The SBS Friday-Saturday drama “The Palace” (written by Yoon Su-jeong, directed by Yoon Sung-sik) is a body and soul fantasy romantic comedy where the nun Yeorie, who rejects the fate of the English language, and Yoon Gap, Yeorie’s first love, get entangled in the body of Imugi Kang Cheol, who harbors resentment towards the royal family. The drama not only set its own highest score each time with a peak viewership rating of 11.3% (based on Nielsen Korea), but also swept the top spot in the same time slot for 4 consecutive weeks and dominated the entire mini-series broadcast in terms of viewership for the week. Additionally, in the integrated content ranking for the second week of May released by the OTT content search platform Kino Rights, “The Palace” continues to thrive by claiming the top spot in overall content, including dramas, movies, and variety shows. (As of May 13, 2025) Ahead of the broadcast of Episode 9 on today (16th), the production team of “The Palace” has released stills of Kang Cheol (Yook Sung-jae) and Yoon Gap (Yook Sung-jae)’s mother, Young-geum (Cha Chung-hwa), who are in crisis. The captured images in the released stills, depicting Young-geum trapped alone in a shabby warehouse and Kang Cheol rushing in with determination, evoke a breath-taking tension. While the pitiful situation of Young-geum, tightly bound all over her body, arouses sympathy from viewers, the appearance of villains brandishing sharp knives in the stills adds to the sense of impending danger. Furthermore, the sight of Kang Cheol, who usually treated Yoon Gap’s mother as his own and referred to her as ‘that woman,’ leaping to rescue Young-geum brings another surprise. Soon, a tense confrontation unfolds between Kang Cheol and the villains surrounding him, intensifying the suspense. With only a knife in his hand, Kang Cheol standing alone to fight is truly a precarious situation. Moreover, as Kang Cheol’s confinement in a human body prolongs, the disappearance of Imugi’s power heightens the sense of crisis. However, a glint of determination flashes in Kang Cheol’s eyes, unable to contain his anger, and the taut tension without any room for retreat builds up curiosity for the unfolding events. The question arises whether Kang Cheol, standing at the crossroads of life and death, can safely rescue Young-geum and what the true identity of the villains who have pushed the two to the brink will be. The upcoming broadcast of “The Palace” is drawing hot attention. The SBS Friday-Saturday drama “The Palace,” which has captivated weekend viewers with its unprecedented success, airs Episode 9 tonight (16th) at 9:55 p.m.
