Ha Ji Won's drama "Empress Ki has ruled the ratings for the Wednesday-Thursday night dramas but the award-winning actress will soon have some new competition. And the competition is pretty impressive. Will Ha Ji Won keep her crown as the ratings winner or will Lee Bo Young or Han Ji Hye unseat her?
The toughest competition may come from last year's Daesang winner, Lee Bo Young. Her new drama "God's Gift, 14 Days" will soon compete in the same time slot. In this tense time-travel drama, Lee Bo Young plays a mother whose young daughter gets kidnapped and killed. Her character gets a chance to travel two weeks back in time before the incident took place. She has a chance to change history and save her daughter's life. But changing history never happens without consequences.
Lee Bo Young had an excellent year in 2013. She played the lead character in the weekend drama "My Daughter Seo Young" and the drama ruled the charts for 22 weeks. "My Daughter Seo Young" reached ratings of 47.6 percent, which was the highest rating for a k-drama in 2013. Then the actress starred in the popular fantasy courtroom drama "I Hear Your Voice." As a result of her work, she won several awards last year, including the Daesang or Grand Prize at the SBS Drama Awards.
Han Ji Hye also enters into the competition with her role in the upcoming drama "The Full Sun." She will play Han Young Won, a jewelry designer who lost her fiancé in a bungled diamond theft. She finally moves on after his death and falls for another man, only to find that he is implicated in her fiance's murder.
Han Ji Hye played the self-made woman Chun Hae Joo in the 2012 drama "May Queen," which averaged an impressive18 percent in the ratings. Last year she had a role in the family drama "I Summon You Gold." That drama also did well in the ratings and earned her a Best Actress Award at the MBC Drama Awards.
The storyline of "Full Sun" may also appeal to fans, as its one of those love-revenge tales that resonate with melodrama lovers.
However, Ha Ji Won already has some loyal fans. "Empress Ki" has earned ratings of 25.3 percent and it has retained an enthusiastic following since the historical drama began. After investing the time spent to watch the first 28 episodes, its unlikely that fans will shift allegiance half way through the show's run.
Who do you think will win the ratings war?
