If you’ve been anywhere near the K-drama internet this week, you already know the name: Agent Kim Reactivated. SBS’s new Friday-Saturday thriller kicked off on June 26, 2026, and it wasted no time, the premiere pulled in 9.5% ratings, then the second episode exploded to 15.7%, making it the biggest ratings jump in five years and officially the highest-rated Korean drama of 2026 so far. That’s not a fluke. That’s a drama that knows exactly what it’s doing.
At the center of it all is So Ji-sub, playing a former black-ops agent hiding in plain sight as a mild-mannered bank manager, until his daughter goes missing and the mask comes off for good. Think Taken, but with 10 hours to breathe and a lot more to say about what it costs a man to become that person again.
Here’s your complete guide to the drama: what it’s about, who’s in it, and where to watch.
Drama Overview
| Info | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Agent Kim Reactivated |
| Native Title | 김부장 |
| Also Known As | Kim Bujang, Manager Kim, Chief Kim, Director Kim |
| Director | Lee Seung-young |
| Screenwriter | Nam Dae-joong |
| Genre | Action, Thriller, Mystery, Crime |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Air Date | June 26 – July 25, 2026 |
| Airs On | Friday & Saturday, 21:50 KST |
| Network | SBS |
| Streaming | Netflix |
| Episode Duration | ~60 minutes |
| Content Rating | 15+ |
| Production | Studio S, Fantagio |
Adapted from the Naver Webtoon “Manager Kim” (김부장), written by Toy (토이) and illustrated by Jung Jong-taek (정종택). The webtoon itself is a spin-off from the PTJ Universe — sharing character DNA with Lookism, Viral Hit, and My Life as a Loser.
Synopsis
Manager Kim, real name Kim Do-hyeon, works at a small savings bank. On the surface, he’s the most unremarkable man in the building: quiet, dependable, a single father doing his best to raise his teenage daughter Min-ji. Nobody suspects a thing.
The truth is that he’s a former North-South Korean covert operative, codenamed “CODE-66.” He’s on North Korea’s most wanted list. His presence in South Korea is, essentially, a ticking clock. He retired to honor his late wife’s dying wish, just live as a father, and has been doing exactly that, even as the act slowly started to feel real.
Then Min-ji disappears.
What follows is the story of a man forced to strip away everything he’s built — the ordinary life, the persona, the performance, to get his daughter back. The action is brutal. The stakes are personal. And the question running underneath all of it is whether the bank manager survives the reactivation, or gets swallowed entirely by the spy.
Cast and Characters
Main Cast
So Ji-sub as Kim Do-hyeon / Manager Kim / “CODE-66” The lead. A former elite special agent who retired to live as a single father at a small savings bank. Legendary enough to land on North Korea’s blacklist, human enough to be undone by a missing daughter. So Ji-sub described the character’s appeal simply: “Manager Kim’s narrative, alongside his desperate mindset while tracking down his daughter, felt like a compelling challenge.” His action here is different from anything he’s done before, less polished, more raw. As he put it, “the combat in Agent Kim Reactivated is born out of a desperate, raw struggle to survive.”
Choi Dae-hoon as Seong Han-su A former Taekwondo gold medalist who now runs a martial arts dojang for kids. Comedic energy with real action chops, his fighting style is described as “flamboyant,” which tracks with both his character and Choi’s natural screen presence. First time tackling authentic action sequences; he spent serious time studying footwork to get the taekwondo right.
Yoon Kyung-ho as Park Jin-cheol A former elite combat veteran, once called a “god of war,” now Da-bin’s father. The drama’s comedic-yet-serious wild card. Director Lee Seung-young cast him directly after The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, he needed someone who could pivot between laughs and weight without warning. Yoon himself described his character’s action style as “exhilarating,” sitting somewhere between Manager Kim’s cold precision and Han-su’s showmanship.
Joo Sang-wook as Ju Gang-chan The villain. Chairman of Juhak Construction, someone who uses wealth and violence as interchangeable tools. The kind of antagonist who doesn’t need to get his hands dirty because he’s built a world where he never has to.
Son Na-eun as Jung Sang-a A workplace colleague of Manager Kim who carries a hidden secret of her own. Her exact role in the larger picture is still unfolding.
Supporting Cast
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Sung-kyu | Park Gang-seong | North Korean agent dispatched to South Korea on a classified mission |
| Lee Jae-yong | — | Director of the National Special Missions Bureau; tasked with tracking down Manager Kim |
| Won Hyun-jun | — | Kang-chan’s right-hand man; opposes Manager Kim |
| Jo Bok-rae | — | Head of a demolition contractor; holds a deep grudge against Kang-chan and key information about his corruption |
| Park Jin-woo | — | Supporting role |
| Lee Dong-ha | — | Villain-adjacent role |
| Seo Su-min | — | Supporting role |
| Yoo Ji-an | — | Supporting role |
Episode Guide
New episodes air every Friday and Saturday on SBS at 21:50 KST. International viewers can watch on Netflix shortly after the Korean broadcast. Recap links will be added as each episode airs.
| Ep | Air Date | Title | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 27, 2026 | Codename 66 | Read Recap |
| 2 | June 28, 2026 | The New 66 | Read Recap |
| 3 | July 4, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 4 | July 5, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 5 | July 11, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 6 | July 12, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 7 | July 18, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 8 | July 19, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 9 | July 25, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
| 10 | July 26, 2026 | — | Coming soon |
Episode titles will be updated as officially released. Recap links go live within 24 hours of each episode airing.
Where to Watch
- South Korea: SBS (live broadcast, Friday & Saturday at 21:50 KST)
- International: Netflix, available globally, with subtitles in multiple languages
MyDramaList Stats (as of June 29, 2026)
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Score | 8.0 / 10 |
| Ranked | #2506 |
| Popularity | #3155 |
| Watchers | 7,216 |
Why It’s Worth Watching
Three episodes in and this one has already earned its buzz. So Ji-sub is perfectly cast, there’s something genuinely funny about watching a man this dangerous perform the indignities of office life, and something genuinely affecting when that performance gets ripped away. The supporting cast around him, especially Choi Dae-hoon and Yoon Kyung-ho, gives the drama a tonal versatility that keeps it from collapsing under its own bleakness.
The Taken comparison is fair but limited. What makes Agent Kim Reactivated interesting isn’t the rescue mission, it’s what the rescue costs. The drama is, underneath all the action, a character study about how much of the ordinary man survives when the operative takes over. That’s a richer question than most spy thrillers bother to ask, and this one is asking it clearly.
Watch it if you like: A Shop for Killers, Healer, Vincenzo, or any spy thriller that puts personal stakes above political ones.
This page is updated as new episodes air. Bookmark it for recap links, episode titles, and any major cast or production updates.
