Return of 'oppa' Lee Min-ho, Kim Soo-hyun and Ji Chang-wook fails to amplify TV dramas

When these three A-list, Hallyu stars were discharged from the military last year, their fans were very excited about their drama comebacks.  Unfortunately, their recent dramas have pulled them down, and a lot of expectations were not met.
July 12, 2020 | 15:46
crash landing on you star son ye jin will crash landing on a hollywood movie "Crash Landing on You" star Son Ye Jin will crash landing on a Hollywood movie?
social media helps reunite child with stuffed animal for two times Social media helps reunite child with stuffed animal for two times.
vietnam japan to jointly produce horror movie Vietnam, Japan to jointly produce horror movie
4439 lee min ho kim soo hyun and ji chang wooks comebacks fail to amplify tv dramas
Return of 'oppa' Lee Min-ho, Kim Soo-hyun and Ji Chang-wook fails to woo fans. Photo: kdramastars

The return of three A-list South Korean actors who finished their military duties has drawn wide attention from fans of Korean TV dramas at home and abroad.

But their new dramas were performing far below expectations, and even the stars with large followings abroad were unable to give them a badly needed boost.

Lee Min-ho, who soared to stardom with the 2009 drama series Boys Over Flowers, starred in the fantasy romance The King: Eternal Monarch on SBS this spring. It was the first TV project after completing his two-year military duty in April last year.

He took the title role of Lee Gon, emperor of the Korean Empire in the past, who goes over to the present-day Republic of Korea after a time portal opens due to unknown reasons.

But the show fizzled out despite its all-star cast of Lee and actress Kim Go-eun and star screenwriter Kim Eun-sook, who has created smash hit series, such as the fantasy Guardian: The Lonely And Great God (2016) and the periodical drama Mr. Sunshine (2018).

Its viewership ratings have hovered around 7%, far lower than expected, since its first episode aired on April 17. Its final episode on June 12 reached 8.1%.

4615 747537
'The King: Eternal Monarch' is Lee Min-ho's first TV project after completing his two-year military duty. Photo: Handout

Actor Kim Soo-hyun also made a comeback to the entertainment scene in three years with tvN's weekend series It's Okay To Not Be Okay. It is about a romance between a caretaker and a novelist.

Kim, regarded as one of the biggest Korean Wave, or "hallyu," stars with selling power across Asia, temporarily left show business to serve in the military after his last silver screen project, Real, was a box office flop in 2017.

The series' first-week results were worse-than-expected, as it logged 6.1% in viewership for its first episode Saturday but dropped to 4.7 percent for the next one.

In contrast, his cameo appearances on Hotel Del Luna and Crash Landing On You months ago made headlines in newspapers.

4654 747539
Kim Soo-hyun's 'It's Okay To Not Be Okay' is not doing OK apparently. Photo: Star

Ji Chang-wook, who was discharged from the military in April last year, has also been struggling to make his presence felt again.

His return project Melting Me Softly (2019), a romantic comedy on tvN, received poor viewership ratings of 1-2% throughout its 16 episodes.

He made a second attempt with the latest romantic comedy Backstreet Rookies, which premiered on June 19 on SBS.

Based on the adult-only web-based cartoon with the same title, the drama is about a convenience store manager who gets entangled with an eccentric part-timer.

But the series has been embroiled in controversy over its sexually explicit scenes and lines. And its first episode posted 6.3% in viewership, lower than its predecessor, The King.

4735 747538
Ji Chang-wook is sleeping on the job. Photo: Star
angelina jolie revealed the reason for adopting her born in vietnam son pax thien Angelina Jolie revealed the reason for adopting her born-in-Vietnam son Pax Thien

Angelina Jolie, a Hollywood super star in the latest interview with the Vogue (India), shared a lot about life with her children. In particular, the ...

13 vietnamese movies coming to netflix this summer 13 Vietnamese movies coming to Netflix this summer

Streaming service Netflix has added one subtitled Vietnamese movie and will show 12 more this summer.

vietnam japan to jointly produce horror movie Vietnam, Japan to jointly produce horror movie

Vietnam will for the first time cooperate with Japan to produce a horror movie about zombies, entitled Gameshow Tu Than (Game Show of Death), which ...

Tony Nguyen
The Korea Herald/Asia News Network, The Star
Phiên bản di động