21st Century Military Power Debate

MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'A Grand Prince of the 21st Century' is set to conclude with two episodes remaining, having achieved record-breaking viewership and global success. However, analyses suggest that critical evaluations of the lead actors' acting skills have left challenges for their future careers.

The drama secured the number one spot in its time slot from its premiere and surpassed 10% viewership within its fourth episode. It maintained its upward trend amidst competition from other shows, reaching its own highest viewership rating of 13% as of episode 10.

Its buzz was also unparalleled. It topped the Good Data Corporation's Findex weekly buzz chart before its broadcast and maintained the number one position for five consecutive weeks. Lead actors IU and Byun Woo-seok proved their syndrome-level popularity by trading the first and second spots on the cast buzz ranking.

The global response was even more fervent, immediately topping the Disney+ Korean series chart upon its release. Fan-created related short videos have accumulated over 2 billion views, and following the broadcast, the personal social media follower counts of Byun Woo-seok and IU increased by over 2 million and 420,000, respectively, demonstrating explosive popularity.

However, despite the impressive figures, evaluations of the work were mixed. Criticisms included the disconnect between the constitutional monarchy setting and Korean sentiment, a lack of plausibility, and uneven narrative development. In particular, the controversy surrounding the lead actors' acting abilities was significant.