In the end-of-the-year round-ups, there have been many votes cast for best drama. Both critics and fans have had their say. But when it comes to just ratings, the weekend dramas came out way ahead. Whether this has to do with the fact that some Korean viewers only watch dramas on the weekend or the longer-running weekend dramas attract a more loyal audience, it's hard to say, but they did earn a higher percentage of ratings than the weekday shows.
In first place for 2013 was the KBS 2TV drama "My Daughter Seo Young. " It was the drama with the highest viewer ratings this year, according to Nielsen Korea, earning average ratings of 40.7 percent between Sept. 2012 and March 2013. The 50-episode drama, starring Lee Bo Young, Lee Sang Yoon, Park Hae Jin and Chun Ho Jin, focused on the broken relationship between Seo Young and her father.
The weekend dramas "The Wang Family" and "Cheer Up Mr. Kim" tied for second place with ratings of 28.5 percent. The Wang Family, which included Jang Yong, Kim Hae Sook, Oh Hyun Kyung and Jo Sung Ha among its huge cast, focused on the problems of a family's successive generations. "Cheer Up Mr. Kim," starring Yang Jin Woo, Choi Jung Yoon, Wang Ji Hye and Kim Dong Wan, told the story of a man who worked as a housekeeper to support his four children.
Among the weekday dramas, the top winner is the Korean-American co-production "The Heirs," which started out slow but reached 25.6 percent in the ratings, with an overall average of 16.7 percent. The drama's stars Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye and Kim Woo Bin attracted a large and loyal fan base.
Next up was the paranormal courtroom drama "I Hear Your Voice," starring Lee Bo Young, Yoon Sang Hyun and Lee Jong Suk. The drama reached 24.1 percent in the ratings with an overall average of 18.8 percent.
Next came "The Master's Sun," starring So Ji Sub and Gong Hyo Jin. The love story between a woman who sees ghosts and the man who can make them go away reached 21.8 percent of the viewers with an average of 17.2 percent. "Good Doctor," starring Joo Won and Moon Chae Won reached 21.5 percent with an overall average of 18.8 percent.
The fantasy saeguk "Gu Family Book," starring Lee Seung Gi and Suzy, reached 19.1 percent of the viewers and averaged 16.1 percent.
A few more dramas also deserve honorable mention. "Secrets," also known as "Secret Love," earned 18.9 percent but only averaged 12.7 percent. It starred Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum and Bae Soo Bin. The winner of the Kdramastars poll for best drama, "Missing You," reached 17.9 percent, with an average of 10 percent. The drama starred Park Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye.
And the year ended on a promising note for two new dramas. The 50-episode weekday historical drama "Empress Ki," which began in October, reached ratings of 20.2 percent by its 13th episode. Also "You Who Came From The Stars" broke 20 percent in its first few episodes.
