July's Hottest Dramas—Which Ones Sizzled
The kdrama that most sizzled during July's heat wave was "I Hear Your Voice," starring Lee Jong Suk, Lee Bo Young and Yoon Sang Hyun. With its clever writing, sweet love story and interesting courtroom drama, the story quickly captivated audiences. The first episode earned only 7.7 percent of the viewers but by the tenth episode, the ratings were already up to 19.7 percent leaving the competition far behind. By the end of the month, the ratings had already reached 24.1 percent, which surpassed the ratings earned by last month's big hit, the fantasy saeguk, "Gu Family Book," which starred Lee Seung Gi and Suzy.
Because of his impressive performance as the mind-reading Park Soo Ha, the show's youngest actor Lee Jong Suk became a hot topic of discussion. Readers wanted to know which celebrity he was dating, who he hung out with and what his future acting plans were. There's already much interest in his next project, a film about competitive swimming, titled "No Breathing," in which he stars with Seo In Guk.
In the Monday/Tuesday night ratings, the competition was closer. "Goddess of Fire: Jeonji," starring Moon Geun Young, Kim Bum and Lee Sang Yoon achieved 10 percent in the ratings early on and flirted with 12 percent a few times. The story of the first Korean female potter offers insight into Joseon era pottery making, an interesting girl-has-to-dress-up-as-a-boy saeguk and some promising chemistry between Moon Geun Young and her protector played by Kim Bum.
"Shark," the moody revenge melodrama starring Son Ye Jin and Kim Nam Gil failed to get a large share of viewers despite its excellent script and major stars. Full of secrets, plot twists and life-altering revelations, the show only managed to reach double-digit viewer ratings four times in its run.
The third contender in that time slot, "Empire of Gold," which began July 1, had reached consistent double-digit ratings by the third week in July. The tale of power struggles within a conglomerate stars Go Soo, Lee Yo Won, Sun Hyun Joo and Ryu Seung Soo.
When it came to weekend dramas, "You're The Best Lee Soon Shin" was the clear winner. The story of the least successful daughter in a family of high achievers had ratings in the 20s throughout its run but finally broke the 30 percent ratings mark on July 21 when the romance between Soon Shin, played by IU, and Shin Joon Ho, played by Jo Jung Suk finally heated up. It took 40 episodes in the 50-episode drama for the characters to kiss. The drama also stars Yoo In Na, Son Tae Young, Goo Joo Won and Lee Mi Sook.
