Hwang Jung-min's return to TV in 'Hush' ends with disappointing ratings

TV series “Hush” ended with a 2.3 percent viewership rating on Saturday. Courtesy of JTBC

By Lee Gyu-lee

Many fans had high hopes when actor Hwang Jung-min announced his return to TV for the first time in eight years, due to his reputation for versatile work in films.

However, after debuting with a 3.4 percent viewership rating on Dec. 11, the once highly anticipated JTBC series “Hush” soon lost its luster, falling below 3 percent soon after its premier and sinking to 1.9 percent midway through the series.

The series ended its 16-episode run with a 2.3 percent rating Saturday.

“Hush,” starring Hwang and singer-actor Im Yoon-ah as the lead characters, and intended to shed light on the real-life struggles of reporters, balancing their dignity as a journalist and as workers on the payroll of their employers.

Hwang played the role of world-weary reporter Jun-hyuk, who has no ambition other than to make ends meet, until he encounters the suspicious suicide of an intern reporter. Fueled by the intern's death, he teams up with rookie reporter Ji-soo (Im) to uncover corruption in his company.

Scenes from the series / Courtesy of JTBC

Despite the casting of stars in the lead roles and a plot offering a realistic glimpse into the lives of reporters, the series failed to capture the interest of viewers with a loosely-written plot revolving around corruption that stretched out into a 16-part series.

The series does offer a cathartic happy ending for the whistleblowers in the last episode, yet the slow-paced, cookie-cutter story of fighting for justice was unable to attract a large number of viewers.

Regardless of the unimpressive ratings, actress Im expressed gratitude for being given the lead role in the series.

“Hush allowed me to challenge myself,” Im said through her agency SM Entertainment Sunday. “As Ji-soo did through the series, I also learned a lot and was able to grow through this work. I was happy that I could show a different side of me through Ji-soo.”

Thanking the series' crew and cast, she said: “I wanted to offer messages of encouragement to the hard-working people dealing with their struggles every day, and I hope viewers could feel that message.”