Yonsama’s “The Four Guardian Gods of the King” a big hit in Korea but in Japan…not so much

September 4, 2008 by Dennis Amith

Chosun reported, ““Taewangsasingi (The Four Guardian Gods of the King)” featuring Korean wave Bae Yong-joon as King Kwanggaeto the Great of the Koguryo Kingdom, was a hit in Korea last year with ratings up to 37.5 percent. The work of Kim Jong-hak and Song Ji-na, producer and script writer of a perennial hit “Sandglass,” “Taewangsasingi” was expected to draw as much popularity in Japan as it did in Korea, but on a terrestrial channel NHK at 11 p.m. on Saturday, its rating remains at around 7 percent. The last episode is to be aired on Sep. 27. Given such enormous popularity of Bae in Japan, where he is known as Yonsama, and more than 20 percent ratings for “Winter Sonata,” which made him a superstar there, the figure shows the predicament Korean soap operas are in at the moment.”