According to Nielsen Korea on December 7, “Cinderella Game”, which debuted with a rating of 7.5%, rose to 8.1% in the second episode. However, ratings dropped to 7.1% and 6.7% for episodes 3 and 4 due to the impact of martial law. Episode 5 saw a rebound to 7.4%, securing second place among all dramas. With 1.218 million viewers, “Cinderella Game” ranked third in the Top 20 programs, behind “The Fiery Priest 2” (1.968 million) and MBC’s “Newsdesk” (1.743 million).
In episode 5 which aired on December 6, the protagonist Goo Hana (Han Groo) appeared as if time had passed. She transformed herself into a resilient breadwinner by caring for her younger siblings after losing her parents. Hana, who was adopted into Ji-seok’s (Kwon Do-hyung) family, faced tragedy when Ji-seok’s parents died in a car accident on the way to his piano competition. Subsequently, his father’s company failed and the family home was lost due to debt.
Ji-eun (Kim Ji-sung), Hana’s younger sister, blamed Hana for the tragedy, accusing her: “If you hadn’t gone to the competition, mom and dad would still be alive. Bring them back!Meanwhile, Ji-seok begged President Yeo-jin (Na Young-hee) to save his father’s factory, only to be met with cold refusal. Overwhelmed, Hana dropped out of school to support her siblings, taking on multiple part-time jobs and abandoning her dream of playing the piano to take on the responsibility of the family.
As tensions grew, Ji-eun and Ji-seok suggested separating from Hana. Ji-seok remarked, “Stop fighting for us. Mom and Dad are gone; It’s time we lived apart.” However, Hana firmly stated “I’ll stay with you“, underlining his commitment to his family. Despite Ji-eun’s attempts to send her away, Hana’s unwavering dedication shone through when she expressed, “Without mom and dad, I am the breadwinner. Seeing you gives me the strength to carry on.” A subplot introduces Hana’s accidental meeting with Hwang Jin-goo (Choi Sang), the president of the Hyesung Tour, suggesting a potential development between the diligent Hana and the intelligent entrepreneur.
Viewers’ reactions on Naver Open Talk were varied, “When does the revenge begin?”, “Han Groo is awesome!”, “The male cast is really good looking”, “I’m rooting for ‘Cinderella’s Game’!”, “Shall we finally start the race?“…Some even cited specific assessments, noting: “Last night’s vote nationwide was 7.4%, with 6.1% in the metro area.“
KBS2’s daily drama “Cinderella Game” airs Monday to Friday at 7:50 pm.
Source: Wikitree
