"Battle of Fates," a Disney+ original reality series featuring 49 of South Korea’s most promient fortunetellers, has become the platform’s most-watched show in Korea, dethroning hit drama series "Moving."
The reality show gathers a diverse group of practitioners — including shamans, known locally as "mudang," tarot readers, physiognomists and saju and Myeongri scholars — who compete to demonstrate their ability to interpret fate.
Throughout the tournament-style competition, the participants faced a series of unusual challenges designed to test their predictive skills. Missions included identifying the cause of death of deceased people, pinpointing wealthy individuals worth 10 billion won ($6.8 million) or more, identifying couples with multiple children and recognizing Seoul National University students, among other tasks.
The final episode featured three clients who had longed to reconnect with deceased family members. The fortune readers attempted to communicate messages from the departed and conducted rituals intended to guide the spirits toward peaceful passage.
The program’s popularity has also dramatically boosted the public profiles of its finalists.
Lee So-bin, a 26-year-old mudang with 20 years of experience, thanked viewers for the overwhelming attention, writing that she was “deeply grateful for the love and interest,” while announcing that consultations are fully booked until 2029 and that she would temporarily stop accepting new reservations.
Another finalist, Seolhwa, similarly revealed that appointments are already fully booked through 2027, with more than 10,000 people currently waiting, forcing her to suspend new reservations for the time being.
Winner Yoon Dae-man also announced that all consultations for the year have been filled, adding that bookings for 2027 will open only after heightened attention surrounding the show subsides.
The 10-episode series, released between Feb. 11 and March 5, also appears to have significantly boosted Disney+’s user growth in Korea.
According to IGAWorks Mobile Index, the platform gained more than 890,000 additional users following the show’s release. Monthly active users jumped 28.12 percent to 4.06 million, up from 3.17 million the previous month.
The surge has been widely attributed to the buzz surrounding "The Battle of Fates," which quickly became a topic of discussion across social media and online communities after its premiere.
The momentum also pushed Disney+ to the top spot in new app installations among Korean streaming platforms last month. According to Wiseapp.Retail, Disney+ recorded 660,000 new downloads, followed by Coupang Play with 530,000, Netflix with 510,000 and Tving with 500,000.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
