Unrivaled: This Korean Drama Hits Peak Rating of 13.8%, Dominates All Channels in Time Slot

According to Nielsen Korea, episode 12 of SBS’s hit weekend drama 'Buried Hearts,' aired on March 30, achieved impressive viewership ratings of 12.7% nationwide, 12.5% in the metropolitan area, and peaked at 13.8%, topping all shows airing simultaneously, as well as all Saturday mini-series.

More notably, the drama recorded a new personal best with a key competitive metric—the '2049' demographic rating, reaching 3.3%, ranking first among all programs aired on Saturday.

The latest episode revealed the shocking truth behind Seo Dong-joo’s (Park Hyung-sik) real parentage. It turns out Dong-joo’s biological father wasn't the deceased Yeo Soon-ho (Joo Sang-wook), but rather Heo Il-do (Lee Hae-young), who repeatedly attempted to kill him. Adding to viewers' astonishment, Yum Jang-sun’s (Huh Jun-ho) cruelty was exposed, as he knowingly handed Il-do a gun to kill Dong-joo despite knowing their true relationship.

Through hypnosis, Dong-joo recalled every detail from the night of Soon-ho’s death, fueling his desire for revenge. He confronted Il-do, revealing he was the young child named Seong-hyun inside Soon-ho’s car that night and vividly remembered Il-do’s heinous crime—even mimicking Il-do’s peculiar gesture of biting tissue paper before pushing the vehicle off a cliff.

Dong-joo intensified his revenge by warning Il-do, “Give up everything you took from Daesan Group and leave.” Cornered, Il-do turned to Jang-sun, requesting a gun and plotting Dong-joo’s demise. His sinister plan was to disguise Dong-joo’s murder as suicide driven by despair after discovering his romantic interest Yeo Eun-nam (Hong Hwa-yeon) was actually his half-sister.

However, Il-do and Jang-sun delayed their plan to first expedite the marriage between Chairman Cha Gang-cheon (Woo Hyun) and Ji Young-soo (Do Ji-won), who had secretly borne Gang-cheon’s child. Unaware of this conspiracy, Dong-joo decided to protect Eun-nam from the painful truth, temporarily withholding the shocking revelation.

After Chairman Cha’s wedding, Il-do summoned Dong-joo with the gun provided by Jang-sun. However, an unexpected twist surfaced—Dong-joo discovered through secret files that he was Il-do’s biological son, confirmed by DNA tests. Dong-joo was devastated by this revelation.

Finally facing each other, Jang-sun mockingly urged Il-do to shoot: "Aim properly this time. You’ll succeed, right?" With grim resolve, Il-do shot Dong-joo, who collapsed instantly. Yet, in a chilling turn, Dong-joo rose up laughing disturbingly, challenging his father: “What are you waiting for? I'm still alive. Keep shooting, Father.”

The episode closed with unsettling images of Dong-joo, Jang-sun, and Il-do caught in a twisted, chilling confrontation.

'Buried Hearts' airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 PM on SBS. For detailed character profiles and episode summaries, viewers can visit the drama’s official website.