Starring IU and Byeon Woo-seok, ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ has been recorded as the most-watched Korean series worldwide for four weeks since its release. The global cumulative viewing time has reached a staggering 43 million hours!
On the 15th, Disney+ announced that based on the performance 28 days after release, the show has set a record as the most-watched Korean series globally in regions including North America, Europe, and Latin America, even when excluding the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region.
The romance drama starring IU and Byeon Woo-seok has successfully captured the hearts of viewers far beyond Asia. ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ has climbed to the top by building a powerful fandom in North America and Europe (USA, Canada, UK, Italy, Spain, Germany) as well as major South American regions including Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
With cumulative global viewing time surpassing 43 million hours, the data shows that viewers became even more engaged as the story progressed. Specifically, Episode 8 saw a 43% increase in viewership compared to Episode 1 based on the first seven days of data.
Disney+ mentioned, “’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ has established itself as the Korean content with the greatest global scalability released on Disney+ so far, adding significance by opening new horizons for K-content.”
Set in a 21st-century constitutional monarchy in Korea, ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’ is a romance about breaking social barriers. It follows Sung Hee-joo (IU), a wealthy chaebol who is frustrated by her commoner status, and Grand Prince Ian (Byeon Woo-seok), the King’s son who is sad because he can possess nothing. Despite some pointers regarding acting controversies and plot holes, the show continues its strong run thanks to the immense star power and chemistry between IU and Byeon Woo-seok, along with its overwhelming buzz.
The series is airing on MBC in Korea and is available to global viewers via Disney+. It consists of 12 episodes in total, with the final two episodes set to be released on the 15th and 16th.
