Flower Boy Ramyun Shop scores high ratings
by javabeans
Flower Boy Ramyun Shop just premiered two days ago, and already the headlines are touting its high ratings and the “Jung Il-woo Effect,” and noting that with its performance and positive reception, it rivals a broadcast drama.
Monday’s premiere brought in a 1.19% rating, hitting 2.27% at its highest point. Notable was its performance among the 20- and 30-something female demographic, where it was No. 1. Yeah, well duh. The boys are pretty, we have eyes. The romance is hilarious and fun. No surprise there.
Tuesday’s Episode 2 improved on those numbers, recording an average rating of 1.45% with a high of 2.36%, again No. 1 in its timeslot among all cable offerings. Granted, that first-place designation doesn’t include the Big Three’s dramas, which air one hour before Ramyun Shop’s 11pm timeslot, but those are great numbers for cable.
While I kid about the eye candy carrying the show, what makes this drama hit all my fun-loving-wacky-romance buttons is that it’s not ONLY about the pretty. Sure, there are plenty of young hot things walking around, but the drama has a story and some great characterizations. (Crazy Chicken? ADORABLE. I just want to pinch his cheeks and soothe his hurts, maybe feed him some ramyun. Or have him serve me some.)
So not only are cable dramas exploding onto the scene in terms of sheer number and breadth (tvN, OCN, CGV, E Channel, MBN, Channel A, and jTBC are among the channels offering original drama programming), they’re also performing quite strongly. Recently, Vampire Prosecutor has brought in some great ratings for OCN on Sundays, while E Channel’s Empress, starring Jang Shin-young as a top bar hostess, has also been faring well on Saturday nights. Empress’s recent Episode 5 was first in its timeslot and did particularly well with 20-something women, where it scored an average rating of 1.5%; it hit a high with 2.1%.
These ratings numbers aren’t quite up to broadcast heights and may not be for a while, but given that cable is a subscription service while broadcast stations are freely available, it’s very promising that cable can be competitive in this widening field of drama programming.
Meanwhile, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop’s buzz has also revived interest in the novel it’s based on, Sweet and Sour Bakery. I hadn’t even known this was an adaptation, but whaddaya know. The novel depicts the story of young men who are distant from their families finding loyalty and hope amongst each other. Aw, it’s Bromance Central.
Flower Boy Ramyun Shop airs on Mondays and Tuesdays on tvN and will run for 16 episodes.
Sweet and Sour Bakery
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1 kbap
November 2, 2011 at 3:13 PM
Wow! I'm glad that cable are doing a lot of excellent shows recently. x)
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kbap
November 2, 2011 at 3:13 PM
And Jung Il-woo, you are MINE! :P
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2 xiaoSxin
November 2, 2011 at 3:14 PM
It is the year of cable!!! ROCK ON! Totally watching Ramyun shop for Jung Il Woo aka scheduler.
Then in a month from now.. Park Kyu makes a come back! Lim Ju Hwan for What's Up on MBN! wooot!
Go TEAM PARK KYU!
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doozy
November 2, 2011 at 11:49 PM
Yay, team Park Kyu!
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xiaoSxin
November 4, 2011 at 12:10 AM
Doozy!!!!! how are you! and YAY for TEAM PARK KYU!
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3 glace
November 2, 2011 at 3:32 PM
1.19%...I though it was a typo! But I didn't realize this was a cable drama!
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4 come2noona
November 2, 2011 at 3:36 PM
the “Jung Il-woo Effect,”
I have happily succumbed.
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5 Brit from Blighty
November 2, 2011 at 3:37 PM
Jung Il-woo...dribble, drool, can't breath, feeling dizzy :P
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6 jossy
November 2, 2011 at 3:38 PM
long live cable dramas! seriously they're belting out all the stops, My drama-lovin' bone bows in gratitude to the cable bosses!!
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7 otchosais
November 2, 2011 at 3:59 PM
I am so happy that JIW's efforts are going to be paid off!!!
He works great in his pasts projects and now, he gets this project as the main lead!!!
waahh!!! I am so in love with the show!!! :)
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8 more
November 2, 2011 at 4:03 PM
What i love about cable drams is that they have maturesubject matter. hopefull this wont be any diffrent
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9 sweetyo0on
November 2, 2011 at 4:23 PM
Happy news! But I still don't get why rising stars such as Jung Il Woo (and hopefully Noh Min Woo) would sign up for cable dramas. They still need more publicity and even the lowest of the lows aired on big three has at least 3%.
Although I can see why cable is so popular with the top stars such as Yun Jung Hoon would sign with dramas like Vampire Prosecutor. Interesting script, no censoring, and more important better shooting schedules. No more live shoots.
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mellowyel
November 2, 2011 at 8:24 PM
well if you're young and yet to be truly established as an actor, cable is a good way to try a bunch of different roles, gain experience and build your repertoire. As much as we love these hot young things on DB, I feel like the Big Three still favor the older ones who were popular in the 90s/early 2000s. Or at least, have an older, established audience who they need to keep happy (cable seems to be aiming at younger audiences).
Also, I'm sure that the advantages that top stars see in cable dramas appeal to up-and-coming actors too! Us young'uns need sleep too, y'know. (speaking of... I should head to bed. gnite everyone!)
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10 Barbara Starks
November 2, 2011 at 4:26 PM
Cable drama not so limited, that what I love, It's stay away from the typical Korea prejudiced that I still can't understand. Why it so much hatred base on a person social status then on a person character. It so refreshing to watch drama that I don't have to see water being thrown in a person face because she not rich, or have a person consider worse then a murder or a child molester because they have a child or been divorce. I’m also tired of suicide being use to fix a problem such as heartbreak, poor grades, and debt (Oh MY) in a country that facing a real live suicide epidemic, you think these purity network will not allow every drama and movies to have character always opting to kill themselves and even going as far a the parents telling they child they die together just because he felll in love with a person of lower social status. I hope cable network continue to do more drama and push the Korea into the 20th century.
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11 Tarits
November 2, 2011 at 4:28 PM
I finished the first episode and loved it and surely the 2nd episode 2. This drama is light, fun and very entertaining. The good looks of J II Woo is worth the time invested!
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12 moochi
November 2, 2011 at 4:37 PM
what exactly is a cable drama?
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ar_arguably romantic
November 2, 2011 at 5:03 PM
It is a drama shown on a cable channel, which viewers have to pay a subscription to get access to. Usually the dramas we see are shown on broadcast channels, which are accessible for free by anyone with a tv. Cable channels aren't as highly regulated so a wider range of material can be shown. The dramas do not have the pressure of trying to be family-friendly.
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moochi
November 4, 2011 at 1:13 PM
thanks!
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13 ar_arguably romantic
November 2, 2011 at 4:40 PM
JIW's character is annoying me, but I love Crazy Chicken! These cable dramas really have interesting storylines and for the shorter ones, make me wish the dramas would just last a bit longer. I'm following Vampire Prosecutor here and have started and caught up with Empress (which I felt is finally getting started in episode 5- it was heartwrenching seeing the setup)
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14 pistachione
November 2, 2011 at 5:04 PM
I never had doubts that it won't get awesome ratings.
Good job!
Hopefully, I can watch this sooner. huhu..
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15 Miica
November 2, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Who's the author of Sweet and Sour Bakery? Do you have some more info about the novel?
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peanut butter
November 2, 2011 at 7:14 PM
The author is Baek Myo. As far as I can tell they only have two volumes.
I never read it so I can't tell you anything about the plot or any other info. Hope that helps!
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16 Jen
November 2, 2011 at 5:26 PM
aw this makes me really happy! I just watched The Return of Iljimae and now I feel invested in Jung Il-woo doing well lol.
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yakuna
January 9, 2012 at 3:00 PM
am watching Return of Iljimae for the 3rd time,....just because still waiting for him to show up in the Moon/Sun drama.....and when the eyes get to tired then it's time to listen to his 2 songs.....I hope he makes more movies/dramas.... and sing some more....big sigh!!!!!
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17 Abbie
November 2, 2011 at 5:30 PM
WOO! Way to go! Jung Il-woo rocks. BTW, I have absolutely no problem with the eye-candy. :)
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18 Dramafever
November 2, 2011 at 5:40 PM
This noona is GUILTY for having wild thoughts about the scheduler.
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19 Webfoot
November 2, 2011 at 5:49 PM
Oh no, what are JB and GF gonna do? They can't spread themselves any thinner! There's not going to be enough of them to cover both regular TV AND cable! Quick invoke the 4th,5th and 6th dimension! Rev up the clone-o-mator! Get the vampire idols AND vampire prosecutors to channel alternative universes! Bring in the deus ex machina and don't forget to cut your own damn fruit!
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20 Brenda
November 2, 2011 at 5:58 PM
Lol i had no idea what you meant by cable and was suprised at the figures being considered /high/ but i get it now :)
I desperately wantt to watch this drama but i dislike watching dramas while they are airing (waiting for the next episode and all) T_T /waits patiently
I'll speed through these after exams i promise! I don't want to miss out =)
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21 SuziQ
November 2, 2011 at 6:17 PM
I'm trying to finish up Warrior Baek Dong Soo, but it is too slow and so boring.Too much of him walking around with a sword and looking grand. The music is driving me crazy which they play the same in every episode. They spent so much money on this sageuk.I liked Yaksha better which was more gritty, intriguing, and realistic.More $ is not necessarily better.
So I just finished watching an episode of Vampire Prosecutor and Flower Boy Ramen Shop. They were fast, breezy, and fun to watch. It seemed like it was over in no time.No wonder why the ratings are great!
Two of my favorite shows are on cable. More power to them!
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22 Ani
November 2, 2011 at 6:34 PM
Woot woot! Go Cable! Go FBRS!
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23 jen
November 2, 2011 at 6:34 PM
i really like it
the first episode really captured me and that was mostly because of jung il woo's acting and probably the beginning.
a lot of dramas just don't have a really engaging 1st episode so i tend to lost interest.
but this is really nice and i'm hook!
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24 jazza
November 2, 2011 at 6:53 PM
Nice. I can't wait for episode 3.
Congratulations to Jung Ilwoo and the rest cast.
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25 Kiev
November 2, 2011 at 7:36 PM
I wonder how much they paid dramabeans to say 1.45% is high! Hahhahahaa... Let's rejoice! Where's the red carpet hahahhaah
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Linda165
November 2, 2011 at 7:45 PM
It's considered a high rating for a cable show.
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26 Mei
November 2, 2011 at 7:40 PM
I haven't watched any of the episodes yet but I feel like I was reading a manga/mahnwa through your recaps. This is the first time I've felt this... haha! (always a good thing in my book cos I'm a manga reader) Now that I think about it though, I never felt this way about BOF though it was based on a manga. Hmmmm.
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27 Linda165
November 2, 2011 at 7:49 PM
Oooh that new banner of SSH, so hot! ♥
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28 NN
November 2, 2011 at 7:51 PM
I haven't been attracted to the broadcast channel dramas lately and had to turn my attention to a T-drama (watching In Time With You which is somewhat similar to Bottom of 9th 2 outs). Thank goodness for the great cable stuff cos I would have otherwise been totally off K-drama. Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is such an enjoyable and lighthearted show thus far, very cute. Would love it if it was like Biscuit Teacher - I share GF's love for that show. The leads gave such a heartfelt performance in it. I agree Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is a great reprive from all the heaviness of Thousand Day Promise. I've been keeping up with the show through your recaps though I haven't had courage to start such a tearful show ...
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NN
November 2, 2011 at 11:33 PM
btw for those who want to try the T-Drama, In Time With You, you can find the English-subbed version here: http://sugoideas.com/drama-2011/in-time-with-you/
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seeyathecat
November 3, 2011 at 4:52 PM
I have to agree with you, I also am put off on the broadcast dramas right now. my attention turned to T-drama (Real love Please Press the Bell Twice or Ring Ring Bell)
I am loving the new cable dramas. My hope is that we (the international non korean non cable but korian drama lovers)will continue to get them brought to us.
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seeyathecat
November 3, 2011 at 5:00 PM
sorry miss spell, on the second Korean. I Know me bad.
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29 nonski ⭐️A forever JIN who crash landed on Hyun Bins heart❤️!
November 2, 2011 at 8:35 PM
I am just so happy you are doing this show... one week is just too long, can't wait!
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30 Nana
November 2, 2011 at 9:00 PM
So what is the difference between a "cable drama" and "other common ones"?
Because a rating of 2% seems reallly low, but you guys are saying it's good.
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31 Cam
November 2, 2011 at 9:41 PM
(claps) Goooood Job, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop drama cast members & Do your best! (2 thumbs-up)
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32 jessie
November 2, 2011 at 11:00 PM
Where the hell is Lee Ki Woo? Seriously I'm still waiting for him to appear.
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soserious
November 2, 2011 at 11:34 PM
letz be patient.
he was in the previews for ep 3!!! (i know, i'm waiting too)
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33 Wheat
November 3, 2011 at 12:53 AM
Woohoo! Calling all superficials! It is high come on lets have a party hahaha whatever
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iamTyrantPotsie13
November 3, 2011 at 3:26 AM
Just read the previous comments, its a CABLE drama (the one you need to pay for subscription to get access to).
Henceforth,
this drama isn't aired in the BIG THREE in Korea, so you don't expect to see a double digit ratings here. 2.36% was REALLY high for a CABLE DRAMA.
You don't have to be sarcastic or anything =) jussayin'.
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34 neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
November 3, 2011 at 3:00 AM
BROMANCE CENTRAL!!! love'd to see more of it!!!
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Linda165
November 3, 2011 at 6:34 AM
That would be an AWESOME drama!!!!
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35 iamTyrantPotsie13
November 3, 2011 at 3:18 AM
Jung Il-woo Effect. JJANG!!!!
I definitely love this DRAMA!
Cable dramas this year is wayyyyy better than the big three! That's for sure!
Vampire Prosecutor and Flower Boy Ramyun Shop are both doing good. =)
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36 Saima
November 3, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Great news for the team BUT seriously am literally DYING waiting for the subs for the 2nd episode to come out!! gahhhhh
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37 Viki
November 3, 2011 at 4:05 PM
Ahhh, I wanna watch but I got a paper!
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seeyathecat
November 3, 2011 at 4:56 PM
The one thing I love about the internet is that for the most part it will be there later unlike the TV. I can watch it when ever and even pause. Thankyou internet for giving us control.
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38 jen
November 6, 2011 at 7:08 PM
his acting is really good
he's just so good at what he does :D
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39 KpopLuver
November 10, 2011 at 1:12 AM
This is an awesome series! ^^
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40 lyndia_parker
November 27, 2011 at 7:50 AM
I've only recently had time to watch this drama and I love it. I love Crazy Chicken, he's such an adorable boy, I would love to have a little bro like him.
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41 cing
January 3, 2012 at 7:22 PM
i want 2 know more about it about what happen to onion and did the same thing happen to Jo Yun-Woo
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42 SassySya
January 8, 2012 at 11:14 PM
it was a happy news for me after reading this article! i didn't know much bout cable tv and i almost crying while looking at the rating..why such a high quality drama with amazing actors/tress just recorded the rating <5%? and it was a large gap with the other dramas with the rating of 20++%..so now i understand,they are not competing with the three dramas from the three free tv stations..and the most important is,this drama is the best among the dramas of cable tv!!
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