“Kill Me, Heal Me” star Ji Sung makes his explosive comeback this May with the new psychological crime thriller “Connection” on SBS. As the fever for tvN’s “Lovely Runner” and “Queen of Tears” is slowly fading away from South Korean broadcasting networks, other ongoing low-rated series are making small jumps on the weekly K-drama ranking charts. Ji Sung’s SBS drama is one such title that’s been grabbing viewers’ attention, and the buzzing K-drama chart for the second week of June reflects its spectacular growth on both local networks and the OTT space.
About Ji Sung’s Drama Connection
Streaming on Wave and Coupang Play in South Korea, Vidyo in Indonesia, Kocowa in the US, and Viki in select regions, this investigative TV series revolves around a top-notch narcotics detective, played by Ji Sung, who falls into a drug addiction. Eventually, the protagonist is drawn into an unfolding murder mystery surrounding his friend. Once he is drawn back into the world of thrilling investigations, he finds himself unraveling a 20-year-old friendship and an unexpected connection.
Read this also | Atypical Family star Chun Woo Hee may star opposite Song Joong Ki in new K-drama: Report
As of June 18, the latest readings from Good Data Corporation revealed that the famous actor’s show topped both the TV and TV-OTT categories on the “Buzzworthy” chart. While it scored 17.05% on the former, it garnered 13.49% buzz on the latter list. Meanwhile, the lead actor ranked fourth on the most buzzworthy artists (actors/actresses) chart last week, while his co-star Jeon Mi Do featured in the top 10 chart.
Among the new songs added to the list, JTBC’s “My Sweet Mobster” and “Miss Night and Day” topped the chart for the first time.
OTT titles are winning big on the weekly charts
In the competition of OTT, “Hierarchy” and “The 8 Show” once again dominated the list. Despite all the episodes premiering simultaneously in May, it remains strong even months later.
“Hierarchy,” the alleged Korean version of Spanish drama “Elite,” ranked fifth on the TV-OTT chart of Good Data Corp.’s popular “Fundex.” However, its original streaming platform, Netflix, gave it unrivaled honors as the series completed its second consecutive week atop the Global Top 10 Non-English TV category. From June 10-16 alone, the Netflix K-drama garnered 6.3 million views, topping the list. Similarly, “The 8 Show” continued its 5-week streak at the 6th spot on Netflix’s Non-English TV Top 10 chart, garnering 900,000 views last week.
Read this also | ‘Isn’t Marjorie Taylor Greene scary?’: The Boys creator has no plans to sweeten season 4 character motivations
Even though both “Queen of Tears” and “The Atypical Family” dropped out of the South Korean buzzing chart, which only ranks upcoming or ongoing shows, Netflix still placed them back on the global top 10 list. The Kim Soo Hyun-Kim Ji Won starrer romantic comedy continued to break records with its long-running spell (700,000 views from June 10-16) for 15 consecutive weeks on this OTT chart. “The Atypical Family,” on the other hand, returned in its sixth week, garnering 1.7 million views.
Top 10 K-dramas that gained the most buzz in the second week of June
| TV-OTT | TV |
| 1. Connection (13.49%) | 1. Connection (17.05%) |
| 2. The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (10.77%) | 2. The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (13.60%) |
| 3. My Sweet Mobster (10%) | 3. My Sweet Mobster (12.64%) |
| 4. Miss Day and Night (7.96%) | 4. Miss Day and Night (10.06%) |
| 5. Hierarchy (6.84%) | 5. The Player 2: Master of Swindlers (8.39%) |
| 6. The Player 2: Master of Swindlers (6.64%) | 6. Bitter Sweet Hell (8.13%) |
| 7. Bitter Sweet Hell (6.44%) | 7. Crash (6.98%) |
| 8. The 8 Show (5.56%) | 8. Beauty and Mr. Romantic (6.24%) |
| 9. Crash (5.53%) | 9. The Missing Crown Prince (4.07%) |
| 10. Beauty and Mr. Romantic (4.94%) | 10. Semolina and Uri (3.24%) |
Top 10 drama actors who gained the most buzz in the second week of June
| actor | Drama |
| 1. Jung Ryeo Won | Midnight Romance at Hagwon |
| 2. Wi Ha Jun | Midnight Romance at Hagwon |
| 3. Jeong Eun Ji | miss you day and night |
| 4. Ji Sung | relationship |
| 5. Han Sun Hwa | my lovely mobster |
| 6. Uhm Tae Goo | my lovely mobster |
| 7. Lee Jung Eun | miss night and day |
| 8. Kim Hee Sun | bitter sweet hell |
| 9. Choi Jin Hyuk | my lovely mobster |
| 10. Jeon Mi Do | relationship |
