'The Man Living with the King' TV Premiere, Achieves 11.8% Viewership Rating, Tops Terrestrial Channels

The movie ″The King and the Man Who Lives″ was broadcast on TV for the first time about seven months after its theatrical release. On September 26 at 9:30 PM, SBS scheduled ″The King and the Man Who Lives″ as a Chuseok special film. This broadcast marked the first TV screening since its theatrical release. It recorded a nationwide household rating of 11.0% and a metropolitan area household rating of 11.8% (according to Nielsen Korea), achieving the highest ratings among all terrestrial programs that day. On the same day, KBS1’s ″2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Women’s Basketball Final (Korea vs. Japan)″ recorded a nationwide rating of 10.0%, and KBS’s ″9 PM News″ had a 7.4% rating. ″The King and the Man Who Lives″ is a historical drama directed by Jang Hang-jun, set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. The story centers on the meeting between Danjong, who was dethroned and exiled, and the village chief who leads the community, focusing on their human connection. Yoo Hae-jin played the village chief of Cheongnyeongpo, PARK JI HOON portrayed the exiled Danjong, and Yoo Ji-tae and Jeon Mi-do also appeared. The film was released in theaters on February 4 and surpassed 10 million cumulative viewers within 31 days. The final cumulative audience reached 16.92 million, ranking second in Korean film box office history after ″The Admiral: Roaring Currents,″ which recorded 17.61 million viewers. The total revenue exceeded 150 billion won, making it the highest-grossing film in history. Yoo Hae-jin was recognized for his acting skills and popularity in the role of the village chief, while PARK JI HOON took on his first leading role in a commercial film, sparking the ″Danjong Oppa″ syndrome. Yoo Ji-tae reinterpreted the character Han Myeong-hoe, delivering a weighty villain performance. SBS attracted attention by scheduling ″The King and the Man Who Lives″ as a Chuseok special film about seven months after its theatrical release. Viewers who missed the chance to watch the film in theaters were able to experience the work through this TV broadcast.