tvN has officially named 100 Days of Deception as its flagship drama for the second half of 2026, placing the period spy romance at the center of its 20th-anniversary celebrations. The network made the announcement during the tvN Creator Talk 2026 event held on September 16 at the CJ ENM Sangam Center in Seoul. Park Sang-hyuk, head of CJ ENM’s media business unit, personally selected the series as the network’s biggest hope for the latter half of the year, according to TV Report.
The drama brings together Kim You-jung and GOT7’s Park Jin-young in their first on-screen pairing. It is set to premiere on October 10, 2026, airing Saturdays and Sundays at 9:10 p.m. KST on tvN. International viewers can stream it on Netflix worldwide from the same date, while South Korean audiences can also watch via TVING.
A Spy Story Set in 1930s Gyeongseong
The series takes place in 1932 Gyeongseong, present-day Seoul, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It follows Lee Ga-gyeong, played by Kim You-jung, the most skilled pickpocket in the city. Her only dream is to save enough money to leave for America. That plan changes when she accepts a dangerous offer from the independence movement to become an undercover spy inside the Japanese Government-General of Korea.
She enters the building disguised as an interpreter trainee under the false name Kim Seo-hee. The mission is meant to last exactly 100 days. What begins as a fake assignment slowly pulls her into a real web of survival, loyalty, and conviction.
Inside the Government-General, she meets Kim Tae-woong, played by Park Jin-young. Tae-woong is a Korean-born interpreter who also goes by the Japanese name Sato Hideo. He is the adopted son of the Inspector-General of Korea, the second-highest-ranking official in the colonial administration. The two characters meet by chance at Gyeongseong Station, and their lives become deeply entangled from that moment on.
The production team has described the drama’s core conflict in a statement shared with Soompi: the story begins with lies and suspicion between the two leads, and their relationship grows in unexpected ways.
“Kim You Jung and Park Jinyoung will showcase chemistry that is sometimes fun and heart-fluttering and at other times poignant and moving.”
The Team Behind the Drama
Yoo In-shik directs the series. He previously directed Extraordinary Attorney Woo and the Dr. Romantic series, both of which were major hits in Korea and internationally. Ryu Bo-ri, known for Trolley and Brahms: The Boy II, wrote the script. The drama is produced by Studio Dragon and Romantic Crew.
The combination of a proven director and a writer with a track record of emotional storytelling has raised expectations. Park Sang-hyuk noted during the Creator Talk event that tvN aims to create content that sparks conversation and spreads across platforms, not just content that is consumed and forgotten.
A Full Cast of Characters with Hidden Agendas
Kim Hyun-joo plays Yoo So-ran, an independence fighter and sniper for the anti-Japanese group Gugukdan. She has changed her identity and entered a fake marriage with journalist Yoo Philip, played by Lee Moo-saeng, to seek revenge on Sato Shinichi. So-ran is the one who sends Ga-gyeong into the Government-General as a spy.
Jin Sun-kyu plays Sato Shinichi, the Inspector-General and Tae-woong’s adoptive father. He is a cold and calculating figure who shows little mercy. In a character teaser, he delivers the chilling line: “Do you think killing me will bring independence?”.
Lee Moo-saeng’s character, Yoo Philip, works as a correspondent for an American news agency while secretly supporting the independence movement. His calm warnings to the colonial authorities add another layer of tension to the story.
What Kim You-jung Says About the Drama
Kim You-jung shared her thoughts on the project in an interview with Allure Korea as part of tvN’s 20th-anniversary celebrations. She said she was drawn to the script because it was her first drama set in Gyeongseong. She explained that she felt a depth in the story that could not be described with just the word “fun”.
She also spoke about the emotional weight of her role and the relationships at the heart of the series.
“It’s the relationships. When I prepare for a project, certain songs naturally come to mind, and this time, it was all about love. I think that’s the power this project had. The person you love, the country you love—there are things you want to protect with the strength of love, even if that’s your own dream.”
Where to Watch and Release Details
100 Days of Deception is a 16-episode series that will air from October 10 to November 29, 2026. In South Korea, it broadcasts on tvN every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. KST. The show streams on TVING in Korea and on Netflix for audiences in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, and other regions worldwide. Episodes will be released weekly, following Netflix’s standard release pattern for Korean dramas.
The drama is part of tvN’s 20th-anniversary special programming, which the network has described as a tentpole project for the year. The network has placed significant production investment behind the series, signaling its confidence in the project’s scale and appeal.
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Early Reactions and What Viewers Are Saying
A teaser released in late August 2026 has already passed 1.56 million views as of mid-September, according to TV Report. The first character posters, released on September 17, show the five main characters half-hidden in shadow, each carrying their own secrets. The poster for Lee Ga-gyeong includes the line: “It was a 100-day lie. Until it became real.”.
Viewers on platforms like MyDramaList have expressed excitement about the pairing of Kim You-jung and Park Jin-young. One user comment read: “This is about to be big, can’t wait!”. The emotional teasers and the release of two letters written by Tae-woong to Ga-gyeong have led many viewers to predict a tragic storyline, with fans discussing the possibility of a heartbreaking ending across social media and drama forums.
Also Read: Choo Young Woo Lacks Courage to Hold Onto Kim So Hyun in New Between Steps Teaser
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