Kim Yoo-jung and Park Jin-young's 100 Days of Lies Tops Its Slot at 8.3%

Episode 2 of tvN's 100 Days of Lies averaged 8.3% among Seoul-area households (peaking at 9.4%) and 7.6% nationwide (peaking at 8.5%), according to Nielsen Korea's paid-platform figures. That put it first in its time slot among all cable and general-programming channels, a notable result for a drama that premiered only days earlier, on the 10th.

The series is part of tvN's 20th-anniversary special lineup and airs on its weekend drama slot. It stars Kim Yoo-jung and Park Jin-young in a 1932 Gyeongseong (Seoul) espionage romance. It is an original story with no webtoon or novel behind it, so there is no source ending for viewers to look up.

Who is who

Kim Yoo-jung plays Lee Ga-gyeong, the best pickpocket in Gyeongseong. She wants to save enough money to leave Joseon, but a deal with independence fighters sends her into the Government-General as a disguised interpreter trainee for 100 days. Kim describes her character as someone who followed a personal dream rather than independence, and who is changed by the job.

Park Jin-young plays Kim Tae-woong, known as Sato Hideo. He is the adopted son of Sato Shin-ichi, the Government-General's administrative chief, and a new English interpreter fluent in English, Japanese and Korean. He returns after roughly ten years away to a significant assignment. As he grows closer to Ga-gyeong, he is pulled between suspicion and trust.

Kim Hyun-joo plays Yoo So-ran, Lee Moo-saeng plays Yoo Phillip, and Jin Seon-kyu plays Sato Shin-ichi. The three are bound by a long history of hatred, vengeance and pity. The relationship map has two main axes: the undercover mission and its emotional collision between Ga-gyeong and Tae-woong, and the older grievances among the other three. Tae-woong's adoptive tie to Shin-ichi adds tension around identity and loyalty.

What happened in episode 2

So-ran's plan to assassinate Shin-ichi hit an unexpected snag. A killer disguised as a cake deliveryman, later revealed as Geum Seok-jung (Kam Woo-sung), traded gunfire with Hideo. A man named Suzuki was shot in Ga-gyeong's place. When Hideo ran out of bullets, So-ran fired at Geum, but he escaped by leaping out a window.

Ga-gyeong, hiding nearby, was seized by police who suspected she was Geum's accomplice. Hideo vouched for her, saying she had saved both him and the administrative chief. So-ran blamed Ga-gyeong for ruining the operation, and Ga-gyeong walked away, saying she never imagined a few coins would entangle her in the independence movement.

So-ran then told Phillip that the assassin was her husband, whom she had not heard from in 13 years. Her backstory also surfaced: after Geum, arrested as a leader of the March 1st movement, refused to name other organizers, Japanese soldiers killed his daughter Geum Seo-hee and innocent villagers. The officer in charge was Shin-ichi. So-ran called Ga-gyeong by the dead girl's name, Seo-hee, which leaves open how the two will be tied together.

The episode closed with Hideo catching Ga-gyeong at a Jongno pawnshop, where she had gone to sell bullets. He tripped her as she ran, held her by the waist and said, "Caught you, pickpocket."

Where to watch

100 Days of Lies runs 16 episodes, airing Saturdays and Sundays at 9:10 p.m. on tvN. It streams on TVING and Netflix, where replays are available. Episode 3 airs on the 17th.

Kim Yoo-jung has asked viewers to pay attention to the sets, art, costumes and props, along with the deepening relationships. Park Jin-young said the script made him feel how important it is to know the past.