IVE An Yujin's Ujoo Tteokjip Drops Almost 1% as Seoul Move Kills the Charm

Ujoo Tteokjip launched with goodwill and a 2.9% debut rating. By episode 7, it had dropped to 2.1%, and the comments section had turned.

The tvN variety show, a spin-off of Bboong Bboong Earth Arcade, follows Lee Eun-ji, Oh My Girl's Mimi, Lee Youngji, and IVE's An Yujin as they run a tteok (rice cake) shop together. The premise is simple and the chemistry between the four was the whole point: early episodes showed them grinding out recipes, figuring out tteokbokki variations, and bumbling through the basics of running a small business in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. That low-stakes, regional charm is exactly what built the audience.

The Seoul move that changed everything

After wrapping up the Goheung run, the show relocated to a second location in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul. The numbers told a story before a single episode aired: roughly 3,000 people joined the reservation waitlist ahead of the first Seoul service day. Bigger crowd, bigger operation, bigger production footprint.

That scale came at a cost. The Seoul shop ran on a reservation-only system, introduced new menu items to replace some of what the cast had developed themselves in Goheung, and operated more like a proper pop-up event than the scrappy little storefront the show started with. The kitchen and dining area were on separate floors, meaning the cast had to haul food up and down stairs all shift, a logistical headache that made for less relaxed television.

Viewers noticed the tonal shift immediately. Online reactions ranged from disappointed to pointed: "It feels like the Goheung story ended too soon," wrote one commenter, while others described the Seoul format as looking "more like a commercial pop-up than a variety show." The sharper takes aimed directly at the production team: "smells like money" and "did they lose the plot?" were among the criticisms circulating on Korean online communities.

The cast, at least, showed up

The production team pushed back a little on the criticism. They noted that the members adapted faster than expected and were reportedly still practicing after cameras stopped rolling. Lee Youngji, in particular, reportedly resisted when producers suggested trimming the menu, insisting she'd rather put in the practice hours than cut dishes. That detail matters: the cast's investment hasn't wavered, even if the format has.

Ratings moved from 2.9% at launch to 3.0% in episode 2, which was the high point. Episode 7, the one that went deep into the Seoul operation, landed at 2.1% on a paid household basis nationwide. That's not a collapse, but it's a clear and consistent slide tied directly to the location change.

New part-time staff have since joined the Seoul shop, and whether that fresh dynamic can pull the back half of the season out of its slump is the question the show now has to answer.