"High Ratings but Why..." The Reason Drama 'Jirisan' Production Company Can't Smile

Ace Story Falls 19.8%... Taepyeongyang Mulsan Also Drops 12.11%

Photo by tvN

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The tvN drama "Jirisan," touted as a highly anticipated release for the second half of the year, has faced harsh criticism for awkward CG (computer graphics) since its premiere, causing the stock prices of related companies to plunge sharply.

The production company of "Jirisan," Ace Story, saw its stock price rise about 30% on the 23rd as anticipation grew ahead of the drama's broadcast. However, as of the 25th, the stock closed at 39,750 KRW, down 19.8% from the previous day. During trading, it hit a low of 39,300 KRW (down 20.69%).

Additionally, Taepyeongyang Moolsan, linked as a Jirisan-themed stock, also plunged 12.11% compared to the previous trading day. Since the outdoor brand worn by Jun Ji-hyun in the drama is produced by a subsidiary of Taepyeongyang Moolsan, the company is considered a representative Jirisan-themed stock.

Furthermore, the co-production company Studio Dragon recorded a 3.77% drop, closing at 91,800 KRW.

The drama was highly anticipated as writer Kim Eun-hee, known for "Signal" and the "Kingdom" series, handled the script, and director Lee Eung-bok, who directed "Goblin" and "Descendants of the Sun," was in charge of directing. The cast included Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon, adding to the expectations.

However, since the drama's first broadcast on the 23rd, the stock prices have instead sharply declined. Some attribute the stock price drop to the harsh reviews of the drama.

In particular, the drama features a significant amount of CG, and there have been opinions that the scenes combining Jirisan’s landscapes with CG were awkwardly composited, making immersion difficult. The background music (OST), which did not fit the crisis scenes, was also a target of criticism.

Netizens reacted with comments such as "It looks like they printed the background and filmed it," "Is this an outdoor advertisement?" "Is it really that hard to film on Jirisan?" and "Suddenly, music that doesn't fit came on."

Meanwhile, according to Nielsen Korea, the nationwide household rating for the first episode of Jirisan aired on the 23rd was 9.1%, ranking first in the same time slot across all channels. The second episode the following day rose 1.6 percentage points to 10.7%.