Why is Kim Eun-sook's "The King: Eternal Monarch" Not Taking Off?

It was considered one of the most anticipated works in the first half of this year, but when it finally began, unexpected criticism poured out. We're talking about "The King: Eternal Monarch", the new SBS TV Friday-Saturday drama which is written by star writer Kim Eun-sook.

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SBS's "The King: Eternal Monarch" ranked third in the Content Impact Assessment Index (CPI) in the third week of April (April 13-19) released by CJ ENM and Nielsen Korea on the 22nd. The CPI index is 233.7.

Kim Eun-sook, who has been criticized for her Cinderella story and her 'cheesy' lines, has expanded the scope of 'Kim Eun-sook Dramas' by combining her specialty, romance, with other genres. Among her previous fantasy romance dramas similar to "The King: Eternal Monarch" are "Secret Garden" (2010-2011) and "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016-2017).

These dramas, which became a nationwide sensation, captivated both the public and the critics with their fantasies and romance having proper chemistry. "Secret Garden" tells a romantic comedy of the absurd setting in which the souls of a man and a woman change, while "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" emphasizes the misery of love with the tale of a goblin that can only die if he finds a mate. How about "The King: Eternal Monarch", which has just taken off its veil? Viewers are still not fully immersed in its fantasy world.

The biggest problem lies in the character of Lee Gon (Lee Min-ho), the emperor who crosses between the Korean Empire and the Republic of Korea. He sees that he has come to the parallel world beyond the space of the dimension just by looking around Gwanghwamun Square. He may be confused when he accidentally falls into a strange world, but he gives Jeong Tae-eul (Kim Go-eun) an explanation of quantum mechanics with a calm expression. Even if you have studied the parallel world for a long time because you are interested in science, it would be the law of the genre to look confused even for a moment if you fall into a strange world, but Lee Gon defies this expectation. He's even a smart mathematician, and he doesn't even think about how the doors of the dimension work or if there's a way to get back. It is natural that the entire fantasy genre is not convincing because the main character of the genre drama that has fallen into a strange world doesn't do what he or she should do.

Of course, "Descendants of the Sun" (2016) was once found controversial by military experts due to some of the unwarranted behavior of the heroes, but it was not enough to hinder viewers' immersion in the romance. Even if Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) fired at civilians at the deployment site, no viewers doubted the desperate love for Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo). But Lee Gon's behavior, which is not understood in "The King: Eternal Monarch", eats away at the character's charm. Lee Gon is surprisingly quick to learn that Korea is a republic that has a different history from the Korean Empire, but he is so senseless that he tries to drink milk tea for free at a cafe using his identity and spits out the word 'behead' to people he sees for the first time. Therefore, Lee Gon's proposal to Jeong Tae-eul is not a result of his long unrequited love, but an extension of his 'uniqueness'. Some even say 'character collapse'. This point is painful in Kim Eun-sook's drama, which has always been popular for its great male characters.

This assessment may be premature, because it has only aired two episodes at this time. As writer Kim has never had a proper failure yet, we expect that it will change by the upcoming weeks. However, it is uncertain how long this expectation will last. The controversy over the first female prime minister of the Korean Empire, Goo Seo-ryeong, was another factor that made "The King: Eternal Monarch" unstable.

Meanwhile, jTBC's "The World of the Married" and tvN's "Hospital Playlist" were ranked first and second in CPI following the previous week. TvN's "Hi Bye, Mama!" with actress Kim Tae-hee's mother's performance touching one's heart, jumped 10 notches to fourth in the closing week.

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"The King: Eternal Monarch" is directed by Baek Sang-hoon, Jung Ji-hyun, written by Kim Eun-sook, and features Lee Min-ho, Kim Go-eun, Woo Do-hwan, Kim Kyung-nam, Jung Eun-chae, Lee Jung-jin. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020/04/17~Now airing, Fri, Sat 22:00 on SBS.