This Korean Drama Soars to 7% Ratings in Just 5 Episodes “The Race Has Officially Begun”
According to Nielsen Korea on Dec 7th, “Cinderella Game“, which debuted with a 7.5% rating, climbed to 8.1% by its second episode. However, ratings dipped to 7.1% and 6.7% for episodes 3 and 4 due to the impact of martial law. Episode 5 saw a rebound to 7.4%, securing the second spot among all dramas. With 1.218 million viewers, “Cinderella Game” ranked third overall in the Top 20 programs, following “The Fiery Priest 2” (1.968 million) and MBC’s “Newsdesk” (1.743 million).
In episode 5 aired on Dec 6th, protagonist Goo Hana (Han Groo) appeared as if time had passed. She transformed into a resilient breadwinner taking care of her younger siblings after losing her parents. Hana, who was adopted into the household of Ji-seok (Kwon Do-hyung), faced tragedy when Ji-seok’s parents died in a car accident on their way to her piano competition. Subsequently, her father’s company went bankrupt, and the family home was lost to debt.
Ji-eun (Kim Ji-sung), Hana’s younger sister, blamed Hana for the tragedy, accusing her, “If you hadn’t gone to the competition, Mom and Dad would still be alive. Bring them back!” Meanwhile, Ji-seok pleaded with Chairman Yeo-jin (Na Young-hee) to save his father’s factory, only to be met with a cold refusal. Overwhelmed, Hana dropped out of school to support her siblings, taking on multiple part-time jobs and abandoning her dream of playing piano to shoulder the responsibility of the family.
As tensions grew, Ji-eun and Ji-seok suggested they should part ways with Hana. Ji-seok remarked, “Stop struggling for us. Mom and Dad are gone; it’s time we live separately.” However, Hana firmly declared “I will stay with you“, emphasizing her commitment to her family. Despite Ji-eun’s attempts to send her away, Hana’s unwavering dedication shone through as she expressed, “Without Mom and Dad, I’m the head of the family. Seeing you gives me the strength to keep going.” A subplot introduced Hana’s accidental encounter with Hwang Jin-goo (Choi Sang), the president of Hyesung Tour, hinting at a potential development between the diligent Hana and the smart entrepreneur.
Viewer reactions on Naver Open Talk were diverse, “When does the revenge begin?”, “Han Groo is amazing!”, “The male cast is so handsome”, “Cheering for ‘Cinderella Game’!”, “Are we finally starting the race?”… Some even cited specific ratings, noting, “Last night’s nationwide rating was 7.4%, with 6.1% in the metropolitan area.“
KBS2’s daily drama “Cinderella Game” airs every Monday to Friday at 7:50 PM.
Source: Wikitree
