23 years ago, humanity’s dark impulse for vengeance was encapsulated in one line, “Revenge is good for your health, but pain will find you again.” Uttered by Oh Dae-su, this quote is originally from Oldboy, the iconic poster-child for Korea’s decades-long dominance in revenge cinema. While Dae-su’s actor, Choi Min-sik, just debuted his own drama for streaming on Netflix, another, more explosive addition dropped later today as well: Agent Kim Reactivated, starring recurring K-drama badass So Ji-sub. Now, every Friday and Saturday from June 26 through July 25, 2026, subscribers can see uploads of two weekly episodes after they air in South Korea.
Originally broadcast on SBS TV, Agent Kim Reactivated adapts the iconic revenge manhwa Manager Kim created by Park Tae-jun. It’s been a highly-anticipated K-drama adapting the brutally thrilling saga of a seemingly meek, passive man finally pushed to the breaking point. Much like the film Taken, Kim Do-hyeon has some deep secrets of his own while trying to pass as a single family man. But once his daughter, Min-ji, goes missing and foul play is confirmed, “Manager Kim” sets all default choices to violence as he gets ready to carve a bloody trail to rescue Min-ji. It’ll be an exciting 10 episodes releasing across the next solid month on Netflix.
Netflix’s New Revenge Thriller Is Destined For #1 Status
So Ji-sub’s revenge thrillers are not a new sensation on Netflix, with Mercy for None releasing on the platform a full year ago on June 6, 2025. The series immediately debuted at the #2 spot for non-English TV shows in only two days, and by the second week of its release, it was #1. Agent Kim Reactivated has the potential to match and exceed this legacy, with roughly 40 times the readership on its original webtoon’s page on North America’s Webtoon platform alongside a dedicated following and an increasingly hungry K-drama market.
Season 2 of Netflix’s Best Action Thriller Is Officially Out, and It’s the Perfect Weekend Binge
This Netflix series only raises the stakes higher and higher with each new season, and it’s become a must-see thriller for any action fan.
This isn’t to say Netflix hasn’t introduced anything else fantastic out of South Korea. On the same day, the platform dropped all six episodes of the limited series Notes from the Last Row starring Oldboy’s Choi Min-sik. While that series has a solid appeal of its own, the action element in Agent Kim Reactivated has renewable weekly momentum on its side, with two episodes every Friday and Saturday alongside the approachable premise of an unassuming father unleashing his deadly skills against those who cross him. However, while the first episode ends with a bang, expect things to get even crazier over the coming weeks.
Damned Are Those Who Prey On The Meek In Agent Kim Reactivated
Agent Kim Reactivated starts as many popular revenge thriller K-dramas do: it presents an outwardly pleasant atmosphere, building up its lovable characters before exposing the rot that threatens to take them down. In the series, So portrays Do-hyeon as a humble salaryman “Manager Kim” who is arguably too passive for his own good. He lets people harass him in public, coworkers abuse his trust, and turns the other cheek every time Min-ji hurls her resentment and verbal abuse his way. Min-ji, meanwhile, is the typical bullied high school girl with a crush, but when she stands up to her abusers, they turn around and report her for abuse, with Do-hyeon only apologizing for his daughter.
But viewers will quickly notice something is off. Manager Kim’s almost aggressive attempt to lie low comes off as over-the-top, down to his antiquated flip phone, and his peculiar veteran friends, Taekwondo instructor Seong Han-su and local volunteer Park Jin-cheol. It’s pretty quickly hinted that Kim has talents of his own alongside his friends, with Jin-cheol being an incredible fighter with a short fuse. But soon enough, by the end of the first episode, all audience suspicions will be handily confirmed as Kim’s absurdly dark past in Korean intelligence on both sides of the border is laid out. But rather than be consumed by vengeance, Kim’s ruthlessly dedicated to protecting his daughter above all else.
For the most part, two-thirds of the episode feels like an extended prologue in which Kim’s seemingly normal life crumbles in real-time. It feels reasonably faithful, even if Min-ji’s characterization is a lot more typical of a high school girl trying to get by in the series. But as incidents pile on, her resentment grows to the point of threatening to run away as Kim, instead of speaking up for his daughter, allows her to be forcefully transferred despite actually being the victim of physical assault. But as a mysterious syndicate takes Min-ji away, with Nam-hoon, her crush, being her last witness and only a trail of blood left behind, Manager Kim is pulled out of retirement, and onto a ruthless warpath.
Much like many recent licensed Netflix K-dramas, expect to see familiar faces in bold new roles. Cha Dae-hoon from When Life Gives You Tangerines and The WONDERFools plays Han-su while My Name and The Legend of Kitchen Soldier’s Yoon Kyung-ho plays Jin-cheol. Others soon to play a bigger role are Kim’s coworker Sang-ah, played by Apink K-pop performer and actress Son Na-eun, and Jo Bok-rae (Sold Out on You) as Gold Tooth, with more on the way. As the show devolves into its true revenge thriller identity loaded with action and canted angles, Netflix subscribers will be in for a treat as Agent Kim Reactivated threatens to dominate their weekends going forward.
- Release Date
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June 26, 2026
- Network
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SBS
- Directors
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Lee Sung-young
Cast
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Choi Dae-hoon
Seong Han-su
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Yoon Kyung-ho
Park Jin-cheol
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