Kinolights - an integrated OTT (online) content search platform has just announced the TV drama rankings for the first week of November. As a result, the drama "Jeong Nyeon" (Jeong Nyeon: The Star is Born/Jeong Nyeon: Rising Star) attracted attention when it topped the chart.
The film tells the story of Yoon Jeong Nyeon (Kim Tae Ri), who comes from a poor background but has a natural singing voice. She is determined to pursue her dream of becoming a gukgeuk, a female artist skilled in performing pansori (traditional singing and dancing), after a fateful encounter with Moon Ok Kyung (Jung Eun Chae).
The Korea Times commented that “Jeong Nyeon”’s focus on the little-known gukgeuk genre and its all-female main cast (including Kim Tae Ri, Shin Ye Eun, Ra Mi Ran, Jung Eun Chae, Kim Yoon Hye...) have contributed to reviving traditional Korean sounds, dances and stories.
Meanwhile, Wikitree praised the interesting plot and the delicate direction of director Jung Ji In, which helped “Jeong Nyeon” skyrocket to 12% viewership ratings in episode 8, despite starting at only 4%. This achievement helped “Jeong Nyeon” solidify its position as one of the must-watch dramas on Korean screens by the end of 2024.
However, Ten Asia believes that there are still some controversial points in the film. Among them, Jeong Nyeon's personality of meddling in other people's business and being selfish, causing trouble for those around her, is discussed.
According to Korean newspapers, the female lead's failure to follow the troupe's rules: not wearing a uniform, asking to borrow the audition script, skipping a week of group practice before the performance, overshadowing the main role on stage... made viewers feel uncomfortable.
“If such a person existed in real life, she would be widely criticized. However, thanks to the attractive depiction of gukgeuk theater and the actors' exceptional acting, the drama was still well received,” wrote Ten Asia.
Coming in at number 2 on this week’s list of dramas is “Hellbound 2.” The 2021 sequel to the series, the drama depicts a dramatic turn when Min Hye Jin (Kim Hyun Joo) - Sodo’s lawyer gets entangled with the New Truth Society, the Arrowhead faction, and the shocking resurrection of its leader Jung Jin Soo (Kim Sung Cheol) and Park Jung Ja (Kim Shin Rok).
According to Wikitree, the drama attracted attention with the replacement of Kim Sung Cheol and the return of “national sister” Moon Geun Young after 3 years. Hankook Ilbo emphasized that despite appearing with a short screen time, the 37-year-old star still left a deep impression in the role of Oh Ji Won. The role even marked a new era for “crazy female characters” in Korean dramas.
Third place went to the drama “Doubt,” which depicts the dilemma that Jang Tae Soo (Han Suk Kyu), Korea’s top crime detective, faces when he unexpectedly discovers the secret of his daughter, Jang Ha Bin (Chae Won Bin), who is involved in a murder case.
Meanwhile, the fourth place belongs to the recently concluded drama “The Judge from Hell”, which revolves around the pursuit of justice of Kang Bit Na (Park Shin Hye) – a possessed female judge and Han Da On (Kim Jae Young) – a passionate police officer.
The 2018 film “Venom” came in at number 5 thanks to the success of its latest installment “Venom: The Last Dance.” Next up were “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and “Venom: The Last Dance,” which came in at number 6 and number 7, respectively.
The remaining three positions in this week's TV drama rankings belong to "A Virtuous Business", "What Comes After Love" and "Love in the Big City".
