SBS’s 〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 Hits No. 1 in Ratings and on Netflix Worldwide: A Review Through Episode 4

SBS drama 〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 is dominating both television and streaming, drawing a 21.6% rating for Episode 4 on July 4, according to Nielsen Korea, and reaching No. 1 globally among non-English Netflix series. Based on the webtoon of the same name, the series follows a former South-North faction operative nicknamed "Min-ji's dad," Kim Bu-jang (So Ji-sub), as he sets out to find his daughter Min-ji after her kidnapping. The show pairs So Ji-sub's charisma with the chemistry of co-stars Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Dae-hoon, and while it confronts some of society's ugliest ills it also sometimes leans into humor. Cineplay reporters watched the show and share their impressions through episode 4.

Seong Chan-eol

Kim Bu-jang — does he really want to save Min-ji? / ★★★

Watching 〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 prompts one thought: "Am I the only one worrying about Min-ji?" On screen, Kim Bu-jang (So Ji-sub) makes such a consequential decision that he breaks promises with the state and takes up a gun for Min-ji (Seo Su-min). Yet the way he follows leads to Min-ji feels oddly relaxed. You'd expect the kind of single-minded resolve summed up by the famous line from a similar Korean film, "I'll chew them all up except the gold tooth." Instead, he utters overwrought, sentimental lines like "there's no name for a parent who has lost a child." That feels less like a problem with the character than with the show's overall direction. The central engine of the plot is "Min-ji was kidnapped," but because Kim Bu-jang's complicated backstory is intertwined, the series shies away from a wholehearted chase and instead detours into talk about North Korean soldiers, the Special Missions Bureau, Ju Kang-chan (Joo Sang-wook), and Geum Ibbal (Jo Bok-rae). Instead, the show cycles through familiar subplots without giving the chase much urgency. The result is a story that keeps losing momentum and deferring its own payoff. Frankly, and bluntly, even if the setup is implausible, the way the Special Missions Bureau is portrayed is so exaggerated it becomes laughable. The operatives strutting around in matching leather outfits and the bureau chief nicknamed "Ttangkangaji," Kang Guk-cheol (Won Hyun-jun), with his bowler hat, evoke 〈Rustic Period〉 and are hard to describe without smiling. In the end, watching 〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 feels like being in a car headed nowhere. The scenery is nice, the passengers are fine, the radio is tolerable — but what good is that if there's no destination? It leaves you in an awkward in-between state, never fully able to enjoy the ride. Ironically, the moments when Seong Han-su (Choi Dae-hoon) and Park Jin-cheol (Yoon Kyung-ho) appear are the most gripping.

Joo Seong-chul

So Ji-sub, Yoon Kyung-ho, Choi Dae-hoon — the veteran trio's brute force / ★★★

〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 runs on the sheer force of its cast's veteran experience. Like Won Bin in The Man from Nowhere (2010), So Ji-sub plays a quiet, lived-in type; Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Dae-hoon appear wearing, respectively, a Marine uniform and a taekwondo outfit. The show leans on the confidence that three likable actors can carry almost anything. In particular, So Ji-sub's action work is striking. Beginning as Ji Hyung-do, sales manager of the second sales division in the assassination-for-hire company in A Company Man (2012), to the street-fighting Choi Chil-seong who once ruled Jongno in The Battleship Island (2017), he has delivered precise, powerful one-on-one action—most memorably in a bathhouse sequence opposite Song Jong-gu (Kim Min-jae). His scenes in the Netflix series 〈Gwangjang〉 (2005) also reinforced the notion that action is often about reach and presence. I was surprised at how nimble Yoon Kyung-ho is physically; his build doesn't immediately suggest action, yet he pulls off moves that look anything but easy. He also shared the difficult experience of completing a climactic escape with So Ji-sub in The Battleship Island. Choi Dae-hoon, who began as the "Mr. Hak" figure in 〈Pokssak Soksasseuda〉 (2005) and recently appeared in the Netflix series Wonderfuls (2026), still needs to prove some of the action work. His zombie-like performance while pretending to be hypnotized among cult followers in Wonderfuls was a standout. But aside from taekwondo sequences that clearly used stunt doubles, what sticks is him walking on a rooftop in a dobok while firing a gun — a bit overwrought to the point of unintended comedy, though that may have been deliberate. Meanwhile, there's no need to slavishly honor the webtoon's costume accuracy: the Special Missions Bureau chief's bowler hat and the power-shoulder leather jacket worn by Jung Sang-a (Son Na-eun), who is revealed to be a bureau operative after appearing as an assistant manager at Sangsaeng Savings Bank and even pondering Kim Bu-jang's daughter's birthday present, feel excessive.

Kim Ji-yeon

A patchwork of stylish moments — a clumsy noir / ★★☆

This is a drama filled not with shifts of loud and soft but with one long string of loud scenes. That will be a strength for some viewers and a weakness for others. 〈Agent Kim Reactivated〉 seems to choose shock over story. It gathers every form of wrongdoing—kidnapping, organ trafficking, juvenile offenders, hired thugs, school violence, chaebol abuses—and assembles them into what feels like a showcase of violence. As a result, every scene explodes, smashes, shoots, and hits in a flashy, dynamic way, while the narrative leans on convenient archetypes. Still, the series offers unexpected lines and moments of comic timing. Perhaps that comes from a script by director Nam Dae-jung, who showed a knack for upending clichés in the film 30 Days. In a dark room where organ trafficking takes place next door, one character deadpans, "Hong-sik ordered macarons and then canceled," and the audience snickers. Geum Ibbal (Jo Bok-rae) delivers a line—"Don't just photograph the corpse; take a selfie. You know what a verification photo is?"—and Sang-man (Kim Dae-han) replies, "So you mean, take a picture of the corpse and then take my picture, right?" Then Kang-min (Kim Yoon-bae) throws in a back-and-forth: "I told you to take a shot of you and the corpse, you bastard." Beyond the comic work of Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Dae-hoon, the script's knack for turning throwaway lines into wry moments stands out.