Surpassed 'Doctor X' with 19.5%... Broke its own record → tvN drama '100 Days of Lies' snatches 'No. 1 in Buzz' for 2 consecutive weeks
tvN's Saturday-Sunday drama '100 Days of Lies' has maintained its top spot in popularity rankings for two consecutive weeks.
According to the integrated TV-OTT popularity rankings for the 5th week of October (October 26–November 1), released on the 3rd by Good Data Corporation's Fundex, '100 Days of Lies' took first place with a share of 9.36%. The SBS Friday-Saturday drama 'Doctor X: Era of the White Mafia' (hereinafter 'Doctor X') ranked second with 7.96%. In the cast category, lead actors Park Jin-young and Kim Yoo-jung took the top two spots side by side. Episode 8, which aired on the 1st, even broke its own highest viewership record with an average of 10.7% based on households in the Seoul metropolitan area.
The rankings climbed one spot each week. Starting at 3rd place in the second week of October, the week of its premiere, it rose to 2nd in the third week and hit 1st for the first time in the fourth week, and has maintained the top spot this time as well. 'Doctor X,' which led the buzz in the early stages of the broadcast, took first place in the second and third weeks consecutively but subsequently relinquished its position. However, 'Doctor X' still leads in viewership ratings. Episode 6, which aired on the 24th of last month, recorded a personal best of 19.5% based on Nielsen Korea's nationwide household ratings, with a peak of 21.3%. Despite the significant gap in viewership ratings, '100 Days of Lies' has effectively surpassed in terms of buzz. In the cast category as well, the two lead actors overtook Kim Ji-won, who had held the number one spot for three consecutive weeks. Episode 8 of '100 Days of Lies' recorded a nationwide average of 9.8% and a peak of 10.6% based on paid platforms. With an average rating of 10.7% and a peak of 11.6% in the metropolitan area, it ranked first among all channels, including terrestrial broadcasters, in the same time slot across both the nation and the metropolitan area.
Park Jin-young plays Sato Hideo, an elite interpreter and the adopted son of Sato Shinichi (Jin Seon-kyu), the Chief of Political Affairs at the Japanese Government-General of Korea; his Korean name is Kim Tae-woong. He is a character who initially keeps his distance from Lee Ga-kyung (Kim Yoo-jung), whom he first met as a pickpocket, but gradually finds himself drawn to her. A scene in which he cautiously replies to Lee Ga-kyung, who asks for his Korean name, saying, "It is Kim Tae-woong. That is my Korean name," garnered significant attention. In episode 8, amidst the aftermath of the bombing incident at the Emperor's Birthday celebration, the National Salvation Corps launched a new operation targeting the banquet for the opening ceremony of the Pyonggwan building, and Lee Ga-kyung, who was hiding a bomb at the request of Yoo So-ran (Kim Hyun-joo), also found herself in danger.
Amidst this, Kim Tae-woong discovered records of the Gyeam-ri riot in the archives of the Government-General. The records contained an English article stating that the Japanese military had massacred 23 residents of Gyeam-ri, as well as the fact that his adoptive father's real name was 'Ishikawa Nobuyuki.' When he demanded to know the truth, Sato Shinichi criticized him, saying, "In the end, you chose a foolish path." Seeing Kim Tae-woong burst into rage, Lee Ga-kyung stopped herself from twisting her fingers behind her back, a habit she has when lying. She then comforted him, telling him not to cry and offering to use her wish-granting power.
The art direction, which vividly recreated Gyeongseong in 1932, also heightened the level of immersion. Director Yoo In-sik stated, "Both the production team and the art team researched a vast amount of material to understand the atmosphere of that time." Art Director Yang Hong-sam explained, "We established a single worldview where 'Gyeongseong in 1932 is the past to us today, but it was clearly the present for those who lived through that era.' Our goal was not merely to authenticate and recreate the past, but to vividly bring the present of that era to life through spaces imbued with the lives, dreams, and desires of the people of that time." Hee-won, where Yoo So-ran and Yoo Philip stay, was reconstructed using the modern architectural masterpiece Dilkusha as a motif. The Gukgukdan hideout located in the basement of Hanseong Oriental Medicine Clinic embodies the solidarity and healing of independence activists, while the shantytown captures the vitality that persists even amidst the brutality of exploitation. Sato Shinichi's office portrays duality through black and gold hues, while Kim Tae-woong's office expresses the confusion of identity through the contrast between Western-style furniture and Japanese-style paintings. Lee Ga-kyung's precarious situation, with an unpredictable future, is captured through the labyrinthine wallpaper in her Hee-won room.
Now that the halfway point of the 16-episode series has passed, Kim Tae-woong's identity, Lee Ga-kyung's choice caught between her mission and sincerity, and the Gukgukdan's operation regarding the opening ceremony banquet are cited as key points to watch in the second half. Episodes 9 and 10 of tvN's *100 Days of Lies* will air on the 7th and 8th at 9:10 PM.