When these three A-list, Hallyu stars were discharged from the military last year, their fans were very excited about their drama comebacks.
Their respective small screen returns attracted fans locally and internationally ever since their mandatory military completion. Unfortunately, their recent dramas have pulled them down, and a lot of expectations were not met.
Rather than an out-of-this-world and fantastical depiction of stories, more and more people are into a realistic type of dramas, wherein their day-to-day lives in the real world are shown. For instance, "The World Of The Married" and even the North Korea-South Korea love story in "Crash Landing On You" garnered massive love from viewers.
Meanwhile, these three A-list stars may have surely captured millions of hearts with their previous dramas, but not for now.
Many have fallen for Lee Min Ho for his breakout role as Goo Jun Pyo in the high school-themed series "Boys Over Flowers." His fierce role as a leader of the popular F4 gang in the affluent campus made a lot of girls fall for him.
However, his recent "The King: Eternal Monarch" received an underwhelming low rating for his role as Lee Gon, the emperor of the Kingdom of Corea. Some were, in fact, disappointed about the whole setting of the series and were not satisfied as to how the plot was designed.
Other viewers even claimed that this could the end of the acclaimed screenwriter Kim Eun Sook. Although Lee Min Ho was paired with actress Kim Go Eun, another commendable K-drama star, the show did not impress some of the locals, which was why the drama earned below ten percent for their ratings.
Kim Soo Hyun's role in "Moon Embracing the Sun" as the young King Leehwon made his popularity skyrocket, and an overwhelming 42.2 percent rating has surely helped this actor rise to the top. His lead role in the fantasy romance "My Love from the Star" even led him to increase his popularity all across Asia, especially in China. Additionally, he became one of the most in-demand endorsers with 35 product endorsements in 2014.
But despite his popularity, before he enlisted in the military back in 2017, the actor tearfully delivered his speech at the VIP press event of his film "Real." Rumor had it that he broke down was due to the bad reviews for this supposed-to-be box office hit project. When he got discharged, he made headlines for his cameos in "Hotel del Luna" and "Crash Landing On You."
However, his ongoing series "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" was not happily welcomed by many as it only garnered 6.1 percent in viewership in its first episode and dropped to 4.7 percent for the next one.
Ji Chang Wook's "Backstreet Rookie" has been experiencing low ratings, too. Let's not forget how he rose to popularity for his breakout role as the 16th emperor of the Yuan Dynasty as Ta Hwan in the historical drama "Empress Ki." The series received an average of 35.12% throughout its run.
The actor has been struggling with going back to the top ever since his discharge in April 2019.
"Melting Me Softly" received poor viewership ratings of 1-2 percent as his comeback series. Then, his second drama, "Backstreet Rookie," which premiered last June 19, wherein he plays as the convenience store manager who got entangled with a part-timer, has received bad reviews for its blunt sexual lines and scenes, making the rating reach only 6.3 percent in viewership.
This has been a big challenge for these three A-listers, and we simply hope fans will continue to support them in these terrible times.
