‘Gwigung’ Reaction is Extraordinary…Following Double-Digit Viewership Ratings, OTT Sweeps Over as Well

SBS’s ‘Gwigung’ has made a great start by surpassing double-digit viewership ratings from its first week of broadcast and dominating domestic and international OTTs.

SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘Gwigung’ (written by Yoon Soo-jung/directed by Yoon Sung-sik)is a fantasy romantic comedy about a shaman named Yeo-ri who rejects her fate as a shaman, and a snake-like dragon named Kang Cheol-i who is trapped in the body of Yeo-ri’s first love, Yoon Gap, and their body and soul become tightly entangled as they encounter the eight-faced ghost who holds a grudge against the royal family.It has been garnering a hot response since its first episode with the exciting subject matter of a story between a snake-like dragon and a shaman, the possessed character plays of the actors including Yook Sung-jae(as Kang Cheol-i/Yoon Gap), Kim Ji-yeon(as Yeo-ri), and Kim Ji-hoon(as Lee Jung), the intriguing palace mystery, and the spine-chilling presence of K -ghosts.

‘Gwigung’ recorded a peak viewership rating of 10.7% for the first episode, surprising viewers by breaking the double-digit viewership ratings right from the start.It also surpassed ‘My Perfect Secretary’ and ‘Treasure Island’ with 9.2% in the metropolitan area and 9.2% nationwide, and renewed the highest viewership rating for a first episode of an SBS drama aired in 2025.In addition, it surpassed the number one viewership rating in the same time slot and maintained the number one spot among miniseries dramas aired during the week.

OTT popularity is also overwhelming.’Gwigung’ showed its power by beating out outstanding competitors and rising to the top of ‘Today’s TOP 10 Series in Korea ‘right after its release on Netflix.It also laid a solid foundation for a global sensation by taking the top spot in TV series category in Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.(As of FlixPatrol, 2025.4.21)In addition,’ Gwigung ‘swept all box office charts by taking the top spot overall in both movies and dramas in the trend rankings compiled by Kinolights, a domestic OTT integrated search and content recommendation platform.(As of 2025.4.19)

In the previous episode 2 of’ Gwigung ‘, the great adaptation period of Kang Cheol, the Imoogi who inhabited a human body for the first time in a thousand years, unfolded, while Yeo-ri’s struggle to find Yoon-gap’s soul after hearing his voice inside the palace was spectacularly shown.In addition, it was revealed that Won-ja’s(played by Park Jae-joon)inexplicable madness at the end of the episode was the work of a terrible vengeful ghost called Pal-chuk-gwi, and that Yoon-gap’s soul had already been eaten by Pal-chuk-gwi, foreshadowing a full-scale confrontation between Kang Cheol-yi, Yeo-ri, and Pal-chuk-gwi in the future.Accordingly, attention is focused on how far the box office success of ‘Gwigung’, which started to create a sensation from the beginning of the narrative, will continue.

SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘Return to the Palace’, which is off to a great start, will air its third episode on the 25th(Friday)at 9:50 PM.

Reporter Jeong com -yeon, Donga.com shine2562@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.