Highest-rated JTBC Saturday-Sunday drama of 2026
JTBC's weekend drama series "Reborn Rookie" has set a new ratings record for the network's Saturday-Sunday lineup this year, continuing its strong run. The result has been seen as further proof that the "body-swap" fantasy genre remains a winning formula — following the success of "Reborn Rich," which told the story of a chaebol servant reincarnated as the family's youngest son.
According to Nielsen Korea, Episode 3, which aired Saturday, drew a 6.6 percent viewership rating in the Greater Seoul area and 6.7 percent nationwide — both records for the channel's Saturday-Sunday drama slot. The peak minute-by-minute rating reached 8.1 percent in the Greater Seoul area.
In Saturday's episode, Hwang Jun-hyeon (played by Lee Jun-young) — whose body now houses the soul of Kang Yong-ho (played by Son Hyun-joo) — used his seasoned instincts to bring both Kang Bang-geul (played by Lee Ju-myung) to his side and Kang Jae-seong's (played by Jin Goo) slush fund under his control, laying the groundwork for a full-scale counterattack.
Hwang Jun-hyeon grew suspicious when he learned that Kang Bang-geul had been made a full-time employee of Choesung Group with the blessing of both Kang Jae-gyeong (played by Jeon Hye-jin) and Kang Jae-seong. Given their greedy natures, he reasoned, neither would have willingly accepted Bang-geul — a half-sibling. Concluding that she must have handed over part of her assets to secure the arrangement, he began secretly tailing her to find out why she was so determined to remain inside Choesung Group.
As a result, Hwang Jun-hyeon realized that Bang-geul's busy social activity within the company was in fact a calculated effort to map out its internal workings. Bang-geul, meanwhile, read his behavioral patterns and turned the tables, beginning to follow him instead. She then confronted him after catching him taking living expenses from Chairman Kang Yong-ho's secret storage.
Cornered, Hwang Jun-hyeon insisted he was on Chairman Kang Yong-ho's side, and won Bang-geul over by zeroing in on her deep need for recognition and the inner longing she had long kept hidden.
The two then witnessed a suspicious scene — the executive director in charge of managing Kang Jae-seong's slush fund rushing off somewhere — and realized that Taeha Group had been targeting the fund as potential leverage against Kang Jae-seong. Rather than seizing the moment to expose both the slush fund and Taeha Group's involvement, however, Hwang Jun-hyeon decided to secure the funds for himself to use as ammunition later, rather than simply bringing Kang Jae-seong down.
Hwang Jun-hyeon then confronted the executive director directly, making clear that he was nothing more than a disposable pawn for the Taeha Group chairman. Moments after handing over the funds, the director watched his own vehicle explode — and turned over roughly 300 billion won ($216 million) in slush money to Hwang Jun-hyeon. Episode 3 closed on Hwang Jun-hyeon smiling, as if everything were unfolding exactly according to plan.
The story of Hwang Jun-hyeon's transformation from rags to a 300-billion-won fortune continues in Episode 4, airing Sunday at 10:30 p.m.
balme@heraldcorp.com
