Broadcasting News

SBS Wins Head-to-Head Battle Against Netflix… Takes 3rd Place, Beating 'Manager Kim' and 'The Boy in the Back Row'

Following 'Brave New World,' a String of Global Box Office Hits

Gim Ga Yeong
2026-07-01 08:56:08
[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] SBS dramas are demonstrating the power of K-content.
According to Netflix’s official site, Tudum, SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama “Manager Kim” ranked third in Netflix’s non-English TV shows category from the 22nd to the 28th of last month. It recorded 7 million views (views divided by runtime) and 40 million minutes watched.
On the 26th of last month, when “Manager Kim” premiered, the Netflix Original “The Boy in the Back Row,” which was released on the same day, ranked only 8th. "The Boy in the Back Row" recorded 1.6 million views and 10.4 million viewing hours. Despite being an original series available exclusively on Netflix, "The Boy in the Back Row" fell short in its head-to-head competition with "Director Kim," a broadcast TV drama.
The top-ranked title in the non-English category was “True Education.” Overcoming various controversies surrounding the original work’s derogatory content, the series has garnered global attention since its worldwide release, with its action scenes drawing particular praise.
Previously, SBS proved its global popularity by reaching the top spot globally with “Brave New World,” which premiered on May 8. SBS dramas, now available worldwide via Netflix, are gaining attention as their commercial success is recognized.
“Director Kim” is a revenge action drama set in the “Dad Universe,” in which “the most ordinary dad in the world” becomes “the most dangerous man in the world” to fight for the return of his only daughter. It started with a nationwide household viewership rating of 9.5% (according to Nielsen Korea) and is gaining popularity, reaching a 15.7% rating by its second episode.
“The Boy in the Back Row” is a suspense drama depicting the story of Heo Moon-oh, a failed writer and professor of Korean literature, who discovers the genius of Lee Kang—a student sitting in the very back row of his classroom—and becomes obsessed with his writing. Immediately after its release, it was overshadowed by “Director Kim” and currently ranks second in South Korea’s Top 10.

Economy

Corporation

IT·Science

Economy

OLED TV Market Grows 20%… Samsung and TCL Lock Horns in the LCD TV Market

While the global TV market remains flat, the premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV market is leading the market rebound with growth in the 20% range. In the mid-to-low-end LCD (liquid crystal…
2026-08-18 17:02:41

Corporation

HEM Pharma Inc. Raises 54 Billion Won to Build New Sejong Plant No. 2... “Setting Sights on Global Markets, Including the U.S.”

#HEM Pharma Inc., a company specializing in microbiome healthcare, is accelerating the establishment of a key production hub targeting advanced global markets, including the U.S., after raising substa…
2026-08-18 17:40:03

IT·Science

National AI Team Fails at ‘Point Allocation Design’… The Paradox of AAII’s No. 1 Motif Being Eliminated [Kim Hyun-ah’s “Reading the IT World”]

My first thought upon seeing the results of the second evaluation of the “Dokpa-mo” (Proprietary AI Foundation Model) was, “Is this really right?”This is because Motif Technologies—which had ranked fi…
2026-08-18 16:44:45