'Legend of the Blue Sea' latest news, update: Episode 14 of Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun's hit Korean drama to air in 2017

Many fans might have been disappointed when they found out that the much-awaited 14th episode of the popular Korean fantasy drama series "Legend of the Blue Sea" did not air this week.

Starring Korean wave superstars Jun Ji Hyun and Lee Min Ho, "Legend of the Blue Sea" was supposed to have episode 14 aired on SBS on Thursday, Dec. 29, in South Korea. Instead, a special episode of the drama was aired, which served as a summary of the first half of the story's plot from episode 1 to episode 13.

"The special episode, which will be based on the romance between Shim Chung (played by Jun), the mermaid from the Joseon Dynasty, and Heo Joon-jae (played by Lee) will allow viewers to skim through the first half of the drama like watching a movie," SBS said, according to the Korea Times.

The real reason behind the sudden change in the Korean drama's broadcasting schedule remains unclear. However, there are speculations from the fans that the show's current trend of low ratings and the public criticism over the plot's slow plot development prompted the production team to re-evaluate the show's story. Hence, they may have needed more time to re-write and edit the remaining half of the fantasy-romance drama.

Despite the star power of Lee and Jun as lead actors of the show, "Legend of the Blue Sea" episode 13 finished only fourth in the nationwide ratings, gaining only 15.8 percent viewership, and only second in Seoul at 18.14 percent.

As to how the Korean drama's story will progress further in its second half, Soompi reports that the character relationships and events, both in the past and the future, will grow deeper and will become more connected with each other. The events that transpired in episode 13 allegedly hints at major plot developments to come.

The 14th episode of the Korean drama "Legend of the Blue Sea" is scheduled to broadcast next year, on Jan. 4, 2017.