Red Balloon (TV series)

Red Balloon (Korean: 빨간풍선) is a South Korean television series starring Seo Ji-hye, Lee Sung-jae, Hong Soo-hyun, Lee Sang-woo, and Jung Yoo-min. It premiered on TV Chosun on December 17, 2022, and aired every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST) timeslot.^[4]

Red Balloon
Promotional poster
Hangul	빨간풍선
Hanja	빨간風船
Revised Romanization	Ppalganpungseon
McCune–Reischauer	Ppalganp'ungsŏn
Genre	Family drama^[1] Melodrama
Developed by	Jeong Hwe-seok
Written by	Moon Young-nam^[1]
Directed by	Jin Hyung-wook^[1] Lee Seung-hoon
Starring	Seo Ji-hye Lee Sung-jae Hong Soo-hyun Lee Sang-woo Jung Yoo-min
Music by	Gaemi
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producer	Jeong Hyeong-seo
Producers	Kim Sang-heon Kim Seong-min Park Chae-won Baek Ji-soo
Production companies	Chorokbaem Media^[2] Higround^[2]
Budget	₩13.2 billion^[3]
Original release
Network	TV Chosun
Release	December 17, 2022 (2022-12-17) – February 26, 2023 (2023-02-26)

Synopsis

Red Balloon tells the story of main character Jo Eun-kang (Seo Ji-hye) and her circle of friends and relatives, who wish to fulfill their goals after having prior setbacks. Together, they find themselves entangled in multiple conflicts and affairs.

Cast

Main

• Seo Ji-hye as Jo Eun-kang^[2]
• Lee Sung-jae as Ji Nam-chul^[2]
• Hong Soo-hyun as Han Ba-da^[2]
• Lee Sang-woo as Go Cha-won^[2]
• Jung Yoo-min as Jo Eun-san, Eun-kang's younger sister^[5]

Supporting

Eun-kang's family

• Jeong Bo-seok as Jo Dae-bong, Eun-kang's father^[5]
• Lee Bo-hee as Yang Ban-suk, Eun-kang's mother^[5]
• Choi Dae-chul as Jo Dae-geun, Eun-san's uncle^[6]
• Seol Jung-hwan as Kwon Tae-gi, Eun-kang's boyfriend^[6]
• Yoon Ji-sook as Lee Ji-ok, Dae-geun's ex-wife^[7]

Ba-da's family

• Yoon Joo-sang as Go Mul-sang, Ba-da's father-in-law^[7]
• Yoon Mi-ra as Na Gong-ju, Ba-da's mother-in-law^[5]
• Kim Hye-sun as Go Geum-ah, Ba-da's sister-in-law^[7]
• Lee Sang-sook as Yeo Jeon-hee, Ba-da's mother^[6]
• Oh Eun-seo as Go Mi-pung, Cha-won's daughter^[7]
• Jo Yeon-ho as Ji Woon, Nam-chul's son^[7]
• Go Na-hee as Ji Cheon, Nam-chul's daughter^[7]

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Released on December 25, 2022

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Red Balloon" (빨간풍선)	Ant Midnight	Ant Midnight	Kim Yeon-ji	3:49
2.	"Red Balloon" (빨간풍선; Inst.)		Ant Midnight		3:49
Total length:					7:38

Part 2

Released on January 8, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"You Mean Everything to Me" (그대만이 내게 전부니까요)	Kim Young-seong Chanran	Kim Young-seong Chanran	Beige	3:45
2.	"You Mean Everything to Me" (그대만이 내게 전부니까요; Inst.)		Kim Young-seong Chanran		3:45
Total length:					7:30

Part 3

Released on January 14, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Hard to Say I Love You" (사랑 그 말은 못하고)	Ant Midnight	Ant Midnight	Zia	4:05
2.	"Hard to Say I Love You" (사랑 그 말은 못하고; Inst.)		Ant Midnight		4:05
Total length:					8:10

Part 4

Released on January 28, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Lovers" (연인)	Kim Shin-woo	Kim Shin-woo Choi Sang-eon Kim Hong-jun	Ali	4:10
2.	"Lovers" (연인; Inst.)		Kim Shin-woo Choi Sang-eon Kim Hong-jun		4:10
Total length:					8:20

Part 5

Released on February 4, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Cut Off Love" (사랑을 끊었다)	Choi Han-sol	Choi Han-sol	Kim Dong-hyun	3:12
2.	"Cut Off Love" (사랑을 끊었다; Inst.)		Choi Han-sol		3:12
Total length:					6:24

Part 6

Released on February 11, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Thirsty for Love" (사랑에 목마르다)	Gabwon Choi	Ant	GUNJI	3:48
2.	"Thirsty for Love" (사랑에 목마르다; Inst.)		Ant		3:47
Total length:					7:25

Part 7

Released on February 18, 2023

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Live in my heart" (내 가슴에 살아)	Gabwon Choi	Ant	Jeong Dong-ha	3:58
2.	"Live in my heart" (내 가슴에 살아; Inst.)		Ant		3:58
Total length:					8:06

Viewership

Red Balloon : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Season		Episode number																				Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
	1	0.752	0.889	1.052	1.276	1.139	1.483	1.219	1.489	1.363	1.565	1.428	1.634	1.579	1.668	1.887	1.896	1.893	2.038	2.073	2.457	1.539

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[8]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)^[8]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	December 17, 2022	3.742% (2nd)	3.554% (2nd)
2	December 18, 2022	4.530% (3rd)	4.049% (4th)
3	December 24, 2022	5.083% (4th)	4.545% (4th)
4	December 25, 2022	6.140% (2nd)	5.303% (2nd)
5	December 31, 2022	5.771% (2nd)	5.402% (2nd)
6	January 1, 2023	7.032% (1st)	6.321% (1st)
7	January 7, 2023	6.130% (1st)	5.833% (1st)
8	January 8, 2023	6.916% (1st)	6.035% (1st)
9	January 14, 2023	6.713% (1st)	5.555% (2nd)
10	January 15, 2023	7.702% (2nd)	6.612% (2nd)
11	January 28, 2023	6.992% (2nd)	5.743% (2nd)
12	January 29, 2023	7.913% (2nd)	7.044% (2nd)
13	February 4, 2023	7.561% (2nd)	6.790% (2nd)
14	February 5, 2023	8.082% (2nd)	7.121% (2nd)
15	February 11, 2023	8.865% (2nd)	8.036% (2nd)
16	February 12, 2023	9.478% (2nd)	8.539% (2nd)
17	February 18, 2023	8.905% (2nd)	7.708% (2nd)
18	February 19, 2023	10.057% (2nd)	9.236% (2nd)
19	February 25, 2023	10.242% (2nd)	8.733% (2nd)
20	February 26, 2023	11.566% (2nd)	10.066% (2nd)
Average		7.471%	6.611%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. In the table above, the ratings listed is the highest ratings for each episode. This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS).

References

1. Jeong, Bit (August 24, 2022). "[공식]문영남 작가, TV CHOSUN 만났다...새 가족극 '빨간 풍선', 서지혜→이성재 출연" [[Official] Writer Moon Young-Nam meet TV Chosun...New family drama 'Red Balloon', Seo Ji-hye → Lee Sung-jae] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via Naver.
2. Han, Hae-sun (August 24, 2022). "서지혜·이성재·홍수현·이상우, 문영남 작가 '빨간 풍선' 캐스팅[공식]" [Seo Ji-hye·Lee Sung-jae·Hong Soo-hyun·Lee Sang-woo, and Moon Young-nam's writer 'Red Balloon' Cast [Official]] (in Korean). MT Star News. from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via Naver.
3. Kim, Hyung-taek (December 22, 2022). "초록뱀미디어, 132억 규모 드라마 '빨간풍선' 제작 계약" [Chorokbaem Media signs a production contract for the 13.2 billion won drama 'Red Balloon'] (in Korean). Newsen. from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Naver.
4. Kim, Myung-mi (December 17, 2022). "'빨간풍선' 문영남 사단 자신감, 임성한 '결사곡' 넘어설까[TV보고서]" ['Red Balloon' Moon Young-nam's confidence, will Lim Seong-han's 'Death Song' overcome [TV report]] (in Korean). Newsen. from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Naver.
5. Park, Ah-reum (November 14, 2022). "빨간풍선' 측 "서지혜X이성재X홍수현X이상우 싱크로율 기대 이상" ['Red Balloon' side "Seo Ji-hye X Lee Sung-jae X Hong Soo-hyun X Lee Sang-woo's synchro rate exceeded expectations] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved November 14, 2022 – via Naver.
6. Kim, Min-ji (November 14, 2022). "서지혜·이성재→정보석, '빨간 풍선' 첫 대본 리딩 현장 공개" [Seo Ji-hye and Lee Seong-jae → Bo-seok Bo, 'Red Balloon' First Script Reading Site Released] (in Korean). Sports Seoul. from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022 – via Naver.
7. "인물소개" [Introduction]. TV Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved April 16, 2023.
8. Nielsen Korea ratings:
   • "Ep. 1". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). December 17, 2022. from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
   • "Ep. 2". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). December 18, 2022. from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
   • "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). December 24, 2022. from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
   • "Ep. 4". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). December 25, 2022. from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
   • "Ep. 5". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). December 31, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
   • "Ep. 6". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
   • "Ep. 7". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 7, 2023. from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
   • "Ep. 8". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
   • "Ep. 9". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 14, 2023. from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
   • "Ep. 10". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 15, 2023. from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
   • "Ep. 11". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 28, 2023. from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
   • "Ep. 12". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). January 29, 2023. from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
   • "Ep. 13". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 4, 2023. from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
   • "Ep. 14". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 5, 2023. from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
   • "Ep. 15". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
   • "Ep. 16". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
   • "Ep. 17". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
   • "Ep. 18". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
   • "Ep. 19". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
   • "Ep. 20". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.

External links

• Official website   (in Korean)
• Red Balloon at IMDb  
• Red Balloon at HanCinema