'100 Days of Deception' hits 8.5% in just 2 episodes, driven by Kim You-jung and J.Y. Park

tvN has released another highly anticipated hit. The drama '100 Days of Deception', starring Kim You-jung and J.Y. Park, has ignited early success, surpassing 7% viewership within just two episodes and climbing to 2nd place in Netflix's domestic series rankings. The peak viewership soared to 8.5%. The story, which combines independence movements, undercover infiltration, and revenge set in Keijō during the Japanese colonial period, appears to be drawing interest from both home viewers and OTT audiences.

As of the 13th, '100 Days of Deception' recorded 2nd place in Netflix's 'TOP10 Series in Korea Today'. According to FlixPatrol data on the 14th, it also ranked 5th in the Netflix TV Show Global rankings. With both domestic viewership and OTT performance showing an upward trend, the work's early competitiveness is being proven. According to Nielsen Korea's paid platform data, the 1st episode recorded a nationwide household average of 5.3% with a peak of 7.2%, while the 2nd episode jumped to an average of 7.6%. With a 2.3 percentage point increase in just one day and a peak viewership hitting 8.5%, viewer interest is spreading rapidly.

This work, a special project for the 20th anniversary of tvN's opening, is a 16-episode spy drama set in Keijō in 1932 during the Japanese colonial period. It depicts the events that unfold as Keijō's best pickpocket, who becomes an informant for the independence army, and an elite interpreter for the Government-General of Korea spend 100 days in the heart of the enemy. Director Yoo In-sik, who has been recognized for his directing in the 'Dr. Romantic' series and 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo', co-directs with Director Kim Yoon-jin, and writer Ryu Bo-ri of 'Do You Like Brahms?' wrote the script. It is evaluated that the tension was raised from the beginning by combining the heavy atmosphere of a period piece with elements of espionage, romance, and revenge.

Kim You-jung leads the drama as Lee Ga-gyeong, a pickpocket fluent in Joseon language, Japanese, and English. Lee Ga-gyeong, who was saving money while dreaming of going to the United States, gets caught up in an assassination operation and infiltrates the enemy camp by disguising herself as Geum Seo-hee, an interpreter for the Government-General of Korea. In the scene where the character, who was skillfully pickpocketing at Gyeongseong Station, alerts of danger in English at a moment of crisis, Kim You-jung's diverse expressive power stood out. The setting of naturally switching between three languages holds meaning beyond a simple disguise. As the skills learned for survival are utilized in the execution of independence movement operations, it convincingly supports the process of Lee Ga-gyeong being unexpectedly swept into a massive historical vortex.

J.Y. Park plays Kim Tae-ung, the new interpreter and the adopted son of the Governor-General, Sato Hideo. Kim Tae-ung, who is of Joseon descent, lived as a pickpocket in his childhood and returns to Joseon after about 10 years to perform an important mission. Kim Hyun-joo transforms into Yoo So-ran, a sniper for the National Salvation Corps, an anti-Japanese organization that has been honing its blade of revenge for 13 years. Lee Moo-saeng plays Yoo Philip, Yoo So-ran's husband and a correspondent for a United States media outlet, and Jin Seon-kyu adds tension as Sato Shinichi, the Governor-General who is the assassination target of the National Salvation Corps. Kam Woo-sung makes a special appearance as Geum Seok-jung, the mysterious assassin and Yoo So-ran's missing husband, leading the core conflict of the drama.

In the 2nd episode, the fates of the characters were drastically twisted as the assassination operation against Sato Shinichi failed. Geum Seok-jung, disguised as a cake delivery person, engaged in a gunfight with Sato Hideo, and Yoo So-ran pulled the trigger toward Geum Seok-jung instead of Sato Hideo, who had run out of bullets. Geum Seok-jung narrowly escaped by throwing himself out of a window. Lee Ga-gyeong, who was caught by the police as an accomplice, escaped the crisis by shielding that Sato Hideo was the person who saved her and the Governor-General. When Lee Ga-gyeong tried to reveal the truth of the incident, Yoo So-ran silenced her by feigning pain. As the two clashed over responsibility for the failed operation, the cause of the independence movement and the realistic interests of an individual prioritizing survival collided head-on.

Above all, what shocked viewers was the past of Yoo So-ran and Geum Seok-jung. Yoo So-ran confessed regarding Geum Seok-jung, "He is my husband, whom I had no news of for 13 years, and whom I wanted to find and kill if only I could find him." Geum Seok-jung, who led the Manse movement 13 years ago, ultimately did not reveal the names of his comrades, and Japanese soldiers massacred his daughter Geum Seo-hee and the villagers right before his eyes. The person who commanded the massacre at that time was none other than Sato Shinichi. The meaning of the name 'Seo-hee', which Yoo So-ran repeatedly called toward Lee Ga-gyeong, was also revealed. As Lee Ga-gyeong, who seemed to be merely a pickpocket deployed for an assassination operation, becomes connected to Yoo So-ran's tragic past, the emotional weight of the drama deepened further.

Yoo So-ran feigned a miscarriage due to the shock of the gunfight, and believing this, Lee Ga-gyeong went to visit her with seaweed and beef. However, Yoo So-ran pushed Lee Ga-gyeong away by saying they should never meet again. In a situation where personal wounds and the responsibility of the independence movement are intertwined, the relationship between the two foreshadowed a conflict that would not be easily resolved. Tension in the espionage war also heightened as the Government-General put out a wanted notice for Geum Seok-jung and Sato Shinichi declared he would root out the National Salvation Corps. At the end of the broadcast, Sato Hideo appeared before Lee Ga-gyeong, who visited a Jongno pawnshop to sell bullets. The scene where he tripped Lee Ga-gyeong as she tried to run away and said leisurely, "Caught you, pickpocket," maximized curiosity for the next episode.

'100 Days of Deception' foreshadowed full-scale undercover infiltration and espionage as Lee Ga-gyeong enters the Government-General under the name of Yoo So-ran's lost daughter, Geum Seo-hee. As characters with different purposes gather in enemy territory using false identities and hidden pasts, the key observation point of the drama is expected to be who to trust and whom to suspect. With Kim You-jung's transformation, J.Y. Park's dual identity, and the emotions of revenge expressed by Kim Hyun-joo interlocking, the work is showing fast development and strong immersion from the beginning.

'100 Days of Deception' has risen to 2nd place in the Netflix domestic series rankings and recorded a peak of 8.5% after just 2 episodes. While long-term success cannot be determined solely by early performance, the fact that both viewership and OTT rankings rose simultaneously is encouraging. As the espionage drama based on historical tragedy draws viewers with the complex stories of the characters and a series of twists, attention is focused on what kind of catastrophe and reversal Lee Ga-gyeong's undercover infiltration will bring. The 3rd episode will be broadcast on tvN on the 17th at 9:10 PM.

Read the original (Korean)