SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - TV viewership ratings reveal a growing trend among people longing to escape the hustle of urban life for a slower pace in rural areas or abroad, according to Nielsen Korea data released Monday.
Leading the ratings in the first week of September was "Jinny's Kitchen 2," a tvN variety show featuring "Parasite" star Choi Woo-sik, actor Lee Seo-jin, and other celebrities running a Korean restaurant in Iceland. The show garnered a top rating of 6.48 percent and has maintained the number one spot for 11 consecutive weeks since its premiere on June 28.
"Jinny's Kitchen 2" invites viewers into a Korean restaurant set in an Icelandic city, where celebrities navigate an unfamiliar environment of different cultures, landscapes, and people.
Another popular show, "Fresh off the Sea," stars veteran actress Yum Jung-ah and popular actress Ahn Eun-jin as they experience the simple life in seaside villages -- fishing, foraging, and cooking like locals.
These shows, including "Jinny's Kitchen 2" and "Fresh off the Sea," offer viewers, particularly those in their 20s and middle age, a sense of vicarious satisfaction and respite from their busy lives, without needing to travel themselves.
Jeong Gu-jeong, a 42-year-old working mother, enjoys these "healing" shows as a way to unwind. "I binge-watch these TV shows after I come home from work and tend to my kid because it makes me feel like I'm in another place where life is slow," she told AJP, adding: "It is a very comforting time after spending war-like times at the workplace."
A survey by job-seeking platform Job Korea, conducted in February among 1,294 workers, found that 85.2 percent had experienced a slump in their careers, with 46 percent expressing a desire to temporarily leave work without a set destination.
Another survey from 2021, involving 1,339 workers, showed that 24.3 percent of respondents travel when feeling burnt out, while 18.8 percent stay home watching TV.
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