The much-hyped drama marking Ha Jung-woo’s return to the small screen after 19 years wrapped with single-digit ratings, leaving viewers underwhelmed.
According to Nielsen Korea on the 20th, the final episode of tvN’s weekend drama Mad Concrete Dreams (hereafter ‘Building Owner’) recorded a 3.7% rating the previous night. In the finale, Gi Su-jong (Ha Jung-woo) ultimately becomes a successful building owner—but at a devastating cost, losing everyone around him.
In the series, Su-jong secures key redevelopment shares to protect the Seyoon Building—purchased with a maxed-out “all-in” loan (slang for borrowing to the absolute limit)—even if it means driving Yona (Shim Eun-kyung) to her death. However, he ends up spending his birthday alone without his wife Kim Seon (Im Soo-jung) and daughter Da-rae (Park Seo-kyung), who left for the United States, and he continues to be hounded by debt collectors in crushing solitude. Eventually, Kim Seon serves Su-jong with divorce papers, while Jeon I-kyung (Jung Soo-jung) is shown raising her child alone without her mother or husband.
Near the end, a text message arrives announcing the auction procedures for Su-jong’s building, cranking up the tension. The episode then shows Su-jong being abducted by an employee (Joo Ji-hoon) of investment firm Gold Rush Investment, hinting that his battle to protect the property is far from over. When the employee says, “Mr. Building Owner, shall we talk business?” Su-jong’s cool reply—“Anytime”—ramps up the suspense even more.
Right after the broadcast, viewers reacted with backlash, saying, “The plot went full makjang,” “Only the actors’ performances stood out,” and “The logic fell apart.”
Despite making waves by tackling rarely explored themes like real-estate warfare and a breadwinner’s fight for survival, ‘Building Owner’ concluded its 12-episode run without ever breaking into double-digit ratings—an undeniably bittersweet finish.