Deep, dark love affair “The World of the Married” concludes broadcast with soaring ratings

The unexpected hit is now the highest rated Korean drama in the history of cable television.

The widely popular JTBC series, The World of the Married, recently concluded it’s run with its final episode soaring to a record high of 28.37% in average nationwide rating.

With that, it has now smashed the viewership previous records set by the recent mega hit like Crash Landing On You (21.6%) and surpassing the critically acclaimed SKY Castle (23.78%) to become the number one rated cable TV drama of all time.

Based off the 2015 BBC drama series Doctor Foster, the Korean remake tells the story of Dr. Ji Sun-woo (Kim Hee-ae), whose seemingly successful and happy family life takes an unexpected toll after discovering that her husband, Lee Tae-oh (Park Hae-joon) is having an affair.

Themes of infidelity, revenge and lust are commonplace. To be honest, I did not give this series a chance initially, especially because it’s broadcast came right after Itaewon Class.

But within the first few weeks of broadcast, it has generated significant interest and following within Korea. With hardly any expectations, I embarked on the series and it has been a real emotional rollercoaster.

The World of The Married is not your typical fantasy series. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted too.

The story unravels right from the first episode after Dr. Ji Sun-woo uncovers that her husband has been cheating on her with Yeo Da-kyung (Han So-hee), the daughter of an influential businessman.

The worst part? Everyone around her seems to be aware of her husband’s extra-marital affair, except for her.

The World of the Married does not dwell on why, or how the affair happened. Instead, it shines light on issues a married couple would face: balancing both work and family, parenthood, etc.

Decisions they make not only affect themselves, but also their family and most importantly, their children.

While tackling labels and social stigma divorced women and their children experienced, it also touched on controversial topics such as physical abuse in relationships and workplace sexism.

The World of the Married doesn’t pack a star-studded cast, neither does it feature the most elaborate setup.

Yet, it was still able to captivate the audience from the start to finish, with its storytelling and nuanced character developments, which makes the achievements from this drama even more remarkable.

Unlike most dramas with happily ever-after endings, The World of the Married takes a different spin and offers a much more realistic closure for its characters, as they move on with their lives.