‘Master: God Of Noodles’ Debuts With Good Viewership Ratings As Successor To ‘Descendants Of The Sun’ Time Slot

If anyone were to ask anyone in the K-drama community what the best K-drama of 2016 is so far, most of them will answer Descendants of the Sun. The epic series starring Song Joong Ki (Tree With Deep Roots, Werewolf Boy) and Song Hye Kyo (Full House, The Queens) was so popular among viewers in South Korea, it averaged a 28 percent viewership rating across all rating systems in the Seoul National Capital Area as well as nationwide. That fact alone was enough for Descendants of the Sun to obliterate the competition which included a series featuring popular K-drama star Rain’s comeback, Please Come Back, Mister.

Needless to say, any K-drama following Descendants of the Sun will have their work cut out for them. And to be frank, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) wants the next K-drama series after Descendants of the Sun to be successful, or even more successful, than its predecessor. Thankfully for them, that K-drama, Master: God of Noodles, is starting out with a good viewership.

For those who are unfamiliar with what Master: God of Noodles (also known as Master of Revenge) is all about, a story-like synopsis of the new K-drama was provided by KBS. Starring Chun Jung Myung and Jo Jae Hyun, they also describe it as a melodrama centered on revenge.

“The child is walking with a limp as his body was cut everywhere. The next thing he notices is that he finds himself at two crossroads. On his left is the police office and on his right is the orphanage. Should he step up or hide himself? That night, his parents are burned to death. He has to change his name in order to survive. As he decides to go to the orphanage, he has a new name, ‘Mumyeong’, meaning ‘no name’. We all have our own name. After being born, the first thing we get is a name. We cannot choose our parents or birthplace. This is same for our name. But, here, there are people who choose their name by themselves. There is someone who steals another person’s name. This man steals his name as well as his life. Because of him, every tragedy begins. And, there is someone who throws his name away. This man puts his name out of his mind to fight against a monster who takes away his father’s name and life.”

Chun Jung Myung plays Moo Myung Yi, the man who used to be the boy described above. Over the years, he had researched a man who is responsible for taking his life away for the sole purpose of revenge. That man is Kim Gil Do and is played by Jo Jae Hyun. Gil Do has become a master noodle cook and Myung Yi comes to the conclusion that he if wants to take his revenge, he will need to become a “god of noodles” and take everything Gil Do has.

The synopsis does not sound as serious as Descendants of the Sun, but those who watched the first two episodes realized KBS is trying to present another K-drama with just as good of a plot, acting, and direction as its predecessor. This is definitely shown through the viewership ratings, as reported by Soompi. Reportedly, the first episode of Master: God of Noodles earned a 7.6 percent and 8.6 percent viewership rating in the Seoul National Capital Area for the TNS Media Korea and AGB Nielsen respectively. For a debut, it did fairly well, ranking at second place. Goodbye Mr. Black took first place with 8.7 percent rating while Ddanddara took last place at 7.2 percent.

Ultimately, it is too early to dismiss Master: God of Noodles since it just aired. However, it is receiving some early praise, especially for Jo Jae Hyun’s representation of the sociopathic Kim Gil Do. Master: God of Noodles airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:55 p.m. KST on KBS. For those who do not have access to Korean channels, Master: God of Noodles can be viewed for free, with ads, on both Viki and DramaFever.

[Image via Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Promotions for Master: God of Noodles]