Since last year, Korean dramas (often stylized as K-dramas) on Korean cable or pay channels have seen a boost in viewership and popularity compared to their counterparts airing on Korean public channels. In 2016, the Total Variety Network (tvN) earned a massive amount of viewership especially with "Reply 1988" and "Goblin."

This year, the Orion Cinema Network (OCN) who dominated with K-dramas "Voice" and "Tunnel" while tvN continued onward with "Bride of the Water God" and "Forest of Secrets."

Yet, those two are not the only Korean cable networks enjoying success.

The Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Corporation (JTBC) also found success this year with "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" earning the network its highest viewership ratings overall. Now that's record has been broken with their current K-drama "Woman of Dignity." Not only that, it has the potential to earn double-digit ratings.

JTBC's success grows both domestically and internationally

"Woman of Dignity" recently aired their 15th and 16th episodes on August 4 and 5, 2017 KST. Once the calculations were in, it was shown that the nationwide viewership under Nielsen Korea was 9.986 percent, more than a two percent jump from the previous episode. With that record, "Woman of Dignity" broke the record for the highest viewership for an episode on any JTBC K-drama.

The record was previously held by "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" at 9.668 percent for its 10th episode.

Unlike "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon" in which its viewership was very dynamic, "Woman of Dignity" has been gradually increasing. Starting out with a meager less than three percent, it has grown. If the trend continues, many believe the K-drama may become JTBC's first to earn double-digit viewership ratings.

"Woman of Dignity" also assisted on increasing viewership (and possible ODK plus memberships) for OnDemandKorea (ODK). As of now, the JTBC K-drama is only available to watch on ODK in the United States. It may not be as high in viewership compared to being put on DramaFever or Rakuten Viki, but it is doing better than "Man to Man" internationally which was exclusive to Netflix.

What is 'Woman of Dignity' about?

"Woman of Dignity" is the latest K-drama to follow the current trend of suspenseful melodramas. Starring Kim Hee Sun, Kim Sun Ah, Jung Sang Hoon, and Lee Ki Woo, it is about a woman named Woo Ah Jin (Hee Sun) who lives a luxurious life due to her wealthy father-in-law. Fate suddenly takes a turn for the worse and Ah Jin's father-in-law's finances become decimated while her husband betrays her. To make matters worse, Park Bok Ja (Sun ah), a mysterious woman who hides her heartbreaking story, brings more fierce hardship on Woo Ah Jin.

"Woman of Dignity" airs on JTBC on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 p.m. KST. For those who do not have access to Korean networks, it can be watched exclusively on OnDemandKorea in the United States.
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