'Defendant' Vs. 'Legend Of The Blue Sea' TV Ratings Surprise Korea Fans; Lee Min-Ho Is Most Popular Korean Actor In US, Says Survey

"Legend of the Blue Sea's" TV rating success will try to be replicated by the new SBS suspense drama "Defendant." The new South Korean show is also expected to exceed the productions' earlier ratings.

"Legend of the Blue Sea" May Be Overtaken In TV Ratings

"Legend of the Blue Sea", which stars Lee Min Ho, was noted to have reached high ratings of 21 percent nationwide and 23 percent in Seoul. On the other hand, reports indicate that "Defendants" registered viewership ratings of 20 percent, leading others to believe that the new SBS drama is likely to overtake the high ratings posted by "Legend of the Blue Sea."

Meantime, "Defendant's" premiere episode took over the primitive TV time slot that was previously occupied by "Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim." According to reports, the new SBS drama's interesting plot has led to the increase of its nationwide viewership shares from 14.5 percent to an almost 15 percent on its second episode.

Furthermore, episodes 3 and 4 surpassed the 15 percent mark, with the viewership shares of 17.3 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively, while reaching 18.2 percent and 20.8 percent of TV ratings across the Seoul metropolitan, Yon Hap News reported.

"Legend of the Blue Sea" Min-Ho Is America's Most Popular Korean Actor

"Legend of the Blue Sea" star Min-Ho has topped the recent survey, making the SBS fantasy series' Korean actor the current favorite in the US. According to reports, thousands of Americans have voted online throughout a period of almost two weeks in the recent study conducted by the Korea Creative Content Agency. Based on the reports, the online voters indicated that 73.5 percent of K-drama viewers in the US are females and that they are aged 10 to 35, International Business Times reported.

Watch "Legend of the Blue Sea" Episode 1 here: