Agent Kim Reactivated (Korean: 김부장) is a 2026 South Korean revenge drama and action thriller television series written by Nam Dae-joong, and directed by Yi Seung-young and Lee So-eun. It stars So Ji-sub in the titular role as a former black-ops operative alongside an ensemble cast featuring Choi Dae-hoon, Yoon Kyung-ho, Joo Sang-wook, Son Na-eun, Kim Sung-kyu, Lee Jae-yong, Won Hyun-jun, Park Jin-woo, Jo Bok-rae, Lee Dong-ha, Seo Su-min, and Yu Ji-ahn. Based on the Naver Webtoon Manager Kim by Jeong Jong-taek and Toy, the plot centers on Mr. Kim, a retired covert agent living a quiet life as a bank employee and single father who is forced to unearth his lethal past when his high school daughter is kidnapped.
Jointly produced by Studio S and Fantagio, the series adapts a spin-off of the PTJ Webtoon Universe and has frequently been compared by media outlets to the American action film Taken. Notably, the production made K-drama history as the first series to generate an entire three-minute, action-heavy backstory sequence using full artificial intelligence (AI) models to reduce high visual effects and production costs.
Agent Kim Reactivated aired on SBS TV from June 26 to July 25, 2026, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST), and was made available globally for streaming on Netflix. The series was a major commercial and critical success, with praise directed at So Ji-sub's emotional performance and the core "father-trio" dynamic, though the finale drew minor viewer controversy regarding heavy product placement (PPL). It achieved a peak nationwide rating of 23.1%, making it one of the highest-rated Friday–Saturday dramas in SBS network history.
Contents
Synopsis
Kim Do-hyeon, known as Mr. Kim, is a former North-South Korean covert operative who retired to live as an office worker and single father, fulfilling his late wife's wishes. When his daughter, Min-ji, is kidnapped, Kim utilizes his past combat training to rescue her. His sudden activity draws the attention of the National Special Missions Bureau. During his search, Kim aligns with two other fathers who are also former operatives: Seong Han-soo and Park Jin-cheol. The trio faces opposition from various figures, including construction executive Ju Gang-chan, an associate named Jung Sang-a, and Park Kang-seong, a North Korean agent.
Cast and characters
Main
So Ji-sub as Kim Bu-Jang / Mr. Kim (Hong Dong-yeong as young Kim): A typical middle-aged salaryman at a bank and a single father raising his teenage daughter, Min-ji. He's secretly a North Korean defector, later serving as a South Korean special forces operative, forced to conceal his lethal past and his identity as "Agent 66".
Choi Dae-hoon as Seong Han-soo: A former Olympic Taekwondo gold medalist and three-time World Taekwondo champion who runs his own martial arts dojo. He's a long-time friend and comrade of Kim.
Yoon Kyung-ho as Park Jin-cheol: A Korean Marine Corps veteran of the elite "Cheonsan" special forces unit. He's also a long-time friend and comrade of Kim, and a volunteer member of the Marine Corps Veterans Association.
Joo Sang-wook as Ju Gang-chan: A very wealthy and powerful figure, he's the president of Juhak Construction and the father of his daughter Ju Hye-ri. He maintains a private security force composed of former special forces mercenaries and relies heavily on corruption and physical intimidation to eliminate competition and adversaries to his business.
Son Na-eun as Jung Sang-a: A Special Missions Directorate (SMD) agent who's assigned to keep Kim under surveillance while working undercover as his co-worker.
Park Jin-woo as Im Ho-won: The owner of a laundromat located in Kim's block and another undercover SMD agent assigned to monitor Kim.
Supporting
Seo Su-min as Kim Min-ji (Kong I-jae as baby Min-ji | Choi Ha-yoon and Lee A-ra as young Min-ji): Kim's daughter and a sophomore at Songin High School. She's a constant victim of bullying stemming from being raised in a single parent household and struggles to get along at school and at home.
Won Hyun-jun as Kang Guk-cheol / Mole Cricket: The director of the Special Missions Directorate (SMD), operating under the codename "Mole Cricket".
Choi Bum-ho as Director Jang So-Jang: A General of the South Korean special forces' unit, "Cheonsan" who's overseen Kim during his time as an ROK operative.
Kim Sung-kyu as Park Gang-seong (Yang Hee-sang as young Gang-seong): A North Korean operative who's tasked with infiltrating South Korea to bring Kim back to the North.
Lee Jae-yong as Ri Eung-ryeong: The Director General of North Korea's General Bureau of Intelligence on South Korea.
Yu Ji-ahn as Ju Hye-ri: Gang-chan's daughter and a student at Songin High School.
Lee Dong-ha as Secretary Nam Shil-jang: Gang-chan's chief of staff and bodyguard.
Jo Bok-rae as Jung-dae / Gold Teeth: A gangster and subordinate of Gang-chan. He's known as "Gold Teeth" after Gang-chan forcibly pulled all of his teeth out and replaced them with gold.
Kim Dae-han as Kim Sang-man: A subordinate of Gold Teeth.
Kim Yoon-bae as Park Kang-min: Another subordinate of Gold Teeth.
Kim Kyeong-ryong as Assemblyman Shim Eui-won: A member of South Korea's National Assembly and a close political aid to Gang-chan.
Special appearances
Seo Ji-hye as Im Yu-jin: Kim's wife, who dies right after giving birth to Min-ji.
Hwang Seong-bin as Seong Min-ho: Hye-ri's gangster friend.
Ok Taec-yeon as Park Yeong-gwang (Kang Ye-chan as young Yeong-gwang): A North Korean operative and Gang-seong's older brother.
Yoo Hee-je as Oh Min-cheol: A juvenile offender and a south side collector of Gold Teeth's gang.
Won Tae-min as Shin Seong-ho: A gang leader who took Min-ji's phone.
Kim Ji-young as Kang Ji-yeong: Jin-cheol's wife and a former Marine Corps Brigadier General.
Im Cheol-hyeong as Im Do-hyeon: The Vice Minister of National Security.
Production
Development
In April 2023, The Grimm Entertainment signed a drama production contract for the Naver webtoon Manager Kim with Fantagio. The webtoon is a spin-off series centered around the character Manager Kim from Lookism, alongside Park Jin-cheol from My Life as a Loser and Seong Han-soo from Viral Hit. The series marks a major expansion of the "One Source Multi-Use" (OSMU) strategy for the PTJ Universe. It is described as a revenge-action drama revolving around a father who uses a dangerous skillset to rescue his daughter. Media and production sources have frequently compared its premise to the Hollywood film Taken.
The script is written by Nam Dae-joong, known for his work on films such as The Last Ride (2016) and Homme Fatale (2019), and directed by Yi Seung-young, whose previous credits include Voice 2 (2018), Tracer (2022), and Wonderful World (2024). It is planned and produced by Studio S along with Fantagio.
Casting
In September 2025, My Daily reported that So Ji-sub, Choi Dae-hoon, and Yoon Kyung-ho would lead the series as the central trio. So was cast in the titular role of Mr. Kim, marking his return to the action-noir genre, while Choi was selected to portray Seong Han-soo and Yoon was cast as Park Jin-cheol. Media outlets highlighted So's casting by drawing comparisons between his character's trajectory in the revenge thriller and Bryan Mills from the action film Taken. The following month, Kim Sung-kyu and Son Na-eun were reportedly joined the cast. By the end of 2025, Joo Sang-wook, Lee Dong-ha, and Jo Bok-rae were cast to play various villain roles.
In May 2026, Won Hyun-jun was confirmed to join the cast. The same month, SBS officially confirmed the onscreen appearances of So, Choi, Yoon, Joo, Son, and Kim.
Visual effects
The series was the first Korean drama to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) generation for an entire major sequence. In the first two episodes, which depict the backstory of protagonist Mr. Kim (played by So Ji-sub) as a North Korean secret agent, a three-minute action sequence was produced through AI technology rather than live-action filming. The sequence includes depictions of building explosions, car chases on snowy roads and inside tunnels, a vehicle overturning and crashing into a river, gunfights, and martial arts choreography.
The sequence was created by Morpheus Studio using its "AICRON" platform, an AI content creation system launched in February 2026. The platform uses a node-based integrated pipeline that processes prompts, image and video generation, audio generation, and editing on a single interface using various commercial AI models. The AI production was supervised by Ryu Jae-hwan, the vice president of Morpheus Studio and a visual effects (VFX) director who previously won technical awards at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards.
According to the production team, an AI-generated sequence was selected to manage the high location, set construction, pyrotechnic, and conventional VFX costs associated with filming a large-scale scene within budget constraints. The production team stated that the platform minimized character consistency issues typical of AI-generated video, allowing the actor's facial expressions and appearance to remain stable during fast-moving action shots. Following the broadcast, South Korean media outlets reported that audience reception to the visual quality of the sequence was generally positive, with minimal criticism regarding visual awkwardness.
Ryu stated that the sequence demonstrated AI could be used to construct entire narrative scenes rather than just replacing short VFX shots. He argued that when used with clear planning and production objectives, AI technology can function as a viable tool for storytellers.
Release
SBS confirmed that the series is slated to air in 2026, as part of their Friday–Saturday lineup. The series premiered on SBS TV on June 26, every Friday and Saturday, and is available for streaming on Netflix.
Reception
Critical response
The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its balance between action sequences and character emotional development. James Melzer of MovieWeb considered the series a blend of the Taken and John Wick franchises, with influences from the television series Reacher, noting that it builds substantial suspense before transitioning into action. Both Melzer and Joel Keller of Decider commented on the show's pacing; Keller observed that the first episode is a "slow build," but noted that this deliberate pacing allows for a deeper understanding of the protagonist's transition from an elite agent to a mild-mannered bank worker.
Critics also highlighted the emotional core of the series. Monica Yadav of the Hindustan Times praised its "confident start," stating that while the show displays expected revenge-thriller tropes, the central emotional narrative is what keeps viewers invested. Yadav concluded that if the writing remains focused and develops more nuanced antagonists, the show has the potential to become one of the best action thrillers of the year. Additionally, critics noted positive reception regarding the release strategy and early audience metrics; Melzer considered Netflix's two-episode weekly release model highly effective and pointed out the show's strong early audience scores on IMDb, where it achieved an average user rating of 8 out of 10.
Domestic South Korean media also gave high praise. Star Today noted that lead actor So Ji-sub, returning to SBS after 13 years since Master's Sun (2013), successfully blended a cold agent with profound fatherly love, delivering convincing eye acting and action scenes that set a new benchmark for his career. Furthermore, the "Dad Universe" trio composed of So Ji-sub, Choi Dae-hoon, and Yoon Kyung-ho was well received; reports praised the contrast and chemistry between their top-tier combat skills and their "relatable dad" personas around their children, which became a key element of the show's popularity. A column analysis in Economic Review argued that the product placement (PPL) of the auto repair shop (SpeedMate) transformed "car repair" into a symbolic metaphor for "repairing life," serving as a positive example of integrating commercial sponsorship with script narrative.
Audience response and controversy
Following the broadcast of the series finale, it received widespread praise from South Korean viewers as a "strong start and strong finish" (용두용미), with many expressing satisfaction with the heartwarming conclusion that punished evil and promoted good.
However, during the final 20 minutes of episode 10, a heavy concentration of product placement (PPL)—including caffeinated candy, automobiles, conveyor-belt sushi, and eyewear brands—sparked dissatisfaction among some viewers and netizens, who criticized the excessive advertising density for ruining immersion and emotional continuity. This phenomenon sparked discussion regarding the differences in production environments between broadcast networks and OTT platforms, with some viewers expressing a desire for a potential second season to be produced by an OTT platform (such as Netflix) to minimize commercial interruptions.
Viewership
Agent Kim Reactivated recorded strong viewership ratings upon its debut. According to Nielsen Korea, the premiere episode broadcast on June 26, 2026, achieved a nationwide rating of 9.5%, marking the highest premiere rating for any miniseries broadcast in 2026. The series experienced a significant increase for its second episode, rising 6.2 percentage points to a nationwide rating of 15.7%, with a peak real-time rating reaching 18.1%. This marked the first time a miniseries surpassed the 15% viewership threshold within two episodes since the third season of The Penthouse: War in Life in 2021.
By its fourth episode on July 4, 2026, the series surpassed the 20% mark, recording a nationwide viewership rating of 21.6%. This achievement set a record as the fastest SBS Friday–Saturday drama to cross the 20% threshold, surpassing the pacing of previous series such as The Fiery Priest, Hot Stove League, and The Penthouse 2. The 21.6% rating also positioned Agent Kim Reactivated as the third highest-rated SBS Friday–Saturday drama series in the network's history, behind The Penthouse 2 (29.2%) and The Fiery Priest (22%).