Song Joong-ki’s ‘Reborn Rich’ dominates year-end ratings

Cable channel JTBC’s hit drama “Reborn Rich” is on track to becoming one of the most-watched TV shows in South Korea, according to ratings firm Nielsen Korea, Monday.

The latest episode, which aired Sunday, recorded a 21.1 percent viewership, becoming the first TV series this year to reach over a 20 percent viewership rating among terrestrial broadcast and cable channels. The highest viewership ratings for cable channel ENA’s megahit legal drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and tvN period drama “The Queen’s Umbrella” hit 17.5 and 16.9 percent, respectively.

The 16-part series kicked off with a solid 6.1 percent viewership rating on Nov. 18 and reached 17 percent as of Friday, topping the viewership ratings among all TV shows in the same time slot.

Starring actors Song Joong-ki, Shin Hyun-bin and Lee Sung-min swept the top spots on the weekly rankings of the most viral actors for the third consecutive week, analytics firm Good Data Corp. said Monday.

“Reborn Rich” has ranked No. 1 on the firm’s weekly list of the most talked-about TV dramas since its premiere on Nov. 18 as well. The firm monitors and compiles data from online posts, videos, social media, news reports and blog posts in determining the ranking.

Adapted from a web novel of the same title by author San Kyung, “Reborn Rich” centers around Yoon Hyeon-woo (played by Song Joong-ki), a personal secretary to the family of top conglomerate Soonyang who is put in charge of the group's finances.

Despite his loyalty to the family, the secretary was reportedly killed by a family member. However, Yoon gets reincarnated as Jin Do-jun, the grandson of the Soonyang group chairman, with his memory as Yoon Hyeon-woo intact.

Yoon, who knows everything about the family, seeks to take revenge and reveal the truth surrounding his mysterious death.

The thriller series has been one of the most anticipated drama series of the year as it marked Song's return to dramas after his stellar performance in the tvN smash-hit “Vincenzo” (2021).

The remaining episodes of “Reborn Rich” will air on Dec. 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 10:30 p.m. on JTBC.

“Reborn Rich” is available on streaming platforms Tving, Disney+, Netflix, Viu and Rakuten Viki.