Bona’s New K-Drama The Haunted Palace Has Broken Viewership Records ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
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The Haunted Palace, SBS’s ongoing K-drama, premiered on April 18, 2025, and within its first three episodes, the drama has achieved the highest viewership ratings so far. The series features Yook Sung-Jae and Bona in the lead roles, and people were excited to see this pair on-screen long before the show aired. Now that the series is finally streaming, viewers are pouring love on the on-screen pair and the storyline.
For those who don’t know, the storyline of The Haunted Palace revolves around Yun Gap (Yook Sung-Jae), a government officer who works in the palace. But one day, when he gets possessed by an Imoogi creature related to Yeo Ri (Bona), things take a different turn for him. Yeo Ri is the granddaughter of a great shaman but doesn’t want to accept her destiny as a spirit medium. However, things shift for her as well after Yun Gap gets possessed because he is her first love. How their stories intertwine with each other is all about the drama.
Now, as of April 25, 2025, based on Nielsen Korea’s data, the third episode of The Haunted Palace has recorded an average nationwide rating of 9.3%, the highest so far. However, on its premiere episode, the drama collected a rating of 9.2%, which was quite close to the third episode’s rating. On the other hand, in the second episode, it scored 8.3%, while in the fourth, it earned 8.8% (almost similar to the second one, via Soompi).
This new development about the series makes it the most-watched show in its dedicated time slot and the most-watched miniseries of the entire week. According to FlixPatrol, the K-drama has also ranked on Netflix’s Top 10 list, which features countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea. The K-drama airs every Friday and Saturday on SBS at 6:20 pm. It can also be streamed on Netflix and Viki.
Meanwhile, MBC’s ongoing K-drama, Crushology 101, that airs in the same time slot as The Haunted Palace, earned an average nationwide rating of 1.1% on its fifth episode. Although it began with much hype, the viewership ratings tanked with every episode as viewers couldn’t relate to the storyline and failed to feel the chemistry between the actors. But when it comes to Bona and Yook Sung-Jae, people are loving their on-screen banter, the jump scares, the eerie storyline, and more.
Netizens have been praising The Haunted Palace. One such viewer wrote on My Drama List, “Loving the haunted palace. Rating should be higher.” Another person commented, “This is surprisingly good tbh. Im hooked.” Well, The Haunted Palace is getting rave reviews. What about you? Have you started to watch it yet?
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