Less than half way through its run, new Korean drama, A World of Married Couple (aka The World of the Married), has become the highest-rated Korean adaptation of a Western script anyone can remember.

The 16-episode series is also on track to overtake original series Crash Landing on You, which closed at 21.683% in Feb this year, and go on to smash all-time cable ratings record set in 2018/9 by Sky Castle, produced by JTBC Drama House and Korean indie HB Entertainment. Sky Castle hit 23.779% during its run in 2018/9.

A remake of BBC Studios’ Doctor Foster, A World of Married Couple has also captured more than 55% of Viu’s streaming audience in Asia since its premiere, according to Viu data on Monday (20 April).

A World of Married Couple stars Kim Hee-ae (Sons and Daughters) as a successful doctor with a perfect life who finds things unravelling when she starts believing that her husband, played by Park Hae-joon (Arthdal Chronicles), is having an affair.

The series premiered at the end of March. Weekend ratings for episode seven this past weekend on JTBC in Korea were 18.501% on Friday (17 April), rising to 20.061% on Saturday (18 April).

A World of Married Couple streams on PCCW Media’s Asian platform, Viu, with an exclusive first window eight hours after broadcast in Korea. Viu subtitles in six languages (traditional & simplified Chinese, English, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Burmese) available in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar.

A World of Married Couple is among a small slate of North American and European scripted titles that have been made/commissioned in Korea.

Adaptations include Designated Survivor: 60 Days (Disney ABC/eOne), political drama The Good Wife (CBS), Entourage and legal drama Suits (NBCUniversal). Korea has also picked up dramas from BBC Studios (see chart, pg 10).

Until A World of Married Couple, none reached sustainable double-digit ratings, if they hit double digits at all.
Designated Survivor: 60 Days ran on CJ ENM-owned cable channel tvN in July/ Aug 2019 (Mon/Tues), with a global release on Netflix. In Korea, nationwide ratings peaked at 6.178% for the finale. Only the final two episodes of the 16-part series rose above 5%. Netflix hasn’t disclosed viewer engagement.

The Good Wife (ran in July/Aug 2016) peaked at 6.232% nationwide in its Fri/Sat 8.30pm slot on tvN. The finale was the only episode that passed the 6% ratings mark. Four of the episodes were less than 4%. Another seven came in at between 4% and 5%, and four ran between 5% and 6%.

Suits, which ran on KBS2 from April to June 2018, peaked at 10.7% nationwide for its finale. Although it did better than other adaptations, the 16-episode show spent most of its run between 7.4% and 9.9%.

Criminal Minds Korea hit its nationwide peak of 4.187% with its premiere episode on 26 July 2017 and it was downhill from there. The 20-episode show hit lows of 2.036% at episode 11 before ending at 3.048% for the finale on 28 Sept 2017.

Dark comedy Entourage (Nov/Dec 2016) was the biggest scripted format fail, with 10 of the 16 episodes below 1% rating.

Like Hotel del Luna, Viu’s acquisition of an exclusive first window for A World of Married Couple was a licensing coup with roots that stretch back to the early vision of the platform as the streaming home of Korean content. Now, facing rising competition from Asian and global platforms, Viu continues to defend its first-mover Korean drama advantage with first-run titles such as When My Love Blooms, Oh My Baby, Kkondae Intern, Good Casting and Fix You.

At the same time, Netflix is presenting an aggressive Korean strategy, including Studio Dragon’s The King: Eternal Monarch (debuted 17 April) and blockbuster Crash Landing on You; a close alliance with CJ ENM’s powerhouse Studio Dragon; and what seems like a bottomless pot of gold for expensive originals and acquisitions.

Chinese streamer iQiyi is also in play, building out its regional platform with exclusive rights to smaller Korean shows like Eccentric! Chef Moon (Channel A) and non-exclusive access to others.

What happens next? Our guess: a focus on acquiring fewer better productions and tougher negotiations as competitors pile in... beyond that, anyone’s guess.