So Ji-seob’s Action Lands…“Mr. Kim” Breaks Through With 22.3% Rating in Episode 6, Topping SBS’ All-Time No. 2

The destructive power that challenges “Penthouse” dominance, a new horizon for Korean hardboiled action

Seoul’s living-room TV market is in the midst of a major shift. The hardboiled action revenge drama 'Mr. Kim', starring actor 'So Ji-seob', has been tearing through the elusive 22% viewership barrier in one swoop, sparking a sensation-level box-office-style hit.

According to figures released by Nielsen Korea, the Nov. 12 report date, Episode 6 of the SBS Fri-Sat drama 'Mr. Kim', which aired on Nov. 11, recorded an astonishing nationwide rating of 22.3%. That figure easily surpasses the top performances of SBS’s previous mega hits 'Hot Blood Priest' (22%) and 'Taxi Driver 2 (Model Taxi 2)' (21.8%). Ranking as No. 2 among all SBS Fri-Sat dramas, the series is now zeroing in on the throne of its unshakable No. 1 'Penthouse 2' (29.2%).

After a bright start with a 9.5% rating in the first episode, it pulled off a breathtaking feat of seizing the 20% mark in just four airings. Then in Episode 6, it hit 22.3%, replacing its own best rating with each installment and drawing a rapidly rising upward graph that’s exploding in momentum.

A bloody showdown launched by a fiercely loyal fatherly love—swallowing the world

In Episode 6 aired that day, viewers couldn’t take their eyes off the screen for even a moment, as the overwhelming momentum sent adrenaline soaring. In the drama, 'Mr. Kim' (So Ji-seob) forms a formidable alliance with Seong Han-soo (Choi Dae-hoon) and Park Jin-cheol (Yoon Kyung-ho), and a high-speed, no-holds-barred battle unfolds to rescue Kim Min-ji (Seo Soo-min), the daughter held in detention by a special mission bureau.

In particular, the sequence was the standout: when Seong Han-soo infiltrated the heart of enemy territory and was fighting a bloody battle with a suppression team, he was at the brink of an all-or-nothing crisis—then Park Jin-cheol’s sudden entry flipped the odds with a hard-hitting action sequence. As the perimeter tightened and cut off breathing room, 'Mr. Kim' dramatically appeared, bringing security vice minister (Im Chul-hyung) in as a hostage, and the ending—reuniting with his daughter—sent the tension through the broadcast like it would overwhelm the TV screen.

The grim story of a father—formerly a special agent—who awakens the ferocity he had sealed to reclaim his missing daughter and stands up against massive power stretched beyond the domestic market and reached into the global market as well. After landing in global No. 3 in the non-English category just three days after Netflix released it, in its second week it swept the world’s No. 1 spot, proving once again the heavy staying power of 'K-drama' to audiences worldwide.