The Korean drama race just got a lot more interesting. On July 18, SBS’s Agent Kim Reactivated posted its highest ratings yet heading into its final week, while tvN’s brand-new occult romance Spooky in Love made a strong first impression, quietly topping its cable time slot on debut night.
Here’s how all five big shows performed on the same night.
Spooky In Love: Saturday Ratings Snapshot
| Drama | Network | Rating | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent Kim Reactivated | SBS | 23.1% | Highest rating yet; #1 program of the night |
| Recipe for Love | KBS 2TV | 14.5% | Ahead of series finale |
| The Apartment Job | JTBC | 5.4% | Steady for 3rd episode |
| The Husband | KBS 2TV | 5.0% | Holding steady |
| Spooky in Love | tvN | 3.0% | #1 in cable time slot on premiere night |
Ratings are nationwide averages according to Nielsen Korea.
Agent Kim Reactivated Keeps Climbing
With just one week left in its run, Agent Kim Reactivated continues to build momentum rather than fade out. The 23.1% rating marks a new series high and made it the most-watched program across any genre that aired on Saturday, a strong signal that the show is closing out on exactly the note its production team would hope for.
Spooky In Love Makes A Solid Entrance
tvN’s new occult romance, led by Park Eun Bin and Yang Se Jong, opened with a 3.0% rating for its debut episode — modest in absolute terms, but enough to claim the top spot in its time slot across all cable channels. For a first episode up against established competition, that’s a promising start.
The Rest Of The Field
KBS 2TV’s Recipe for Love posted a strong 14.5% ahead of its series finale, suggesting a solid send-off for the show. Meanwhile, JTBC’s election comedy The Apartment Job held steady at 5.4% for its third episode, and KBS 2TV’s thriller The Husband matched a similar pace at 5.0%, both maintaining consistent audiences rather than seeing major swings.
Nationwide television ratings in South Korea are tracked primarily through Nielsen Korea, whose data has long served as the industry benchmark for measuring a drama’s real-time popularity, a methodology explained in more detail on Wikipedia.
What To Watch For Next
With Agent Kim Reactivated entering its final stretch and Spooky in Love just getting started, the coming weeks should bring an interesting shift in the ratings table as one show wraps up and another builds its audience.
For more K-drama ratings updates and premiere coverage, check out the latest on TechnoSports.
