To My Beloved Thief, Ep 1 earns strong start – Ratings & fan buzz after K-drama’s premiere
Michelle Topham 
The highly anticipated KBS2 weekend drama To My Beloved Thief (Korean: 은애하는 도적님아) debuted its first episode last night to a promising audience performance in South Korea.
The historical romantic comedy-fantasy starring Nam Ji Hyun and Moon Sang Min earned a 4.3 % nationwide average rating and a 4.2 % in Seoul according to Nielsen Korea.
That’s a solid debut that more than doubled the ratings of the timeslot’s preceding drama Last Summer, which kicked off its run with a disappointing 2.7 percent nationwide.
And a rating that only fell from there.
Despite stiff competition from SBS’s Taxi Driver 3, which took the top spot in the same slot with 14.2 % viewership on Saturday night, To My Beloved Thief, Episode 1 still managed to attract attention and carve out a foothold in the early ratings battle of 2026.
Let’s hope that continues then, eh?
Domestic Response: Viewership vs Expectations
While To My Beloved Thief didn’t break ratings records last night, its 4.3 % start on a public broadcast channel like KBS2 is still respectable for a weekend sageuk (historical drama) with a fantasy twist.
The K-drama’s performance also suggests solid curiosity and interest from domestic audiences.
A result that’s especially good for a series mixing comedy, romance, and body-swap flair in a Joseon setting. (Yep, body-swap. Again (shrug))
International viewer reactions: Early buzz on MyDramaList
Although global ratings sites like My Drama List (MDL) generally require time to accumulate enough user reviews for a believable rating, early indicators from fandom discussions point to positive interest abroad ahead of and immediately following the premiere.
Early social posts also show the drama trending while, on MDL forums, many viewers are both excited about the chemistry between leads Nam Ji Hyun and Moon Sang Min and the show’s lighter, more whimsical tone.
Something that is a welcome change from the heavier sageuk fare we often get.
Meanwhile, on Reddit, early enthusiasm is promising as viewers have been sharing anticipation posts and praise for the cast. Even before Episode 1 aired.
While some Reddit users’ comments reflect the usual genre skepticism, the overall tone suggests a healthy level of global interest and chatter about the show’s launch.
Fingers crossed that will continue, as the constant negativity on so many Reddit posts is annoying. At least to me.
With To My Beloved Thief, Episode 1 out then, the K-drama has already laid a respectable foundation in domestic ratings and is now beginning to build international momentum among drama fans online.
With such a talented main cast (Hong Min Ki and Han So Eun also join Nam Ji Hyun and Moon Sang Min as leads), hopefully this one will be good enough to continue to grab viewers’ attention.
Look out for Episode 2 dropping tonight either on Viki or Netflix, depending on your location.
We’ll let you know here on Baozi Buns tomorrow if its second episode’s ratings continued to be great!
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