Hwarang tops TV popularity chart beating Rebel: A Thief Who Stole the People and Defendant

The recently ended 20-episode run KBS historical series, "Hwarang"

Park Hyung-sik
Park Hyung-sik as Sammaekjong / Kim Ji-dwi in 'Hwarang.' Youtube.com/KBS World TV

The recently ended 20-episode run KBS historical series, Hwarang that featured several talented celebrities and K-pop idols including ZE:A's Park Hyung Sik nabbed the top spot on a weekly TV popularity chart, leaving behind Rebel: A Thief Who Stole the People and high-rated legal drama of Ji Sung, Defendant.

Hwarang may have wrapped up but the historical drama still topped the Content Power Index during its finale week.

According to CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, as cited by Yonhap News, Park Hyung Sik's series scored as high as 252.9 points, landing at the top spot of the said TV popularity list for the week of Feb. 20 to Feb. 26.

The KBS series faced a tough competition because of other popular dramas like the fantasy series of Gong Yoo, Goblin and the mermaid series of Lee Min Ho, Legend of the Blue Sea, but after both the dramas wrapped up after airing its finales, the KBS drama quickly rose to the top TV popularity list.

The KBS series' star studded cast includes Go Ara and Park Seo Joon. Other cast members included K-pop idols like Shinee's Min Ho, BTS band member V, Do Ji Han and Sung Dong Il.

On the other hand, the second spot of the said TV popularity was nabbed by the MBC historical series Rebel: A Thief Who Stole the People with 239.4 points. Whereas, the legal suspense series of Ji Sung, Defendant was at the third place with 237.5 points, and it was followed by Good Manager with 230.6 points.

In other news, the new JTBC series Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is becoming one of the highly-rated cable channel dramas in South Korea. According to Nielsen Korea, as cited by Soompi, the latest episode of the series reached nationwide viewership shares of 8.3 percent, the highest TV rating of the drama since it premiered in late February.

This article was first published on March 9, 2017