There is arguably no audience more passionate than die-hard K-Drama fans, which means that first impressions are unusually important when it comes to new releases. In this regard, if no other, Agent Kim Reactivated is already off to a roaring success. We were already complimentary of the simple pleasures of its premiere, and other viewers seem to be on the same wavelength, with the internet currently awash with praise for the casting, the vibe, and the themes of Netflix’s new Friday-Saturday show.
Of immediate and obvious concern is the casting. The Ahjussi — a common Korean term used to address or refer to middle-aged, married, or older men — trio at the show’s core comprises So Ji-sub as Manager Kim, Choi Dae Hoon as Seong Han-su, and Yoon Kyung Ho as Park Jin Cheol, introduced in the first episode as three men who know one another but only manage to maintain a relationship in their older years through infrequent meetings. They’re also each established to be dangerous individuals — Han-su is a taekwondo teacher, Jin-cheol starts a brawl in Episode 1, and Manager Kim is a former North Korean defector turned South Korean intelligence agent.
Over on Reddit, the casting is a big subject for praise:
Comment
by
u/sianiam from discussionin
KDRAMA
Another user pointed out So Ji-sub’s suitability for the role given the premise:
he’s perfect for the john wick vibes role. the way his eyes tells everything you need to know. masterpiece
A similar sentiment is also reflected in the same thread by user 7seas23:
Damn So Ji Sub is back after Mercy For None with another explosive series. His face goes from cute puppy to Cujo in an instant. Loved 1 and 2. The expanding world building with the nasty villains and his own quirky and lethal friends. The Dad-Daughter relationship is the chef’s kiss! ? The waiting for the episode drops is going to kill me.
It isn’t just the casting that people are into, though. There has also been plenty of praise for the construction of the first two episodes (of ten, which is comparatively few by K-Drama standards, though they’re all over an hour long). The first episode was largely devoted to setting up and introducing the Ahjussi trio in this later stage of their lives. It also introduced Kim’s relationship with his daughter, Min-ji, who disappears at the end of the episode after being lured into an ambush by her bullying high school classmates.
In the second episode, the premise expands massively to incorporate organised crime and two rival intelligence agencies, both looking for Manager Kim. It’s a lot to go over and could have easily gone wrong; however, reactions to it seem to be largely positive:
Comment
by
u/sianiam from discussionin
KDRAMA
There are, however, some doubts about the pacing, with some viewers feeling like too many characters and competing subplots were introduced a little too quickly. This is valid, but it seems to be a less common opinion, and by and large, people felt like it did a good job of juggling multiple elements while also keeping the excitement high. That feeling is certain to be more pronounced in subsequent episodes, when the Ahjussi trio properly reunite.
If anything, fans seem to be pining for more episodes to be released at once. The shorter season order and the action-heavy nature of the premise would have perhaps been more suitable for a binge-watch, a distribution method that Netflix is sometimes keen to employ for higher-profile K-Dramas. However, on the flip side of that is the fact that the more exciting the episode, the more eagerly everyone tunes in the following week, allowing word of mouth to grow the show’s reputation.
This approach is obviously working, too, since in its second episode, Agent Kim Reactivated pulled in a nationwide rating of 15.7 percent according to Nielson Korea, up from 9.5 percent in the first episode, immediately becoming SBS’s top-performing series of 2026 thus far. It’s also the fastest show to pass the 15 percent mark since Penthouse 3 in 2021.
If early success and reactions are anything to go by, this could quite easily end up being the breakout Korean show of the year.
