‘Sweet Stranger and Me’ fail to reclaim lost viewers in South Korea; Unique story captivates international audience

KBS' drama “Sweet Stranger and Me” failed to recover much of its lost viewers on its fifth week of airing. But while the drama dropped in viewership due to its bizarre story, it has attracted quite a handful of international audiences, who were intrigued with the plot and storyline.

"Sweet Stranger and Me” began its fifth week on Monday, November 21, airing its Episode 9 and followed by the next episode on the next day. After its serious plunge in viewership ratings since Episode 3 on its second week, it has tried hard to win back local audiences.

However, such efforts seem futile. According to Munhwa News, "Sweet Stranger and Me's" Episode 9 only registered 3.7% of ratings in the AGB Nielsen rating, which is 1% lower compared to last week’s Episode 8.

The drama flopped to compete with SBS' drama “Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim,” which tallied 16.5% in its Episode 5, according to Yonhap News.

The bizarre story between Hong Na-Ri and Go Nan-Gil seems to be the main reason why a lot of Korean viewers lost interest in the drama. Nan-Gil, who married Na-Ri’s mother in order to protect her house, was falling for Na-Ri.

He confessed his love to Na-Ri in “Sweet Stranger and Me” Episode 10 after trying hard to play a father figure to her. This added more fiasco to the drama. As the main plot, the bizarre relationship between Na-Ri and Nan-Gil is not something most Koreans are comfortable with.

Meanwhile, the drama’s peculiar story attracted a handful of international audiences, which finds the drama as amusing. However, TV stations in Korea, particularly KBS, considered local viewers as more important because they are the main customers. There have been some issues speculating that KBS may cancel the drama.

Watch Nan-Gil’s love confession to Na-Ri with English subtitle from KBS World TV channel in “Sweet Stranger and Me” Episode 10 below:

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K Drama
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Sweet Stranger and Me
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