Particularly noteworthy, the drama garnered more than double the ratings of the currently popular “The Tale of Lady Ok”, demonstrating its overwhelming popularity.
According to daily viewing data released by Nielsen Korea on December 15, “Iron Family” recorded an audience rating of 16.8% with an audience of 2,872 million, marking an increase of 0.6% from the previous week.
The episode featured an intense love story between Lee Darim (played by Keum Sae-rok) and Seo Gang-ju (played by Kim Jung-hyun) as they started living together. A playful fight over unclaimed clothes from the laundry, followed by a surprise kiss from Darim, left viewers swooning. In the scene, Darim looked affectionately at a sleeping Gang-ju in the rooftop room before kissing him and fleeing. After she left, Gang-ju opened his eyes and muttered “What’s wrong with her? He stared at me like he wanted to kill me… But he always does what he wants“, unable to hide a smile.
Viewer reactions included: “I cried, then I laughed… Gang-ju and Darim are simply the best”, “The acting is amazing!”, “How can I wait until next week?”, “So adorable, I’m dying of excitement!”, “There’s no guy as kind as Gang-ju… Even when Darim messed up, he was so understanding. But what was that ending? How can I wait until next week?“…
JTBC’s “The Tale of Lady Ok,” which aired on the same day, achieved a ratings rating of 8.496% with an audience of 1.921 million, ranking third. Despite strong performances from stars like Lim Ji-yeon, Choo Young-woo, Kim Jae-won and Yeonwoo, its ratings were about half of “Iron Family”. However, it showed growth with 255,000 more viewers than the previous week.
SBS’ “My Little Old Boy” ranked second with 2.424 million viewers, boosted by the appearance of actress Kim Hee-ae, which resonated with viewers. This led to a significant increase of 522,000 viewers and a 3.2% increase in ratings compared to the previous week.
tvN’s “Love Your Enemy,” starring Ju Ji-hoon and Jung Yu-mi, maintained its steady growth with 1.375 million viewers and a 5.655% rating, adding 45,000 viewers compared to the previous week.
MBC news program “Newsdesk” secured fourth place with 1.636 million viewers and a rating of 9.1%, although it saw a decline of 369,000 viewers compared to the previous week, resulting in a rating drop of 1 ,2%. JTBC’s “Newsroom” grew 0.769% with 1.021 million viewers and a 4.578% rating, while KBS1’s “KBS News 9” had 1.053 million viewers and a 6.2% rating.
In the entertainment sector, KBS2’s “2 Days & 1 Night” attracted 1.6 million viewers, while “Boss in the Mirror” garnered 1.068 million viewers and a 5.8% rating, marking an increase of 129,000 spectators. MBC’s “Exploration Planning Straight” declined, losing 118,000 viewers and falling 0.5% to a total of 1.349 million viewers.
This week’s ratings trends reveal strong returns for dramas and variety shows, with “Iron Family” and “My Little Old Boy” dominating their respective time slots. The widespread appeal of family dramas and variety shows is expected to continue generating high ratings in the weeks to come.
