So Ji-seop's revenge action drama hit 20% nationwide in four episodes—the fastest SBS Friday-Saturday drama has ever done it.
Kim Bu-jang reached 21.6% nationwide viewership in its fourth episode on July 4, per Nielsen Korea. The Seoul metropolitan area posted 22.7%, with a peak-minute rating of 25.1%.
The climb was steep. Episode 1 opened at 9.5%. Episode 2 jumped to 15.7%. Episode 3 hit 18.8%. By episode 4, it had cleared 20%. That four-episode sprint to the 20% mark is the fastest any SBS Friday-Saturday drama has achieved, placing Kim Bu-jang third all-time in the slot behind Penthouse 2 (29.2%) and Priest (22%). It is also the first SBS Friday-Saturday drama to cross 20% nationwide since 2024.
The 10-episode series follows an ordinary father who reactivates his combat past to get his daughter back. It adapts a popular Naver Webtoon and serves as an official spin-off sharing a universe with Lookism (외모지상주의), Fight Class (싸움독학), and Survival of Life (인생존망). The source webtoon is still ongoing.
So Ji-seop leads as Kim Bu-jang. The cast includes Ju Sang-wook as villain Ju Gang-chan, Lee Dong-ha as Nam Sil-jang, Choi Dae-hoon as Seong Han-su, Yoon Kyung-ho as Park Jin-chul, Ok Taecyeon as codename-66 Park Young-gwang, Kim Sung-kyu as Park Gang-seong, Son Na-eun as Jeong Sang-a, Seo Su-min as daughter Minji, and Park Jin-woo as the laundromat owner.
With three weeks until the finale, Season 2 talk has already begun. SBS said no official discussions have taken place but acknowledged the show is structured in a way that could support a season format.
Yoon Kyung-ho pledged at the production press conference that he would do 13 hours of silent meditation if ratings cleared 13%. They did—by a wide margin. He confirmed he will follow through, with the event scheduled for July 13.
Fantasio chairman Nam Gung-gyeon said the company will "continuously secure its own IP across diverse genres and actively invest in high-quality content production to strengthen business competitiveness."
(The gold-tooth incident and the Kim Min-ji survival twist are apparently the plot beats driving the most conversation right now.)
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