Sungkyunkwan Scandal and Playful Kiss both premiered last week to lower-than-expected ratings. Both were highly anticipated dramas starring idols with big fanbases, so it came as a disappointment when both were dealt low single-digit ratings.
Weekend rebroadcast numbers have come out, and both dramas put in respectable showings in the reruns — not outstanding, but solid. Sungkyunkwan‘s original broadcast brought in 6.3% ratings for both its episodes, and the reruns drew a 5.3% and a 7.1%.
Playful Kiss had an even more difficult premiere, with a shockingly low 3.5% and 3.7% for its first two episodes. Its rerun numbers came in at 4.2% and 6.6%.
Rerun numbers aren’t usually brought into the discussion unless the original broadcasts were very low, which is the case for both these dramas. They’re also not usually worth getting excited about unless the reruns are very high — say, double digits. For example, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho premiered with a 12.7%, and it was an added surprise when its rebroadcast drew in an impressive 16.1% rating. But there’s consolation in the fact that Sungkyunkwan‘s and Playful Kiss‘s rebroadcasts outperformed the initial airings.
One Playful Kiss rep said, “It’s true that the original ratings were very disappointing. Because the rival dramas are solid, I think we’ll have a hard time performing as high as we’d expected. Even after Baker King Kim Tak-gu ends, it’ll be difficult because the following drama is Runaway. However, since the rebroadcast ratings came out high, it’s been a big support to the production team who are working hard on the set.”
A Playful Kiss producer said that the “real battle” begins on the 16th, after Baker King ends, and that they are comforted at overseas and online reactions to the show.
Via IS Plus, Sports Chosun
RELATED POSTS
- Playful Kiss: Episode 2
- Playful Kiss: Episode 1
- Playful Kiss ratings round two: 3.7%
- Playful Kiss makes a dismal premiere (ouch!)
- Sungkyunkwan Scandal: Episode 2
- Sungkyunkwan Scandal: Episode 1
- Gumiho Girlfriend rebroadcast surpasses premiere ratings
RECENTLY RECAPPED
Playful Kiss is on my to do list list but only after I get done with watching Baking King.
same ^^
Ditto
though i havent watched either of these dramas (did read your recaps), its nice to know their rebroadcasts did better! its tough competition so best of luck to both!
and i’m interested to see how the numbers will change once baker king ends.
Its good news for both dramas then.
Thanks for always updating us Javabeans 
I doubt Playful Kiss will reach double digits after Baker King ends. Cause we all know there’s still 4 episodes of MGIAG and after BK there’s Fugitive starring Rain and after MGIAG there’s Dae Mul starring Go Hyun Jung.
yayyy!!!
i thought would get at least 10% ratings considering the actors/actresses in both of them……
hwaiting playful kiss and sungkyunkwan scandal~~ ♥
It’s hard to watch all of them … probably that’s the reason why reruns have higher ratings.
But If I can I’ll definitely watch all of these dramas.
Yikes! PK rebroadcast ratings are still pretty low!
I was so positively sure the PK would rake in Goong-esque ratings and end the MBC curse. I was hoping things will look up once Baker King ends and their 40+% ratings split up….but I don’t feel like many people are going to want to start a drama in the middle and will aim to watch a new drama like Runaway. It has Rain after all and the plot sounds really exciting! Maybe PK and SS will hit 9-10% after Baker King.
SS is on mondays so its up against Dong Yi and Giant both extremely long dramas ==”
whereas its only PK up against baker king and MGIAG.
i actually really hope SS’s ratings will rise cuz they actually have really talented actors/actresses in it like SJK and YAI
i understand if playful kiss stays relatively low because I think it has a small target audience, or a small audience that would be invested in the drama.
But I really hope SS does much better, i thought it was pretty good and even though it has pretty actors, i think it could appeal to a wider range than PK
Rarely do I get affected by drama ratings in Korea, because I watch KDramas from the sheer pleasure of watching them!!! Each one has their own distinct appeal, storyline & progression, & PK is one example of this!!!
If I want a feel-good, rom-com that only the Hong Sisters could give…I watch MGiG!!!
If I want some sageuk-sci-fi-thriller, I watch KJH’s SIR!!!
If I want some makjang type of drama, I watch Giant & Baker King!!!
If I want some musical-rom-com, I watch IAL!!!
..and if I want some “eye-candy” & fan-girly stuff…PK perks me up!!!
im in love w. both of these dramas…they are really good..&have lots of potential….especially SungKyunKwan Scandal…i really want to know what happened in epi 3&4….looking fwd to it
-sadie
I’ve read the recap of PLAYFUL KISS already and now looking forward to watching the drama itself.
I’m pretty confident that the ratings would improve dramatically.
Rememebering You’re Beautiful – it didn’t do very well as far as ratings were concerned and yet it was one of the most watched dramas by overseas viewers at that time.
Another piece of good news is that I’ve read somewhere of PK being top of a poll ( must have been a a comment made in vikii).
that’s good…I hope they get better after Baker King Kim Tak-gu XD
YaY, happy for Sungkyunkwan Scandal, this one should be able to reach double digits (quality wise).
I’m not sure about Playful Kiss, the drama itself is cute but not solid enough for its time slot (it needs more energy and I’m having problem with the directing, a bit slow and quiet). If this show can reach 8% rating, I will call it a success. Anyway, I wish both of them luck.
Finally it’s Monday, S-scandal time!
After the first episode of PK, I have decided not to
continue with it as it confirmed my earlier belief that KHJ cannot act nor sing. He has no choice but to pursue acting as his band broke up. He was the leader, isn’t it? How come he initiated the break-up by being the first one to leave his loyal buddy band mates, leaving the rest in the lurch? He has lots to catch up if he has now decided to be an actor, not a bandboy.
He is from the group “SS501″ – no they didn’t break up (not officially yet though).
However, their contracts have ended with their agency and each of them are starting to sign with different agencies to further their career but they have announced that they still want to group together and perform as SS501 as well while doing their solo projects at the same time like the group Shinhwa.
For a hater, you really pay attention to him huh.
No wonder they say antis are fans.
after watching the ep7 and 8 of MGIAG, I suddenly lost interest on Playful Kiss and just anticipated MGIAG more.. I have to agree that Playful kiss is cute but it’s kinda slow paced.
YOu know I can safely say Sungkyunkwan Scandal has rewatch value. It is funny, smart and sexy. Complete with good acting and a plot.
can’t wait for SS tomorrow. So I made this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdlBtAi-VQ
Why is Song Joong Ki soooo freaking yummy?
agreed ^^
can’t wait for tonights ep
yummy yummy, he is sexy in every single second he appears.
That was a lovely video! It made me happy!
I’m very Happy to hear that both SS and PK are doing well in reruns. I’m Glad that PK Directors knows that PK is well received overseas.
Can’t wait for the next episodes of PK and SS.
i find Sungkyunkwan Scandal more interesting than Playful Kiss! =)
me too!
totally agree! ^^
thumbs up!
ditto!
yeay SKKS!!!
I heard the ratings go up for eps3..
happy now…
can’t wait for tonight..
i only like watching cute-ish romance dramas, so go PK and MGiaG! hope the strike is resolved and the ratings aren’t too biased!
playful kiss is too oriented towards teenage viewers and appeals to international fans more (especially online and in the US) because it’s, well, simply a high school drama with pretty faces and lots of romance and fun.
skks might be a bit harder to digest for teens because it is a period drama, but also because it is a period drama, it will probably reach a wider range of audiences. i know for a fact my mom LOVES watching period dramas because it just has more substance and depth to the story. i couldn’t argue with that even if i tried.
skks is surely filled with pretty faces as well and of course the usual romance and fun, but there’s a bigger meaning behind the story than just love, which i find way more interesting and might actually be easier to watch again and again. besides, the concept is fresher imo.
I agree with what u said with SKK. I’m 17 (not Korean) and there are parts where I have to replay the scene so I could catch up and understand what the lines meant. For me, it’s fun, romantic, sweet and has good substance. Honestly, I started watching this because of Micky (and to hear the OST of JYJ. LOL) but after watching the following episodes, it’s really interesting and fun. I like the story and quite intrigue on how the story will unfold.
I can’t wait to watch for episode 6! <3
Looking at the PK photo, just realized that KHJ is not even looking at the girl but possibly staring at a spot of the tree expressionless…you call that acting? Hope he can buck up and buck up quick to act properly and not rely on his pretty face to build his career.
wow, you are good! Only by not looking at the actress mean he’s not good in acting for you
Oh pulease only die hard KHJ’s fans and people who overhyped this drama before airing- and hurted so bad because of the atrocious rating even during rerun- would say KHJ is somewhat a “good” actor. Yes people feel bad for him, want to cheer him up and maybe he improved as people said but improving is not equal to “he is a good actor”.
I’m not saying he’s a good actor, I admit he’s stiff and etc but judging people’s acting from a picture, that is not a good judgment
well well, if you look at Song joong ki pictures from SS, you can tell he can really act, he’s lively in every capture.
omg..u shouldve known wat the story is all about..
he didnt like her at first and with his very cold-hearted personality…guess thats wat happened..and this scene-the time when the photo’s taken-u’ll only know it if u watch the drama whole heartedly..
cheers..
i do not think the rating shows the true quality of the drama
in PK case, there are numbers that are not included in the count
as for the better drama, i think is varies to the audience
im not sure if period drama is appealing to the international netizens
but PK already has a solid fanbase from the manga fans and the ISWAK fans
PK actually leading the online streaming in China and Russia and check viikii, looks whose the most popular and commented drama
yes PK has a huge audience overseas, and i think MBC and Group 8 know that
SS is more interesting to watch than PK. KJH is just okay for me, I wasn’t impressed at him in BOF, I can’t see any expressions in his face. But nonetheless, I will still watch PK maybe after MGIAG ends. I’m really curious why people are so hyped-up with the TW version. I tried watching it (ISWAK) but I got bored immediately in the first episode. I dunno, but I don’t appreciate TW actors’ acting that much, there’s something in their acting and facial expressions that I don’t like. Haha. Oh well, that’s just me.
me too ariel lin better in mainland drama than in taiwan drama. i just don’t like why people hyped Joe Cheng So much. He only Tall. He is called “Rain From KOrea” ( Lol made feel bitter for him , he is not even Par with Rain – i am not Rain Fan anyway ). His acting has no improvement.
Don’t care if khj is not a good actor.. Will continue watching playful kiss. He is a great performer and definitely an eye candy.. Will support him in every project he does…
yeah..go go kjh..=)
yeah..go go khj..=)
sungkyunkwan scandal <3 love
Well I kind of expected their re-broadcast to bring up their mediocre numbers but it doesn’t seem as if it’s as much as many of the commentators would have hoped.
Let’s hope that after BK ends the current shows can gain a nice foothold with its core audience.
I really hope ratings for SS will rise, it is such an underrated drama.
SS & NK are both very fun to watch. Romance comedy is my top choice of dramas, so of course these preferences are obvious. After both show conclude, then, we’ll know who they really did. Meanwhile, i’m enjoying them.
Ooops, it’s “we’ll know how they really did”. sorry.
MGIAG will take the ratings after Baker King finished…
I like Sungkyunkwan Scandal so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is so lovely that I can’t wait for engsub *o*
I watched it with korean althought I didn’t understand at all.
It is wonderful, and romantic! ~.~
However, I wonder why the Sungkyunkwan’s rating was so bad, may be because many, many fans of it can only watch online
What a pity!
OMG. I love SKK so much (not just because Micky is starring it. Well, that’s the initital reason but now, I just love the story and I’m falling in love to all the characters.
)
I watch the drama at Kimchidrama.blogspot.com and it has subtitles. Hope that would help.
i think someone just copied what you wrote and took the credit for it =S
http://www.anewshit.com/sungkyunkwan-scandal-ep-3.html
Really great news! ^^
I don’t know why people hate PK that much, I watched it and I didn’t mind KHJ’s acting. In fact, I don’t see what’s so bad about his acting :/ maybe I’m just not good at picking out who’s a good actor and who’s not? because he seems to be doing fine for me.
& I love the storyline! It sticks to the original manga but it’s so original at the same time (haha, paradox much?)
SS & PK, hwaiting! <33
I really do like Playful Kiss, but I BET it has a low rating because the girl dreams too much (forgot her name) even i get bored of watchin her daydreams. But if it wasn’t for that, i bet it would have a high rating and i really do like Playful Kiss, its just that she daydreams too much. Anyways, hwaiting to all new dramas!
Something is a missing … I’m not saying the drama is bad but when i watch the first episode i stop watching after 10mins. I tried watching the second episode and again hmmm i can’t feel the chemistry between both of them. She is expressing her acting too much with face movement that is not convincing enough. Anyways i hope episode 3 gets better … I still dont think its a bad drama
if the rating in korea is not that good…i’ll bet even with my last peso that this will be aired here in the Philippines (ABS-CBN)….who knows? The viewer’s reception might give ABS-CBN the big push to sponsor ss501′s concert!!!I am rooting for it…aja!
thumbs up 4 dat! hope ABS would! i stiL believe that even if they get low ratings in Korea, they r 1 of d most anticipated dramas overseas.. dey would make a great teLeserye here in PH…
All I have to say is if you like the drama your idol is in then don’t pay attention to any negative comments and just enjoy the dramas. I’m totally immune to all of that. Now enjoying SKKS and plan on watching PK. ^_~
I don’t exactly know why the rating at Korea is low but in my opinion as a viewer and fan for PK, Jung so Min is perfect for the roles~OHN character cannot be to pretty nor ugly.. she was fulfill her role, also BSJ character~the genius and good looking BSJ is fit with KHJ~
One thing I notice about BSJ & OHN they didn’t communicate well outside the drama~well, we can tell from the fan video~they don’t really talk each other..in Taiwan version both Ariel & Joe act like they’re really in love~~
i was disappointed when the rating is revealed. This drama should be better.
Go MICKY^^^