SBS drama series "Agent Kim Reactivated" is on a ratings tear, surpassing the 20 percent mark.
According to Nielsen Korea, the show's fourth episode, which aired Saturday, drew a nationwide viewership rating of 21.6 percent.
That places it third all-time among SBS Friday-Saturday dramas, behind only "Penthouse 2" (29.2 percent, 2021) and "Hot Blooded Priest" (22 percent, 2019).
The series has climbed steadily since its debut, with the first episode drawing 9.5 percent, the second 15.7 percent and the third 18.8 percent.
The show is also available on Netflix, where it entered the global top 10 non-English series at No. 3 within three days of its release.
"Agent Kim Reactivated" follows a former North Korean special forces operative fighting to rescue his kidnapped daughter. It is based on a webtoon of the same name.
However, some have raised questions about the show's ties to Ilbe, a far-right online community known in full as Ilgan Best.
The controversy centers on Park Tae-jun, the popular webtoon artist who serves as overall producer of the source webtoon, whose earlier work "Lookism" was previously embroiled in similar allegations.
In 2024, a scene in "Lookism" depicted a character timing 5 minutes and 23 seconds on a stopwatch while a store sign reading "Rock Owling" appeared in the background. Online commenters at the time argued the time reference evoked May 23 — the date of former President Roh Moo-hyun's death — while "Rock Owling" recalled the owl rock where Roh died.
Park faced similar scrutiny in 2015, when a meal scene involving a gang member in "Lookism" was alleged to mock Roh's appearance in life. In 2021, he drew criticism for using the expression "hwohwohwo" in his webtoon "Desire Diary" — a term used in some online communities to ridicule then-President Moon Jae-in.
"Agent Kim Reactivated" itself has not been directly implicated in any controversy. The series is the fifth work in what is known as the "Park Tae-jun Universe," which has been running since 2021, and was produced by The Grim Entertainment. The story was written by Toy, the artwork by Jeong Jong-taek, and the direction and storyboarding by Gyaooh, with Park serving as overall producer.
paq@heraldcorp.com
