Song Hye Kyo's comeback is real. Her new melodrama series "Encounter," co-starring actor Park Bo Gum ("Love in the Moonlight"), opened to strong viewership ratings last Wednesday, Nov. 28.
The premiere episode, which introduced Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum's respective characters, garnered a national TV rating of 8.7 percent with a peak at 10.1 percent, according to Nielsen Korea (via Soompi). This marks tvN's highest-rated Wednesday night premiere in its history.
The numbers also beat its rival drama series in the Wednesday-Thursday timeslot. SBS' "The Last Empress" fell to the second spot, garnering only 5.7 percent and 7.9 percent, while the latest episodes of MBC's "Children of Nobody" recorded only 3.8 percent and 4.7 percent.
Rounding out the top five are KBS 2TV's "Feel Good to Die" with 2.4 percent and 3.5 percent and MBN's "Love Alert," starring Yoon Eun Hye and Chun Jung Myung, with a viewership rating of 1.7 percent.
The strong viewership ratings of "Encounter" comes as no surprise to many k-drama fans given Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum's tremendous popularity across the globe and the melodrama series' promising storyline.
It follows a cold-hearted and snobbish woman, Cha Soo Hyun, who is a daughter of a prominent politician and a former daughter-in-law of a wealthy family. During a business trip in Cuba, she bumps into a freewheeling young man, Kim Jin Hyuk (Park Bo Gum), who finds joy in the simplest things.
There, Cha Soo Hyun and Kim Jin-Hyuk spend some memorable time together. Things, however, go out of control when they find themselves thinking of each other back in South Korea.
"You need courage -- big or small -- when you start seeing someone and grow the encounter into something special," director Park Sin Woo said during the press conference for "Encounter," as quoted by Yonhap News Agency. "The drama is about the beautiful process. Different people meet and fall in love. Everyone sacrifices something (to keep their love) and feels happy when they do so. The drama focuses on that courage," he added.
Also starring in "Encounter" are Jang Seung Jo as Jung Woo Seok, Baek Ji Won as Joo Yeon Ja, Ko Chang Seok as Nam Myung Sik, Shin Jung Keun as Kim Jang Soo, Kim Hye Eun as Kim Sun Joo and Nam Gi Ae as Jin Mi Ok. It airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 9:30 PM (KST) on tvN.
