On November 5, Kim Jae-young met with Newsen at a cafe in Gangnam, Seoul, for an interview commemorating the conclusion of the SBS drama The Judge from Hell (written by Jo Yi-soo and directed by Park Jin-pyo).
With a bright smile, Kim shared, “I’m thrilled the show did well in ratings. From the first time I read the script, I thought it would be an interesting drama, and I was happy to be part of it.”
This was Kim’s first time acting in a fantasy genre. He mentioned, “I was curious to see how it would turn out on screen. I thought the revenge scenes in the courtroom would be very satisfying for viewers and fun to watch, and with the fast-paced plot, I even wanted to watch it myself, regardless of my involvement.”
Kim also looked up viewer reactions. “What stuck with me was people saying my character was cute, like a puppy. There were even comments saying, ‘Don’t show up again and interfere with Kang Bit-na (played by Park Shin-hye)’ after my character, who was supposed to die in Episode 2, came back,” he laughed.
Reflecting on the atmosphere on set, Kim said, “This was the director’s first drama, so he was understandably nervous about ratings. He was hopeful but anxious. We were just hoping for over 10% viewership, especially since the previous show Good Partner had set a good precedent. Some action scenes required three straight days of filming, so it was physically challenging but still enjoyable.”
Watching the high ratings come in, Kim admitted, “I had this wild thought that maybe I could finally make it. I’ve worked on several projects before, but I’d never experienced this level of viewership. I always dreamed of being part of a drama that reached double-digit ratings, and it feels great to see it happen.”
He added, “People now recognize me more when I walk around. I got a lot of messages from friends saying they enjoyed the drama. Even my parents are happy — they’d never watched any of my dramas to the end before, so this was especially satisfying.”
The Judge from Hell, which concluded on November 2, follows the story of Kang Bit-na, a demon in the body of a judge (played by Park Shin-hye), who encounters Han Da-on, a passionate detective (played by Kim Jae-young), in a hellish world. Together, they deliver justice and help Bit-na become a true judge. The fantasy-action drama with themes of good and evil achieved a peak rating of 13.6%, gaining significant popularity. (According to Nielsen Korea’s national household ratings)
Source: Newsen
