So Ji-seop's 'Kim Bu-jang' hits 22.3% in episode 6, now No. 2 in SBS Fri-Sat drama history

Six episodes in, Kim Bu-jang is the biggest drama on Korean television right now.

Episode 6 aired July 11 to 22.3% nationwide and 23.2% in Seoul, per Nielsen Korea. Peak minute hit 26.4%. That's 1.8 points up from episode 5's 20.5% and beats the show's previous high of 21.6% from episode 4. It ranked first across the entire week.

The 22.3% figure places Kim Bu-jang second in SBS Friday-Saturday drama history. Only Penthouse 2 sits higher, at 29.2% in 2021. On the Seoul metric, the show has now surpassed Yeolhyeol Saje (22.8%), Model Taxi 2 (21.8%), Good Partner (18.7%), and Wonder Woman (18.5%). It's also 2026's highest-rated miniseries. The show opened at 9.5% in episode 1 and crossed 20% by episode 4.

So Ji-seop plays the title role: a North Korean elite special agent formerly known only as Codename 66, now living as an ordinary father in South Korea. Choi Dae-hoon plays Sung Han-soo, a South Korean former special agent and Kim Bu-jang's friend. Yoon Kyung-ho plays Park Jin-chul. The cast also includes Joo Sang-wook as a conglomerate chairman, Kim Min-ji as Kim Bu-jang's daughter Seo Su-min, Son Na-eun, and Kim Sung-gyoo.

Drama critic Yoon Seok-jin credited the premise: "A dark hero character who solves problems impossible to solve in reality provides catharsis." On the trio of leads, he added, "The combination of three actors and their respective role divisions elevate the drama's appeal."

On Netflix, where the show streams exclusively, Kim Bu-jang entered the global non-English TV top 10 and in its second week knocked True Education (Chamgyoyuk) off the top spot, ending that show's four-week run at number one. A Netflix representative noted that viewers who missed early episodes were able to catch up on the platform before returning to live broadcasts, supplementing what the rep called the traditional "live broadcast viewing" pattern.

Kim Bu-jang is a 10-episode series. Five episodes remain. It airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 PM on SBS.