Song Joong Ki’s Status As Married Man Blamed For The Alleged Flop Of His New K-Drama

Song Joong Ki’s highly anticipated return to romance after nine years with My Youth has stumbled out of the gate, debuting with lackluster single-digit ratings. The JTBC series premiered with just 2.9% and 2.8% nationwide ratings for its first two episodes, falling short of expectations and even underperforming compared to his past works. Meanwhile, SBS’s Mantis: The Murderer’s Outing launched on the same day to an explosive 7.1%, showcasing audiences’ growing preference for gripping thrillers over soft romances.

But beyond genre competition, BNT News Korea claims that netizens are pointing fingers at Song Joong Ki’s real-life status as a married man with two children, saying it’s hard to buy into him as a romantic lead. His frequent mentions of his wife on variety shows have only strengthened this image, with some saying the association with his personal life breaks immersion in the drama.

Netizens on theqoo beg to differ with BNT News Korea. They claim that the real reason lies in his worsening image.

• It’s because his image took a nose dive on female-centric sites.
• It doesn’t seem like his marriage status is the problem here.
• The drama isn’t fun, so the ratings are like that. It might get better as the drama progresses. But I do agree that he doesn’t suit the type of acting where you have to open your eyes wide and innocent anymore.
• It’s not the fact that he’s married, but…
• It’s just that his image is so-so…

Combined with JTBC’s weak Friday slot and the public’s appetite for more intense genres, the criticism paints a difficult road ahead for My Youth. The drama centers around a child-actor who lost his light. He now works as a florist and novelist. He meets his first love again.