The new tvN and Netflix series Undercover Miss Hong has begun with high stakes and a bold undercover operation. In the first two episodes, financial investigator Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye) sees her career shattered and is forced to take on the dangerous identity of a 20-year-old to expose corruption at Hanmin Securities. The drama, set in the late 1990s, mixes workplace tension with personal risk, especially when Geum-bo’s ex-boyfriend becomes her new boss.
Geum-Bo’s Fall From Grace and a Deadly Scheme
The story starts with Hong Geum-bo as a respected and strict investigator at the Financial Supervisory Service. In 1997, she is known for her discipline and skill in taking down financial crimes. Her life changes when she targets Hanmin Investment & Securities over a major slush fund investigation.
A mysterious whistleblower using the alias “Yehppee” contacts Geum-bo, offering crucial evidence. The informant is revealed to be Kang Myeong-hwi (Choi Won-young), the son of Hanmin’s founder. He gives Geum-bo documents to help her probe, trusting she will uncover the truth. However, Myeong-hwi’s assistant, Go Bok-hee (Ha Yoon-kyung), misunderstands his secret meeting with Geum-bo and reports it to company higher-ups.
The situation turns deadly. Myeong-hwi is soon killed in what is made to look like a car accident. Private conversations between company chairman Kang Pil-beom (Lee Deok-hwa) and his chief of staff confirm the death was not an accident but a sanctioned killing for betraying the company. With her key informant gone and her meeting with him exposed by a colleague, Geum-bo’s investigation is shut down. She is demoted and faces professional ruin.
The Birth of Undercover Agent “Hong Jang-mi”
With her career in tatters, Geum-bo’s superior, Yoon Jae-beom (Kim Won-hae), presents a risky plan. To find the missing slush fund ledger and uncover Yehppee’s true identity, she must go undercover inside Hanmin Securities itself. The company is hiring young assistants, so Geum-bo, who is 35, must pretend to be 20 years old for three months.
Initially refusing, Geum-bo agrees, driven by a need for justice for Myeong-hwi and to stop the corruption. She undergoes a complete transformation with the help of her actual younger sister, Hong Jang-mi (ITZY’s Yuna), whose name and identity she borrows. The show highlights Park Shin-hye’s own thoughts on playing a character 15 years younger. At the drama’s press conference, the actress shared her approach:
โI felt a lot of pressure about playing a 20-year-oldโฆ I paid close attention to my hair and wardrobe. Even if my face looks more mature, I tried to compensate through styling and fashion. Thereโs also a big difference in acting toneโ.
Geum-bo passes her first test by getting carded at a video rental store for an adult film, proving her disguise works. She then aces the Hanmin entrance exam by cleverly pointing out a flaw in one of the test questions, earning her a spot in the risk management division.
Infiltrating Hanmin and Facing the Past
Geum-bo moves into a company dormitory to stay close to her target, Go Bok-hee. Her roommates include Bok-hee and a woman who calls herself Eun-jo (Choi Ji-soo), who is secretly Kang Nora, the chairman’s granddaughter hiding her own identity.
At work, Geum-bo tries to gather information while building relationships. She bonds with her new colleagues Bang Jin-mok, Lee Yong-ki, and Albert Oh (Cho Han-gyeol), joining them for drinks to casually extract hints about company dealings. Her mission faces an immediate crisis when Hanmin appoints a new president: Shin Jung-woo (Go Kyung-pyo), who is Geum-bo’s former boyfriend from over a decade ago.
This creates a dangerous problem. Bok-hee fears losing her job as the new president’s secretary, a position that would normally go to a new hire like Geum-bo. Geum-bo cannot take the job because Jung-woo would instantly recognize her. Instead, she coaches Bok-hee on Jung-woo’s personal habits and work preferencesโknowledge only a former partner would haveโto help her secure the position. The plan works, keeping Geum-bo at a safer distance while maintaining a vital source of information inside the president’s office.
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Rising Tensions and a Cliffhanger Finale
The second episode raises the stakes and deepens the mystery. Geum-bo discovers that Go Bok-hee has a suspicious past, moving jobs every year and having been reported for embezzlement at a former workplace. Most importantly, Bok-hee is found in possession of a hidden book that appears to be the very slush fund ledger Geum-bo is searching for. This makes Bok-hee the prime suspect for being the whistleblower Yehppee, who was secretly working with the late Kang Myeong-hwi.
Geum-bo’s handler, Yoon Jae-beom, adds another layer of confusion. He reveals that Geum-bo herself might have once taken embezzled money from a previous case, suggesting the financial world is full of moral gray areas. Determined to find answers, Geum-bo sneaks into the Hanmin offices late at night to search for more evidence about Myeong-hwi’s last days.
The episode ends on a major cliffhanger. As Geum-bo rummages through the office, she is caught. The person who discovers her is Shin Jung-woo, who immediately seems to sense something familiar about her. This tense face-off leaves Geum-bo’s entire undercover mission on the brink of exposure as the screen cuts to black.
The debut of Undercover Miss Hong has been well-received, with the show’s ratings jumping from a 3.5% nationwide average for the premiere to a peak of 7.2% for the second episode. The next episodes (3 and 4) are scheduled for release on January 24 and 25, 2026, on Netflix and tvN.
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