JTBC's Saturday-Sunday drama 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook' recorded a viewership rating of 16.2% after 8 episodes. This figure surpasses ‘Agency’ (16%), which recorded the highest viewership rating among JTBC dramas this year.
In the 8th episode of 'Doctor Cha Jeong-sook', which aired on the 7th, Cha Jeong-sook (played by Uhm Jeong-hwa) was sobbing after finding out about the relationship between her husband Seo In-ho (played by Kim Byeong-cheol) and Choi Seung-hee (played by Myung Se-bin). Attention is focused on what choice Cha Jeong-sook will make after her trust in her husband, Seo In-ho, whom she so desperately wanted to trust, has been broken.
Viewer reaction also exploded. The viewer ratings for the 8th episode were 16.2% nationwide and 16.9% in the metropolitan area, ranking first in the same time slot. It also ranked first across all channels in the 2049 target audience rating of 5.6%.
On this day, Seo In-ho faced a huge crisis. When Cha Jeong-sook said that she would go on a family trip to Jeju Island after her daughter Seo Yi-rang's (Lee Seo-yeon) college entrance exams, she misunderstood the Jeju trip she had taken with Choi Seung-hee and made a mistake. The news that Choi Seung-hee divorced her husband made Cha Jeong-sook even more distraught. In the end, it happened. This is because Choi Eun-seo's explosive remarks were made during a meal with Seo In-ho to commemorate Choi Seung-hee's daughter Choi Eun-seo (So Ah-rin) winning an art contest. Following Choi Eun-seo's confession that she deliberately approached Seo Yi-rang out of curiosity about her father's family and became close friends, even Seo Yi-rang appeared and surprised Seo In-ho. It didn't end here. Choi Eun-seo provoked her friend and sister Seo Yi-rang by saying, “Your dad is my dad.”
Surprised by the shock, Seo Yi-rang sobbed and vowed to protect her mother. Not only did he tell his mother not to let him find out, but he even criticized his grandmother, Kwak Ae-sim (played by Park Joon-geum), saying, “You raised your son completely wrong.” A dangerous meeting was also discovered with his son Seo Jeong-min (Song Ji-ho). Seo Jeong-min, who came across the message sent by Choi Seung-hee in Seo In-ho's professor's office, was confused after witnessing the two people being friendly. Seo Jeong-min was disappointed when he found out about the double life of his father, Seo In-ho, a senior doctor whom he respected and wanted to emulate. But more than anything, I thought that I had to keep it a secret out of concern for my mother, who was suffering from liver transplant surgery and heavy work.
The hope that the family had been trying to keep, 'that only Mom wouldn't know', was dashed when Cha Jeong-sook happened to see Choi Seung-hee's SNS. The happy moments in Choi Seung-hee's feed so far matched exactly with her husband's schedule of staying out for reasons such as conferences and surgery schedules, and the bracelet photo left no room for refutation. Doubts about past events turned into confidence.
Cha Jeong-sook shed tears because of her sense of betrayal. Cha Jeong-sook faces a shocking secret on her birthday. The family who had prepared a birthday party, unaware of this fact, were waiting for Cha Jeong-suk. Following the momentum of Cha Jeong-suk, who walked forward as if she was about to do something, Choi Seung-hee, who was determined to make everything right, also appeared, heightening curiosity. Cha Jeong-sook, Seo In-ho, and Choi Seung-hee come together as all the facts are revealed. Attention is focused on what kind of storm will hit them.
‘Doctor Cha Jeong-sook’ airs every Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 PM.
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr