Netflix's 'Scandal' hits No. 1 in South Korea within a day of release

"You can look forward to it." — Director Jeong Ji-woo

Netflix's "Scandal," which had teased audiences with promises of bold, explicit content, shot to No. 1 in South Korea within a single day of its release.

According to Netflix's South Korea Top 10 Series chart for Saturday, "Scandal" claimed the top spot just one day after dropping. Netflix released all eight episodes of the series at once on Friday at 5 p.m.

"Scandal" stars Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana in the lead roles, and had drawn significant attention over its content rating even before its release. Director Jeong Ji-woo's previous works had also generated buzz for their bold depictions. When asked about the level of explicitness in "Scandal," Jeong said viewers could "look forward to it" — a remark that only heightened anticipation.

"Scandal" is a fusion sageuk drama set in the Joseon Dynasty. The series follows Lady Jo (Son Ye-jin), a woman of exceptional talent constrained by the rigid social norms placed on women of the era, and Jo Won (Ji Chang-wook), Joseon's most notorious womanizer, as they engage in a daring and dangerous game of love — with a third woman, Hee-yeon (Nana), drawn into their wager.

Rated for viewers 19 and older, the show drew intense curiosity over how its frank emotional portrayals and provocative storylines would land with audiences. Viewers have described it as having "one of the highest content ratings among OTT drama series."

The series' stronger-than-expected reception has reinforced Netflix's dominant position in South Korea's OTT market, where the platform already held a commanding lead.

According to mobile analytics firm Mobile Index, Netflix's monthly active users in South Korea reached about 16.2 million in August. Coupang Play followed with about 10.06 million, and Tving came in third with about 8.15 million. Wavve and Disney+ recorded about 4.05 million and about 4.01 million, respectively, while Watcha was limited to 370,000. The gap between first and third place alone stands at about 8 million users.

Netflix entered the South Korean market in 2016 and saw explosive user growth from 2020 onward, more than doubling its subscriber base within a year to surpass 10 million monthly users. Following the release of "Squid Game," that figure climbed past 13 million in 2021. This year, the platform continues to set new all-time highs in the country.

The gap in users has translated directly into a gap in earnings. Netflix Services Korea, the platform's local entity, posted sales of 1.05 trillion won ($764 million) last year, up 17.2 percent from the previous year, while operating profit rose 16.8 percent to 20.3 billion won. It was the first time the company surpassed 1 trillion won in annual sales since entering the Korean market nine years ago. By contrast, Tving's sales fell 6.8 percent over the same period to 406 billion won, and Wavve's revenue plunged by more than 50 billion won to 180.9 billion won. Both domestic rivals have yet to escape annual losses.