[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] Actresses Kim Ji-won and Kim Yoo-jung are set to face off on weekend television. The comebacks of these two leading Korean actresses are expected to breathe new life into the small screen.

Kim Ji-won will meet viewers on the 9th with SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama “Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia,” while Kim Yoo-jung will appear on the 10th in tvN’s 20th-anniversary special Saturday-Sunday drama “100 Days of Lies.” With their premieres just one day apart, the two shows will compete head-to-head on Saturday as their broadcast time slots partially overlap.
Kim Ji-won returns with “Doctor X” two years after her 2024 tvN drama “Queen of Tears.” “Queen of Tears” set tvN’s all-time viewership record with a final episode rating of 24.9% (according to Nielsen Korea). Given that “Doctor X” is the next project from Kim Ji-won—the star behind the massive domestic and international success of “Queen of Tears”—interest in the series is running high. Riding this wave of popularity, the first episode recorded a nationwide household rating of 11.4% (according to Nielsen Korea), setting the record for the highest-rated premiere of a miniseries aired in 2026.
“Doctor X” is based on a Japanese drama of the same name. It is a refreshing medical noir featuring Dr. X, Gye Soo-jeong—the “crazy genius of the operating room”—who shatters injustice with nothing but her genius surgical skills. Kim Ji-won portrayed Gye Soo-jeong, the genius surgeon known as the “crazy genius of the operating room.”
Kim Ji-won said, “While my previous works often featured flashy fashion, I approached this project with the intention of toning that down as much as possible,” adding, “There are many beloved medical dramas out there, and I thought it would be an honor to leave my own mark on the genre during my career as an actress.”
In particular, “Doctor X” is considered one of SBS’s most anticipated shows for the second half of the year, following the network’s string of hits such as “Chief Kim,” “Model Taxi,” “The Fiery Priest,” and “The Judge from Hell.” Expectations are high to see if it can continue the success of SBS’s Friday-Saturday drama lineup.
“100 Days of Lies,” Kim Yoo-jung’s comeback project, is a spy romance set in Gyeongseong in 1932. It tells the story of Lee Ga-kyung, Gyeongseong’s top pickpocket, who becomes a mole infiltrating the Japanese Government-General of Korea as an interpreter and spends 100 days there. The series is set to depict the stories of those who sacrificed their lives for their country’s independence and is already being hailed as one of the broadcasting industry’s most anticipated projects.
In particular, given her powerful performance in her previous work, the TVING series “Dear X,” there is great interest in what kind of performance Kim Yoo-jung will deliver in this new project.
Kim Yoo-jung revealed, “I felt that simply being part of this project would be an honor in my acting career,” adding, “I was most drawn to the character I’m playing—a young woman living in that era, who is still fragile and hasn’t yet discovered her dreams. I was curious about her growth. I also wanted to experience for myself how she would grow and change within this story.”
As the two actors return with dramas in different genres, expectations from viewers are running high.
A broadcasting industry official stated, “The mere return of these two actors—who possess both acting talent and the ability to generate buzz—is expected to have a significant impact,” adding, “Both actors have consistently achieved success and received positive reviews for their previous works, so we anticipate that their comebacks will breathe new life into the television industry.”