Park Seo Joon’s Comeback Falls Short, Surely Tomorrow Ratings Fail to Reach 5 Percent

Park Seo Joon’s (Doc.ist)

SecondUpdate.com – The Korean drama Surely Tomorrow was initially touted as one of the most promising and potentially popular dramas of early 2026.

The reason was clear: it marked Park Seo Joon’s long-awaited return to the small screen after a lengthy absence from television dramas.

However, reality did not live up to expectations. From its premiere to its final episode, the drama’s ratings performance was considered underwhelming.

Surely Tomorrow officially concluded on January 11, 2026, with its 12th episode. Interestingly, the final episode recorded the highest ratings of the entire run.

According to Nielsen Korea, the finale achieved a rating of 4.7 percent both nationwide and in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Despite being the drama’s highest record, the figure still failed to surpass the 5 percent mark.

For comparison, the premiere episode that aired on December 6, 2025, recorded only 2.7 percent nationwide and 2.9 percent in Seoul.

Throughout its broadcast, Surely Tomorrow even experienced a rather sharp decline in ratings, with the overall average hovering at around 3.5 percent.

In addition to the ratings issue, the drama also drew criticism from viewers. One of the most talked-about controversies was the alleged excessive use of facial filters on Park Seo Joon.

This issue emerged as early as the first episode, particularly during the flashback scenes depicting Park Seo Joon’s character and Won Ji An’s character first meeting in college.

Many viewers felt that Park Seo Joon’s on-screen appearance looked overly “smooth” and blurry, as if deliberately filtered to conceal facial wrinkles.

Some also debated the age gap between Park Seo Joon and Won Ji An.

A number of viewers believed that Park Seo Joon appeared “too mature” to be paired with Won Ji An as a romantic counterpart, leading to suspicions that the production team attempted to compensate for this through visual filtering.

Despite starring a top-tier actor like Park Seo Joon, Surely Tomorrow failed to meet the high expectations of fans.

The strong anticipation at the beginning of its run ultimately did not translate into strong ratings through to the final episode.

Even so, the drama still left a distinct impression on viewers who followed its story to the end.

For Park Seo Joon himself, Surely Tomorrow remains a marker of his return to television dramas, albeit one that was not accompanied by stellar ratings.