Whether it was the magical plot or the presence of Jung Il Woo, "The Night Watchmen" reached first place in the ratings on its very first night.
According to Nielsen Korea, the drama rated 10.9 percent. That's 2 percent more than the drama it replaced, which was "Triangle." It is also higher than the final episode of "Triangle."
Jung Il Woo, last seen in "The Golden Rainbow," plays Prince Lee Rin in this fantasy fusion drama. The prince sees ghosts and uses that power to join the watchmen who protect the palace from prowling spirits. Playing his swordsman sidekick is TVXQ's Yunho, last seen in "Queen of Ambition." Actress Go Sung Hee, who was last seen in "Miss Korea," also stars in this drama, as does actress Seo Yae Ji, who appeared in "Potato Star."
The opening episode showed the characters as children and revealed the supernatural and some of the natural forces they will have to contend with. There are dragons, ghosts and human enemies to defeat.
The ratings could rise further when the adult prince played by Jung Il Woo shows up in subsequent episodes.
The first episode of "The Night Watchmen" beat out "Trot Lovers," which was close behind with 9.1 percent in the ratings. In this drama Ji Hyun Woo's character has recovered from his brief episode of amnesia but is pretending not to remember anything so he can uncover Lee Se Young's devious plan to cover up her actions. There's no doubt that Lee Se Young, her mom and her allies will be exposed as villains and have to suffer the consequences. But viewers can't expect them to go down without a fight.
"Temptation," starring Choi Ji Woo, Kwon Sang Woo, and Park Ha Sun, settled for third place with 8.3 percent in the ratings this week. But that's still close to the second place winner. The drama took an interesting turn this week as Park Ha Sun's character, broken up about her husband spending time with Choi Ji Woo's character, sought solace in the arms of the man who hired her to care for his son. Kwon Sang Woo's relationship with Choi Ji Woo started when she offered him a hefty sum of money to spend three days with him. He accepted. Now Park Ha Sun's heartbroken character has asked Lee Jung Jin's character to pay her to spend time with him. Will the marriage survive?
