Gong Hyo-jin's New Drama Just Gave Its Source Webtoon a 10-Fold Audience Boost

MBC's Married Woman Killer broke the 10% ratings mark by its sixth episode, and the ripple effect on its source material has been just as striking. In the seven days after the drama began airing (August 3–9), weekly views of the original webtoon rose tenfold compared to the seven days prior to broadcast (July 20–26), Kakao Entertainment confirmed on August 18.

The premise travels well in any format: Yu Bona, played by Gong Hyo-jin, is a working mother who secretly operates as a professional killer. After a three-year parental leave, she returns to her old life, and the drama's appeal is built around watching her toggle between those two identities with equal commitment. That tension, plus a string of propulsive action sequences, is what drove the ratings climb.

The source webtoon, written by YOON and illustrated by Geomdeung, launched in May 2020 and is still ongoing. Its cumulative view count has surpassed 190 million, a number that will likely climb further as the drama continues its run.

Both original creators have been watching the adaptation closely. YOON said she was struck by how faithfully the drama reproduced details from the webtoon, and pointed to Bona's action scenes as the moment the adaptation earned its keep. "The dynamic scenes that were difficult to fully express in drawings," she said, "gave me a thrill to see brought to life." It's an honest observation: action choreography is one of those things a webtoon can only gesture at, and the drama's production appears to have taken that seriously.

Geomdeung, the illustrator, described a mix of nerves and gratitude at seeing a new wave of readers arrive. "The actors added their own color to the characters from the original work," she said, "and that felt fresh and exciting." For webtoon creators, an adaptation is always a gamble on whether a live-action cast can carry something that fans have already visualized in their own way, and Geomdeung's reaction suggests that particular anxiety has been resolved.

Married Woman Killer airs on MBC on Fridays and Saturdays.