IU, Byun Woo-seok's 'The Queen' Hits Record 11.1%

The MBC Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Prince's Wife' recorded a viewership rating of 11.1% for its fourth episode, breaking its own highest rating record. This is a 1.6 percentage point increase from the previous highest rating of 9.5%, with the minute-by-minute highest rating soaring to 13.8%.

The broadcast that day depicted Sung Hee-joo (played by Lee Ji-eun) and Prince Ian (played by Byun Woo-seok) declaring themselves an 'official couple' to deal with paparazzi. Prince Ian formalized his relationship with Sung Hee-joo despite opposition from the royal family and took the lead by gaining the support of Prime Minister Min Jung-woo (played by Noh Sang-hyun). Sung Hee-joo showed a clever move to secure public support by planning a kiss cam event at a baseball stadium, and in the process, Prince Ian felt subtle emotional changes towards Sung Hee-joo, suggesting that their relationship had entered an emotional turning point beyond a simple contract.

In the latter half of the drama, a crisis occurred when the brakes of Sung Hee-joo's car, with young King Lee Yoon (played by Kim Eun-ho) inside, malfunctioned. At the moment the entire royal family was in an emergency due to the runaway vehicle, Prince Ian dramatically blocked Sung Hee-joo's car with his own vehicle, bringing it to a halt. The gaze between the two, facing a life-or-death situation, foreshadowed future conspiracies by external forces and power struggles within the royal family.

'21st Century Prince's Wife' is a romance drama set in 21st-century South Korea, depicting the overcoming of class differences between a chaebol woman and a royal man, starring IU and Byun Woo-seok. While there were mixed reactions initially due to world-building inconsistencies and acting skills, it has shown an upward trend, surpassing double-digit viewership ratings in just four episodes amidst high buzz.

Meanwhile, SBS's 'Shin and the Law Firm,' broadcast at the same time, saw a decline in viewership ratings, and JTBC's 'Everyone is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness' premiered with a rating of 2.2%. '21st Century Prince's Wife' maintained high buzz and viewership ratings among competing programs, proving the popularity of IU and Byun Woo-seok.