Choi Su-jong of “Dae Jo Young,” Kim Haneul of “On Air”

Nominees are out for the 2008 Korea Drama Festival awards, and the list is rather ho-hum. For example, the nominees for Best Drama are: Legend (MBC), Mom’s Dead Upset (KBS), Dae Jo Young (KBS), and Gourmet (SBS).

At first I was disappointed in the list of nominees, but then I thought back to the year and realized it’s just been a ho-hum year for dramas overall. Although, if we’re nominating Legend for Best Drama, which premiered over a year ago in September 2007, surely there are other series that have been overlooked.

The Korean Drama Festival runs from November 1 through 5 in Jinju; see the nominee list beyond the jump.

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Tags: awards, Beethoven Virus, Choi Su-jong, City of Glass, East of Eden, Han Ji-hye, Hong Gil Dong, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Bum, Kim Haneul, Kim Myung-min, Lee Jin-wook, Legend, New Heart, On Air, Sung Yuri, You're My Destiny

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Hong Gil Dong is performing decently well in the ratings — it’s not soaring, but holding steady in its initial 15% range against the hit medical drama New Heart, which has risen with its latest episode to break the 30% mark. (Their third rival barely compares; Bulhandang [Con Man] is struggling, having sunk to nearly half its initial viewership of 9.8% to 5.5%. In fact, most press refers to the Wednesday-Thursday ratings battle as a two-way competition, leaving Bulhandang out of the equation.)

15% ratings doesn’t make the series a runaway hit, but it’s respectable, given that the numbers have stayed relatively constant throughout its run. New Heart (MBC) has the added benefit of having premiered a few weeks prior to the other two series; Hong Gil Dong (KBS2) and Bulhandang (SBS) began their runs on the same day.

Newsen reports that Hong Gil Dong is further winning audiences through its repeat broadcasts; the latest ratings numbers released by TNS Media Korea show Hong Gil Dong recording as high as 7.6% for its latest (the 14th) episode rerun. Naturally, the other series are also airing repeats, but TNS points out that Bulhandang trails there also, by a solid 2% margin.

New Heart, Bulhandang

Via Newsen, IS Plus

SONG OF THE DAY

New Heart OST - “Monologue” by Monday Kiz [ zShare download ]

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Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Hong Gil Dong, New Heart

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