Park Seo-joon is facing new pressures with the JTBC series "Surely Tomorrow," which, halfway through its run, has not yet gained momentum and is struggling to break the low-3 percent rating zone despite the high expectations surrounding its return to the romance genre.

The drama consists of 12 episodes and is based on a man and woman who dated and parted ways not once but twice in their twenties only to rekindle their romance in their thirties in a tumultuous situation. Park Ji-hwan stars as entertainment reporter Lee Gyeong-do, and Won Ji-an acts as Seo Ji-woo, hisfirst love as well as the woman in the middle of the scandalous romantic relation.

The work takes on great importance in Park's career. It is the first romance genre work Park has undertaken since "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" seven years ago. It is also the first television work Park has done since "Itaewon Class" five years ago, as cited by Dramabeans and Stars.

Park's previous work, "Gyeongseong Creature," where he appeared, had expectations raised but led to poor results, as explained by KBIZOOM: "As Park appeared in the expensive production of 'Gyeongseong Creature,' the expectations were raised, but the end results were not favorable."

Ratings were opened in the 2% range and temporarily rose to the 3% range in episode two, but currently seem to be stagnating. With six episodes having been broadcast, there seems to be little hope for a major bounce.

Most of this has come about because of pacing and storytelling. The storytelling of "Bushwick vs. World" has been described as being quite slow, and they make use of too many plot tools and machines, and they also tend to hold back, considering the shared history the characters share.

Disaster struck episode five, particularly the fantasy dance between the leads, which broke immersion for many viewers. This, according to Naver, has made the fantasy dance between the leads reminiscent of "La La Land," overly dependent on common filmmaking tropes.

Won Ji-an has also received criticism for her acting. These issues have included her lack of emotional subtlety, her voice acting, and her chemistry with her leading man. She has had this kind of critique in her previous leading role in the 2023 drama "Heartbeat."

There was also controversy surrounding the dialogue shown in episode two. The controversy began with the introduction of the topic, with the requirement to consider the comments made by the viewer that the dialogue about sexual activities outdoors could very well be considered excessive for a program that has a 15+ rating.

Nevertheless, some people think there is still scope for improvement. "Scenes depicting the characters' youthful first love show moments of genuine tenderness," said an insider in the film industry, in a cautious tone. Also, the 11-year age difference between Park and Won does not appear to be as distracting as it initially appeared to be.