‘Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung 2’ Effect: Kim Yeon-koung Tops K-Brand Index, Surpassing Oh Eun-young and Jang Hang-jun

Kim Yeon-koung surged to No. 1 in the Brand Index’s entertainment category.

According to the K-Brand Index’s Expert Entertainer category, released Nov. 6 by big data analytics firm Asia Brand Research Institute, former volleyball player and television personality Kim Yeon-koung ranked No. 1. For this edition of the K-Brand Index’s Expert Entertainer category, the institute analyzed 274,394,729 pieces of online big data collected from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2026, focusing on the top 30 experts and entertainers by search volume on portal sites who work in fields including the humanities, science, psychology, cooking and sports.

Kim Yeon-koung’s No. 1 ranking appears to be the result of 〈Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung 2〉, which began airing Oct. 11. The variety show follows Kim Yeon-koung as she coaches the underdog team Victory Wonder Dogs. The process of Kim Yeon-koung, a defining athlete of her era, leading the team with charisma has made a deep impression on many viewers, and the show’s viewership rating topped 5% (as of Episode 3).

Following Kim Yeon-koung at No. 1, psychiatrist Oh Eun-young and film director Jang Hang-jun ranked second and third, respectively. Counselor Lee Ho-sun placed fourth, film critic Lee Dong-jin fifth, university professor Jung Il-young sixth, communication expert Kim Chang-ok seventh, doctor Hong Hye-geol eighth, chef Son Jong-won ninth and current affairs commentator Jang Seong-cheol 10th.