tvN’s retro workplace comedy “Undercover Miss Hong,” set in a 1990s Korean office, premiered January 17, 2026, and quickly established itself as one of the year’s most talked-about shows, topping Korea’s television buzz rankings for seven consecutive weeks while posting an average rating of 12.4 percent and a peak of 13.9 percent.
The show’s success stands out for its genre: rather than the crime thrillers, melodramas or fantasy-romance premises that have dominated recent Korean drama hits, “Undercover Miss Hong” built its following on straightforward workplace comedy wrapped in nostalgic 1990s period detail, a combination that tapped into both younger viewers’ curiosity about pre-digital Korean office culture and older viewers’ direct nostalgia for the era depicted.
Sustaining seven consecutive weeks atop Korea’s non-drama-adjacent buzz rankings is a notably long run in a media environment where audience attention typically fragments quickly across a growing number of competing titles across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Industry watchers have cited the show’s sustained momentum as evidence that well-executed comedy, a genre that had arguably taken a back seat to darker, more prestige-oriented dramas in recent award-season conversations, still carries significant commercial pull with Korean television audiences.
The show’s performance also reinforces tvN’s positioning as a channel willing to bet on genre variety rather than chasing a single dominant trend, a strategy that has periodically paid off with breakout hits across comedy, thriller and melodrama in years when competitors leaned more heavily into a single dominant genre formula.
Source: Wikitree, “2026’s Most Anticipated Korean Drama Since New Year,” coverage of “Undercover Miss Hong” ratings, 2026.
