A new SBS weekend drama based on a popular Naver Webtoon is proving that a slow-burn premise about a mild-mannered bank manager hiding a secret past can still deliver blockbuster ratings — and a simultaneous global streaming hit.
“Mr. Kim” (김부장), which premiered June 26, 2026, stars So Ji-sub in his first SBS drama role in 13 years. He plays an unassuming accounting department manager at a bank who is, in fact, a legendary former special agent known only by the code name “66” — a man who once carried out 17 covert missions into North Korea. When his daughter is kidnapped, he sheds his mild-mannered disguise and reveals the skills he has spent years hiding from his coworkers and family.
The series is adapted from the webtoon of the same name by writer Jeong Jong-taek, and the story clearly struck a nerve with viewers. The first episode drew a nationwide rating of 9.5 percent, according to Nielsen Korea figures cited by Issue Insight. By the second episode, aired June 27, that number jumped to 15.7 percent, with a momentary peak of 18.1 percent — the fastest a Friday-Saturday drama has broken the 15 percent mark within two episodes since “The Penthouse: War in Life 3” in 2021, according to the report.
The ratings jump has been paired with an unusually fast global streaming run. “Mr. Kim” was released day-and-date on Netflix, and by July 1 it had climbed to No. 3 worldwide on FlixPatrol’s daily rankings with a score of 674 points. It reportedly topped Netflix’s non-English chart in eight countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore.
The show also arrives at a moment when Korean dramas and webtoon adaptations are dominating Netflix’s non-English Top 10 list simultaneously. As of July 1, according to Netflix’s own Todum data cited by Issue Insight, the list included the school-drama hit “Chamgyoyuk” at No. 1, “Mr. Kim” at No. 3, a title translated in the report as “Wonderful New World” at No. 7, and “The Boy at the Back of the Class” at No. 8 — underscoring just how many home-grown IP titles are finding an audience abroad at once.
“Mr. Kim” is written by Nam Dae-jung, who previously directed the film “30 Days,” and co-directed by Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun. The cast also includes Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho. The show’s third episode was scheduled to air July 3 at 9:50 p.m. local time, with SBS and Naver Webtoon both likely watching closely to see whether the momentum holds.
Source: Jang Hoon, Issue Insight, July 2, 2026.
