jae-myung) of Jangga Co., a large food corporation.

Kim Da-mi plays a recent high school graduate and social media influencer who is hired by Park to manage his restaurant while Kwon Na-ra portrays Park’s first love who is employed at Jangga.

Secret to popularity

The success of Itaewon Class can be partly attributed to the fact that it is based on a hit webtoon of the same name. During a press conference for the drama on February 28, Kwon Na-ra commented that Jo Gwang-jin, the screenwriter of the series and author of the original work, is the secret to its popularity.

Promotional poster for Itaewon Class

“Because the original writer of the webtoon is writing the script, the drama tells a richer story than the original work and I think that’s the secret to the popularity,” she said.

For Yoo Jae-myung, who also attended the press conference, the popularity has something to do with the cool appearance of the story’s protagonist and his passion for living with firm convictions that have resonated with the viewers. “The hopeful message of the drama is being well-conveyed,” he added.

Park Seo-joon, meanwhile, believed that the success of any drama depends on how the story is told and the characters developed, saying, “the situations that fill the scenes and the charms of the characters are what I think might be the secret to the high viewership ratings.”

Park Seo-joon, Kim Da-mi, Kwon Na-ra, and Yoo Jae-myung pose for photographs during a press conference for Itaewon Class on February 28, 2020.

The cast of the series previously made a promise to invite the viewers to Park Sae-ro-yi’s pub if it exceeds the 10 percent mark in ratings. However, Park Seo-joon explained that “it’s going to be difficult” to do it amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Itaewon Class airs on JTBC every Friday and Saturday at 11 p.m. KST. It will be replaced next month by The World of the Married, one of the 13 new Korean dramas that will premiere in March.

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