A new Korean drama premiered with strong television ratings that surprised industry watchers. Nielsen Korea reported the first episode earned 4.7 percent viewership around Seoul and reached peaks of 5.6 percent during the broadcast. The show also captured 4.3 percent of viewers across the entire country and hit 5.2 percent at its highest point. The drama became the most-watched Monday-Tuesday series debut on tvN network for all of 2025. Audiences between ages 20 and 49 pushed ratings to 2.0 percent nationwide during peak moments.
The success helps tvN recover from recent expensive failures that disappointed viewers and executives. Previous big-budget productions like When the Stars Gossip ended with only 2.6 percent ratings despite costing 50 billion Korean won to produce. Other recent series called The Potato Lab and The Divorce Insurance both struggled to reach even 1 percent viewership. The network needed a hit after these costly mistakes damaged its reputation. Head Over Heels appears to offer the breakthrough tvN desperately wanted.
Jo Yi-hyun plays Park Seong-ah, a teenage student who secretly works as a respected spiritual guide known as Celestial Fairy. She wants to live like other high school students but cannot escape her supernatural abilities. Choo Young-woo portrays Bae Gyeon-woo, a new transfer student who enters her school under mysterious circumstances. Seong-ah dreams about a man walking upside down toward her shrine, which represents a deadly warning about his future. She decides to save him from this terrible fate despite his resistance to her help.
The episode ended with dramatic supernatural action that impressed viewers across social media platforms. A dangerous water spirit attacked the boys bathroom and threatened to kill Gyeon-woo during the school day. Seong-ah used a water cannon to drive away the evil ghost and protect the boy she cares about. Her attempt to explain her true identity failed when Gyeon-woo rejected her completely. The scene concluded with her shouting that she tried to protect him as water sounds covered her desperate words.
The success helps tvN recover from recent expensive failures that disappointed viewers and executives. Previous big-budget productions like When the Stars Gossip ended with only 2.6 percent ratings despite costing 50 billion Korean won to produce. Other recent series called The Potato Lab and The Divorce Insurance both struggled to reach even 1 percent viewership. The network needed a hit after these costly mistakes damaged its reputation. Head Over Heels appears to offer the breakthrough tvN desperately wanted.
Jo Yi-hyun plays Park Seong-ah, a teenage student who secretly works as a respected spiritual guide known as Celestial Fairy. She wants to live like other high school students but cannot escape her supernatural abilities. Choo Young-woo portrays Bae Gyeon-woo, a new transfer student who enters her school under mysterious circumstances. Seong-ah dreams about a man walking upside down toward her shrine, which represents a deadly warning about his future. She decides to save him from this terrible fate despite his resistance to her help.
The episode ended with dramatic supernatural action that impressed viewers across social media platforms. A dangerous water spirit attacked the boys bathroom and threatened to kill Gyeon-woo during the school day. Seong-ah used a water cannon to drive away the evil ghost and protect the boy she cares about. Her attempt to explain her true identity failed when Gyeon-woo rejected her completely. The scene concluded with her shouting that she tried to protect him as water sounds covered her desperate words.
