With Lee Jun-ho's previous work Typhoon Family and Park Shin-hye's Undercover Miss Hong both dealing with the similar IMF crisis as a backdrop, they are showing similarly successful box office trajectories in ratings.
Yesterday (the 8th), the tvN weekend drama Undercover Miss Hong (directed by Park Sun-ho, Na Ji-hyun / written by Moon Hyun-kyung / planned by Studio Dragon / produced by Celltrion Entertainment, Studio Dragon) episode 8 depicted the internal turmoil at Hanmin Securities growing more chaotic as it met the painful 1997 foreign exchange crisis (commonly called the "IMF crisis") and harsh storms of the time. Episode 8 recorded an average nationwide paid platform rating of 9.4% and a peak of 10.2% across cable, IPTV and satellite, and 10.1% average and 11.1% peak in the Seoul metropolitan area, ranking first in its time slot across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters, and it also set the show's highest household rating for three consecutive weeks. The tvN target 20-49 demographic rating also ranked first in its time slot across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters, proving its hot topicality. (Based on paid platforms combining cable, IPTV and satellite / provided by Nielsen Korea)
Hong Geum-bo (played by Park Shin-hye) fiddled with the keyboard of the 'So.Bang.Cha' that had been considered a candidate for 'Yeppe', breaking different letter keys, and succeeded in identifying Director Bang Jin-mok (played by Kim Do-hyun) as the internal whistleblower through a trick comparing the missing letters in the email received from 'Yeppe'. Director Bang had planned the internal whistleblowing to help President Kang Myung-hwi (played by Choi Won-young), but after his death everything fell apart and he revealed the whole story, drawing a line by telling Hong Geum-bo that he could no longer help. To make matters worse, he said there was no copy file of the missing slush fund ledger, cutting off the last thin thread of hope Hong Geum-bo had.
Earlier, during the back-and-forth over the slush fund ledger, Go Bok-hee (played by Ha Yoon-Kyung), who had grown suspicious, ultimately went to Hong Geum-bo's family home and discovered her true identity. Go Bok-hee, who intended to tell Chief Secretary Song Ju-ran (played by Park Mi-hyun) the truth, learned that Hong Geum-bo had been threatened by her biological older brother and even injured but had not shown it, and fell into conflict. After hesitation, Go Bok-hee decided to keep silent, and in her closed mouth viewers could feel the deepened camaraderie between the two women. Shin Jeong-woo (played by Ko Kyung-pyo) also feared Hong Geum-bo would become entangled in several incidents at Hanmin Securities and fall into danger, and he went to Director-General Yoon Jae-beom (played by Kim Won-hae) to ask him to promptly reinstate Hong Geum-bo at the Financial Supervisory Service. But Director-General Yoon shook his head, saying, "When people like me or President Shin try to survive, Hong Geum-bo aims to win," and he could not easily break her spirit and sense of justice.
Meanwhile, after days like the calm before the storm passed, the end-of-century realism of encountering a national default situation unfolded, drawing viewers into the living room. In the so-called "IMF crisis," several corporations including Hanmin Securities fell into trouble and requested public funds from the government. When accounting documents were required to verify soundness, Chairman Kang Pil-beom (played by Lee Duk-hwa) instructed Shin Jeong-woo to cook the books. A secret task force was formed, and Hanmin Securities executives, including those from 'So.Bang.Cha', locked themselves in a basement and began falsifying accounting documents. Hong Geum-bo, who suspiciously poked around, finally got an opportunity to work as an office assistant and enter the task force room, and she swapped the executives' falsified reports with the report she had prepared. The timing was off and the false report was close to being submitted before the deadline, but Shin Jeong-woo, after checking the mixed materials himself, took and submitted the report Hong Geum-bo had prepared in an unexpected move. It was also revealed that he had foreseen the IMF crisis and taken the Hanmin Securities president position, foreshadowing unpredictable developments.
In the end, Hanmin Securities failed to receive public funds. Roommate No. 301 Kim Mi-suk (played by Kang Chae-young), who faced humiliation from customers as fund returns hit rock bottom, Hong Geum-bo's parents who suffered massive losses after buying the fund, and everyone were in chaos amid the tragic national default, prompting sighs. Director Bang, who questioned Hanmin Securities' rejection from review, went to Shin Jeong-woo to ask what happened, and Shin Jeong-woo answered that Hong Geum-bo had personally taken care of the documents, sowing discord in their relationship. Losing trust in Hong Geum-bo, who was driving the company she belonged to into danger, Director Bang declared, "Even if the sky splits in two, we will never be on the same boat," setting up a sharp confrontation and signaling intensifying conflict.
After the broadcast, viewers reacted strongly with comments such as "The more I watch, the more solid the script is," "The capable female lead's growth arc is so moving," "What is Jeong-woo's identity? Thrilling," "Every time the director-general appears, he hits my laugh button perfectly," "My heart aches just seeing Mi-suk," "It came. Even knowing it, I cried. My heart is so heavy," "Park Shin-hye is really cute with comedy," "Today is one for the history books. My heart is pounding," and "The fight between Geum-bo and Director Bang was a dopamine rush."
Depicting end-of-century Yeouido and evoking interest and empathy, the tvN weekend drama Undercover Miss Hong will air episode 9 on Sat., the 14th, at 9:10 p.m.
[Photo] tvN weekend drama Undercover Miss Hong broadcast capture
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