'Grand Prince's Wife' IU and Byeon Woo-seok — Happy Ending as Ordinary Couple After Abolishing the Monarchy

'Grand Prince's Wife' IU and Byeon Woo-seok — Happy Ending as Ordinary Couple After Abolishing the Monarchy

MBC's Friday-Saturday drama '21st Century Grand Prince's Wife' wrapped up with a happy ending, recording its highest ratings ever.

The finale of '21st Century Grand Prince's Wife,' which aired on the 16th, recorded ratings of 14.1% in the metropolitan area, 13.8% nationwide, and 5.9% among viewers aged 20 to 54, according to Nielsen Korea. Both the metropolitan and nationwide figures broke the show's own all-time records. It also ranked first among all Saturday programs in viewership. The peak minute rating climbed as high as 16.1%.

Grand Prince Lee Wan (Byeon Woo-seok) and Seong Hui-ju (IU) chose to abolish the monarchy and live ordinary lives. After ascending to the throne, Lee An made the abolition of the royal family his first priority. Forces that had maintained their privileges through the existence of the royal institution fiercely pushed back, and Prime Minister Min Jeong-woo (Noh Sang-hyeon) moved to apply pressure by cutting off the royal family's budget. Nevertheless, Lee An refused to back down in his resolve to change a reality where opportunities were restricted based on social status.

Seong Hui-ju supported her husband's decision and actively lent her strength to the cause. With the help of Queen Dowager Yoon I-rang (Gong Seung-yeon), she released a recording revealing that Min Jeong-woo had attempted to assassinate Grand Prince Lee An, and exposed this before the cabinet and members of the royal clan, cornering Min Jeong-woo.

Lee An was devastated to learn of the betrayal by Min Jeong-woo, who had once been his friend, while Min Jeong-woo revealed his distorted obsession with Seong Hui-ju. In response, Lee An declared,