Kim Yoo Jung and GOT7‘s Park Jinyoung have pulled off a ratings heist of their own. The new tvN period spy romance 100 Days Of Deception premiered on October 10, 2026, and immediately became the highest-rated tvN Saturday-Sunday drama launch of the entire year. The first episode drew an average nationwide rating of 5.3 percent, according to Nielsen Korea, and was the most-watched cable show of any kind on that Saturday night.
A Strong Start For tvN’s 20th Anniversary Project
The drama is a special project celebrating tvN’s 20th anniversary, which raised expectations before the first episode even aired. The premiere rating of 5.3 percent placed it above every other tvN weekend drama debut in 2026, setting a new benchmark for the network’s Saturday-Sunday slot.
The competition on Saturday night was fierce. SBS’s medical noir drama Doctor X drew a nationwide average of 14.9 percent for its second episode, making it the most-watched program of the night overall. KBS 2TV’s Love on the Menu followed with 14.7 percent, while A Love Other Than Yours closed the first half of its run at 2.3 percent.
Despite facing such strong rivals, 100 Days Of Deception still managed to stand out as the top cable show of the evening, a detail that highlights how well the premiere connected with viewers.
Episode 2 Ratings Jump To 7.6 Percent
The upward trend continued the very next night. On October 11, the second episode climbed to an average nationwide rating of 7.6 percent and a peak of 8.5 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. The show took first place in its time slot across all cable channels, including general programming networks.
The jump from 5.3 percent to 7.6 percent represents a rise of 2.3 percentage points in a single episode, showing that word of mouth is already bringing more viewers to the story. In the Seoul metropolitan area, the second episode performed even better, with an average of 8.3 percent and a peak of 9.4 percent.
What The Spy Romance Is About
Set in 1932 Gyeongseong, the story follows Lee Ga-kyung (played by Kim Yoo Jung), a skilled pickpocket who dreams of leaving Korea for a new life in America. Her plans change when she is offered a dangerous deal by an independence group: go undercover inside the Japanese Government-General of Joseon, gather secret information, and help with an assassination plan within 100 days.
Park Jinyoung plays Kim Tae-woong, also known as Sato Hideo, a Korean interpreter working for the colonial government. His character is the adopted son of the Inspector-General of Korea, which places him on the opposite side of Ga-kyung’s mission. As their feelings for each other grow, Ga-kyung faces a difficult choice between her heart and her duty to the independence movement.
The series is directed by Yoo In-shik, known for Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Dr. Romantic, and written by Ryu Bo-ri, who wrote Do You Like Brahms?.
The series is a special project celebrating tvN’s 20th anniversary. — The Week
A Complete Cast Of Familiar Faces
Kim Hyun-joo plays Yoo So-ran, the leader of the independence group. Lee Moo-saeng appears as Yoo Phillip, and Jin Seon-kyu plays Sato Shinichi. The combination of experienced actors and popular younger leads has clearly resonated with audiences during the opening weekend.
Where To Watch 100 Days Of Deception
The drama airs on tvN in South Korea every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. KST. International viewers can stream it on Netflix worldwide, with new episodes arriving on the same schedule. The series spans 16 episodes plus one special episode, running from October 10 to November 29, 2026. The final two episodes are scheduled for November 28 and 29.
For viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, and other global markets, Netflix is the primary platform for watching the show with subtitles. The drama is also available on TVING in South Korea.
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Viewer Reactions Online
Social media posts from international viewers have been sharing excitement about the premiere. A K-drama writer based in South Korea noted that the show carries the feel of a large-scale production fitting for tvN’s anniversary special, with Netflix streaming bringing it to a global audience. Another viewer posted about the show potentially becoming the K-drama of the year.
The storyline has drawn comparisons to Mr. Sunshine from some Korean viewers, particularly because of the colonial-era setting, the assassination plot, and the multilingual character dynamics.
A Big Weekend For Korean Drama
The opening weekend of 100 Days Of Deception arrived during a busy period for Korean television. Doctor X on SBS continued to lead Saturday viewership overall, while Love on the Menu on KBS 2TV also performed strongly. The ratings battle between the three weekend dramas is already drawing attention from Korean media outlets, with some predicting a tight race in the weeks ahead.
The premiere ratings also stand out because tvN has now launched a weekend drama that outperformed all of its 2026 predecessors in the same slot. Earlier in the year, Filing for Love reached 10.3 percent by its sixth episode, but that was a mid-run peak rather than a debut number. Undercover Miss Hong finished its run with a final episode rating of 12.4 percent, which remains the highest overall weekend drama rating of the year so far.
What The Ratings Mean For The Show
A premiere rating of 5.3 percent on a cable channel is a solid start, and the jump to 7.6 percent in week two shows that viewers are returning and new audiences are joining. The show has already secured its position as the most-watched cable program in its Saturday time slot, and the second episode’s first-place finish across all cable channels suggests that momentum is building.
The combination of Kim Yoo Jung‘s star power, Park Jinyoung‘s growing acting profile, and the involvement of director Yoo In-shik has given the drama a strong foundation. Whether the ratings continue to climb will depend on how the story unfolds over the next several weeks, but the opening weekend has already given tvN a strong result for its anniversary project.
Also Read: 100 Days of Deception cast: Meet the stars behind tvN’s historical espionage K-dramaFor more Korean drama ratings breakdowns, cast updates, and streaming guides, keep following VvipTimes for the stories that matter.
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