Lim Ji Yeon and Choo Young Woo’s The Tale of Lady Ok finally bested Lee Joon Hyuk and Han Ji Min’s K-drama Love Scout in its last week on air. Dominating the Good Data Corporation’s FUNdex chart in the fourth week of January, JTBC’s historical title made a sweeping comeback to the top as the most buzzworthy drama. On top of that, its leading cast members also defeated the competition on the weekly actors’ rankings, with Lim Ji Yeon rising atop the chart, followed by Choo Young Woo at #2.
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Lee Joon Hyuk still a favourite on the monthly actor brand rankings
Love Scout’s Lee Joon Hyuk may have slipped to third place on the K-Content Online Buzzworthiness drama stars’ rankings. However, he dusted the competition from The Tale of Lady Ok’s rising star on the monthly Actor Brand Reputation rankings (Dec 27-Jan 27).
Contrary to their interchanged positions on the buzzworthy chart, Lee continued his reign atop the Korean Business Research Institute’s January Actor rankings with a reputation index of 10,689,968. Meanwhile, Choo Young Woo came in next with a score of 10,262,219. Even Squid Game Season 2 stars Lee Jung Jae and Jo Yu Ri, though in the Top 5, couldn’t slip past the Love Scout actor on the Actor Brand rankings. His SBS romance drama co-star Han Ji Min took rank #8.
Onscreen couple Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin, who went mega-viral for their chemistry in the melodrama When the Phone Rings, came in at #11 and #12, respectively.
Netflix’s The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call soars
The Tale of Lady Ok standout Choo Young Woo earned a double feature on the buzzworthy actors’ rankings thanks to consecutive heart-stealing performances in the JTBC drama and the brand-new Netflix sensation The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call. He clinched the second position for the former, whereas he secured the #8 rank on the same chart for the Netflix K-drama.
His budding onscreen bromance with Trauma Code co-star Ju Ji Hoon has recently become another hot topic of Hallyu discussion. The male lead has especially been busy recently, contributing to back-to-back dramas. Starting with the Disney+ series Blood Free in 2024, he went on to headline Love Your Enemy, followed by another Disney+ drama, Light Shop, and finally, beginning the new year with The Trauma Code on Netflix. For the latest addition to his acting creds, he landed rank #7 this week.
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Grabbing the third-buzz-worthiest TV-OTT drama rank on the K-Content Online chart, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call even defeated Squid Game Season 2, which came in at #4.
Korean shows trending on Netflix’s Top 10
On the contrary, Lee Jung Jae and Lee Byung Hun’s dynamics trumped Ju Ji Hoon and Choo Young Woo’s newfound chemistry as the latest Squid Game season pulled ahead of The Trauma Code, ranking atop the Netflix Top 10 non-English shows chart.
In the week January 20-26, Squid Game 2 stretched its five-week spell on the streamer’s rankings, amassing 7.9 million views. Conversely, The Trauma Code, premiering on January 24, debuted on the Top 10 chart this week, garnering 4.7 million views at #3.
The first season of Squid Game (#6) also returned for its 28th non-consecutive week on the Top 10, recording 3.1 million views.
Lastly, the Korean reality TV show Single’s Inferno Season 4 maintained its two-week streak on the chart, bringing in 3.1 million views at rank #5. Contestants Lee Sian and Park Hae Lin slipped in at #3 and #10, respectively, on the non-drama performers’ rankings of the FUNdex Buzzworthiness chart.
K-dramas on Netflix’s Top 10 Global (non-English)
| K-drama (#rank) | Views this week | Weeks on Top 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Squid Game Season 2 (#1) | 7,900,000 | 5 |
| The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call (#3) | 4,700,000 | 1 |
| Single’s Inferno Season 4 [non-drama] (#5) | 3,100,000 | 2 |
| Squid Game Season 1 (#6) | 3,100,000 | 28 |
2025 January Actor Brand Reputation Rankings
- Lee Joon Hyuk
- Choo Young Woo
- Lee Jung Jae
- Hyun Bin
- Jo Yu Ri
- Cha Joo Young
- Park Gyu Young
- Han Ji Min
- Lee Byung Hun
- Gong Yoo
- Yoo Yeon Seok
- Chae Soo Bin
- Song Joong Ki
- Lim Ji Yeon
- Won Ji An
- Lee Min Ho
- Lee Se Young
- Go Young Jung
- Yim Siwan
- Kim Jae Won
- Lee Yi Dam
- Kim Jung Hyun
- Lee Hyun Wook
- Ju Ji Hoon
- Jeon Yeo Been
- Heo Nam Jun
- Roh Jae Won
- Lee Jin Wook
- Lee Je Hoon
- Lee Su Hyun
Top 10 Kdramas that generated the most buzz in Week 4 of January 2025
| TV-OTT | TV |
|---|---|
| 1. The Tale of Lady Ok (JTBC) | 1. The Tale of Lady Ok (JTBC) |
| 2. Love Scout (SBS) | 2. Love Scout (SBS) |
| 3. The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call (Netflix) | 3. When the Stars Gossip (tvN) |
| 4. Squid Game Season 2 (Netflix) | 4. Motel California (MBC) |
| 5. The Queen Who Crowns (TVING) | 5. Check in Hanyang (Channel A) |
| 6. When the Stars Gossip (tvN) | 6. Iron Family (KBS2) |
| 7. Motel California (MBC) | 7. Who is She! (KBS2) |
| 8. Study Group (TVING) | 8. Cinderella Game (KBS2) |
| 9. Check in Hanyang (Channel A) | 9. For Eagle Brothers (KBS2) |
| 10. Unmasked (Disney Plus) | 10. Namib (ENA) |
Top 10 drama actors that generated the most buzz in Week 3 of January 2025
| Drama actor | K-drama |
|---|---|
| 1. Lim Ji Yeon | The Tale of Lady Ok |
| 2. Choo Young Woo | The Tale of Lady Ok |
| 3. Lee Joon Hyuk | Love Scout |
| 4. Han Ji Min | Love Scout |
| 5. Lee Hyun Wook | The Queen Who Crowns |
| 6. Cha Joo Young | The Queen Who Crowns |
| 7. Ju Ji Hoon | The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call |
| 8. Choo Young Woo | The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call |
| 9. Ha Yully | The Tale of Lady Ok |
| 10. Lee Se Young | Motel California |