Park Bo Gum And Song Hye Kyo’s “Encounter” Achieves Record Audience Ratings

Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Kyo‘s new drama, Encounter, which aired its first episode on November 28, has achieved the highest audience rating among the first episodes of tvN dramas.

According to the TNMS media data, the first episode of Encounter has achieved an audience rating (charged subscription) of 9.4%, making it the highest rated first episode in the history of tvN dramas, surpassing Mr. Sunshine, which received 8.5% with their first episode on July 7, 2018.

The first episode tvN drama to achieve the highest audience rating after Mr. Sunshine was Goblin, which received 6.7% for its first episode aired on December 2, 2016.

TvN’s Reply 1988, which also starred Park Bo Gum, also received one of the highest audience ratings for a tvN first episode with 6.5%.

The audience ratings for Encounter‘s first episode also beat The Last Empress, which recorded the highest audience rating among Wednesday/Thursday dramas on national television. Episode 5 and 6 of the SBS drama received 5.9% and 7.0% ratings respectively.

Meanwhile, Encounter is a love story between a wealthy divorcee (Cha Soo Hyun played by Song Hye Kyo) and an average young man (Ki Jin Hyuk played by Park Bo Gum) who works various part-time shifts while looking for a job. With the beautiful scenery of Cuba alongside the exceptional acting skills of the cast, Encounter has left a strong first impression.