[E-Daily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] The “Director Kim” craze is sweeping not only Korean living rooms but also the global stage. In a drama market where ratings in the 10% range are considered a “celebration,” the show has drawn praise for breathing new life into the industry by breaking the 21% mark. However, there are also bittersweet concerns within the broadcasting industry that only sensational content seems to survive these days.

According to Nielsen Korea on the 6th, SBS’s Friday-Saturday drama “Director Kim” recorded a nationwide household viewership rating of 21.6% after just four episodes. Starting at 9.5% in the first episode, it rose to 15.7% in the second and 18.8% in the third, before effortlessly breaking the 20% barrier in its fourth episode—a historic upward trend.
This marks the third-highest viewership rating in the history of SBS Friday-Saturday dramas and is the first drama to reach the 20% range in three years, following “Model Taxi 2” (21%), which aired in 2023. With ratings that are even challenging the records set by “Penthouse 2” (2021, 29.2%), the all-time No. 1 SBS Friday-Saturday drama, and “The Fiery Priest” (2019, 22%), the No. 2 show, observers both inside and outside the broadcasting industry are speculating that “the Best Actor Award at this year’s year-end awards is already a sure thing.”
Its global popularity is also drawing attention. According to FlixPatrol, a website that tracks global OTT rankings, “Director Kim” ranked second in the global TV show category as of the 5th. Not only did it take first place in 28 countries, including South Korea, but it also ranked fifth in the highly competitive U.S. market, captivating both domestic and global audiences simultaneously.
A broadcasting industry official stated, “Breaking the 20% viewership barrier is proof that the show has drawn in not only the 20–49 demographic but also middle-aged and older viewers who had previously turned away from TV.” The official added, “Although the diversification of platforms makes it difficult to predict viewership ratings, and it’s rare for a drama to achieve a 21% rating in today’s environment, this shows that the formula—‘if the content is entertaining and the concept is solid, viewers will gather in front of the TV’—remains valid.”

Industry insiders cite the original webtoon’s undeniable mass appeal and unique character portrayals as the keys to “Director Kim’s” success. An official from a drama production company analyzed, “The webtoon’s story itself possesses elements that the general public simply can’t resist, and the characters are well-defined,” adding, “The fact that viewership ratings exceeding 20% attracted a broad audience—not limited to a specific generation—proves that this is content capable of competing successfully in both TV broadcasts and OTT distribution.”
Pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun remarked, “Revenge dramas with universal and familiar plot structures are a genre that can resonate with viewers worldwide,” adding, “If the show maintains a sense of tension while exploring diverse themes, narratives, and character dynamics, sustaining long-term popularity shouldn’t be difficult.”
However, there are also differing perspectives on the unprecedented dominance of *Director Kim*. This stems from concerns that the success of shows relying entirely on keywords like “revenge,” “action,” “satisfaction,” and “dopamine” could entrench a “biased programming” trend.
Another production company official noted, “There’s also talk that it makes more sense to focus investment on a single ‘successful’ drama rather than on dramas that focus on a message or tug at the heartstrings.” They added, “There’s a growing trend where only content that chases intense ‘dopamine’ and ‘satisfying’ thrills survives, and many producers are expressing a sense of bitterness about this.”
“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 and win back his only daughter. The cast includes actors So Ji-sub, Choi Dae-hoon, Yoon Kyung-ho, Joo Sang-wook, Son Na-eun, Kim Sung-kyu, Lee Jae-yong, Won Hyun-joon, Park Jin-woo, Jo Bok-rae, Lee Dong-ha, Seo Su-min, and Yoo Ji-an.