"Perfect Crown" IU and Byeon Woo-seok achieved a graceful conclusion, with the series recording its highest-ever rating despite various controversies.
According to ratings firm Nielsen Korea's tally on the 17th, the 12th episode of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama Perfect Crown (written by Yoo Ji-won, directed by Park Joon-hwa, Bae Hee-young), which aired on the 16th, recorded a 13.8% nationwide household rating. This is a 0.3 percentage-point increase from the 13.5% recorded for episode 11.
Episode 11 recorded a 13.5% rating as the series' previous highest, but the final episode closed with an even higher series-best rating of 13.8%.
In the finale, Grand Prince I-an (played by Byeon Woo-seok) and Seong Hee-ju (played by IU) ended with a happy ending in which the constitutional monarchy was abolished and they live ordinary daily lives as a married couple.
Perfect Crown drew attention by casting IU, a proven box-office guarantee, alongside Byeon Woo-seok, who enjoyed phenomenon-level popularity from the drama Lovely Runner. Two weeks before the first broadcast, FUNdex, the buzz index released by Good Data Corporation, a K-content competitiveness analysis firm, ranked it first in TV-OTT drama buzz for the fourth week of March 2026, up one spot from the previous week.
It was the first time since the survey began that a drama that had not yet begun airing ranked first overall in TV-OTT drama buzz. Perfect Crown in particular ranked first in VON (community reaction, Voice of Netizen) and SNS among the indicators that make up buzz.
But when audiences actually watched Perfect Crown, it was full of disappointments. After the first broadcast, IU and Byeon Woo-seok were engulfed in acting ability controversies. Byeon Woo-seok was criticized for somewhat awkward acting, such as pronunciation and line tone, with responses saying he had not yet fully embodied the character. Some viewers said IU reminded them of Jang Man-wol from her previous work Hotel del Luna. There were also criticisms that it felt contrived. However, as the episodes accumulated, the two actors' chemistry came alive and those controversies subsided.
But viewers' complaints continued due to flimsy plausibility and settings. Moreover, ahead of the finale, historical distortion controversies erupted. This was because the caste system borrowed in the drama resembled the current Japanese imperial household more than Joseon. In addition, the Northeast Project controversy spread.
At Grand Prince I-an's enthronement ceremony, problems arose not only because he chanted "cheonse" — used when a vassal state was subordinated to an imperial state — rather than "manse," a symbol of an independent nation, but also because while the emperor (king) of an independent nation wears a 'shi-myeon crown' with 12 strings of jewels, I-an was shown wearing a 'gu-ryu myeon-gwan,' meaning a vassal of the emperor.
Ultimately, Perfect Crown apologized. The production team said, "We sincerely bow our heads and apologize to the many people who watched the drama with affection for causing concern with issues regarding the world-building and historical verification," adding that the matter occurred because the production team failed to carefully examine how Joseon's etiquette changed over time.
Perfect Crown did not achieve more-than-expected buzz or ratings during its run due to various controversies. Still, the drama itself recorded its highest-ever rating and bowed out with a graceful ending.
[Photo] OSEN DB, broadcast capture
[OSEN]