So Ji-sub Leads ‘Manager Kim’ to 21.6% Viewership in Just 4 Episodes…SBS Friday-Saturday Drama Ranks No. 3 of All Time

The return of the action king that swallowed up the home-viewing audience is relentless. The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Manager Kim,' led by actor 'So Ji-sub,' is charging full speed, breaking through the fabled mark of '20% viewership' in one go and writing a new chapter in Korean action thrillers.

'The Fabled '20%'' Crumbles in Just 4 Episodes…A Train Engine for Record-Breaking Box-Office-Style Hit Numbers

According to figures released by Nielsen Korea, a television ratings research company, the previous day's episode 4 of 'Manager Kim' recorded an astonishing 21.6% nationwide. It stands as a record for No. 3 in SBS Friday-Saturday dramas of all time, following behind 'Penthouse 2' (29.2%) and 'Hot Blooded Priest' (22.0%). After getting its start with 9.5% in the first episode, it rose straight up to 15.7% in episode 2 and 18.8% in episode 3, then shattered the 20% barrier in just four episodes, rewriting its own best numbers every single time.

In the episode aired that day, a dense, hard-fought battle unfolded as the protagonist sought to reclaim the missing daughter, Kim Min-ji (played by Seo Soo-min). The process in which a triangular formation teamed up with longtime comrades Seong Han-su (played by Choi Dae-hoon) and Park Jin-cheol (played by Yoon Kyung-ho) captured crucial clues and narrowed the search net gave viewers a pulse-pounding catharsis.

In particular, the desperate fatherly love that drives straight to Myeongpo Port even after taking a gunshot wound, along with the sacrificial coordination of two longtime friends, left a heavy emotional impact. On top of that, the daughter who survived by the skin of her teeth again found herself cornered in another death trap at a frozen warehouse, and North Korea’s top-tier operative Park Kang-sung (played by Kim Sung-gyu) revealed a chilling presence as the drama’s tension reached its peak.

Unveiled on the 26th of last month, the work is a hard-boiled revenge story in which a father who is a former special agent takes action to rescue his daughter. Beyond sparking a domestic syndrome, it also landed in the top 10 of the non-English category—at No. 3—on the third day after its release on the global OTT 'Netflix,'' placing it at the center of a worldwide box-office-style hit surge.