The drama’s finale is the webtoon’s opening scene. Here’s what Kim Bujang walks into at Baekho Manpower — and where the story could go from here.
K-Drama & Film
⚠️ Contains ending spoilers, plus original webtoon content.
As covered in an earlier post, Agent Kim Reactivated‘s ending wasn’t really an ending. It was the show barely arriving at the exact point where the original webtoon actually begins.
Fan Service — Steering a Show That Had Gone Off the Rails Back on Track
Episodes 9 and 10 filled their runtime with a subplot found nowhere in the webtoon — Ri Eung-ryeong, the North-South summit, a corrupt task bureau — and the reaction became noticeably mixed.
The show had drifted far from its source material, to the point where some fans argued things wouldn’t have gotten this messy if it had simply followed the webtoon.
Then, in the very last scene, the drama corrects course. Jo Pyeong-gyeon destroys Juhak Construction with a single phone call, and Kim Bujang is dispatched to a place called Baekho Manpower (“White Tiger” Manpower), where he meets Lee Do-gyu — this is, almost beat for beat, the webtoon’s actual opening.
However far off track the story had wandered, the finale forced it back onto the original rails at the last possible moment. For many webtoon readers, that final scene helped soften the frustration, reading as the production finally delivering real fan service.
Which means the true meaning of this ending isn’t closure. It’s closer to a promise: that a second season could actually follow the source material.
What Is Baekho Manpower?
Baekho Manpower (백호, “White Tiger”) is an underworld organization run by Jo Pyeong-gyeon. Its exact purpose still hasn’t been fully revealed, even in the webtoon. Its head is Lee Do-gyu — once known as the “king of the streets,” a leader among the city’s homeless,
who later joined a fistfighting gang, and after that gang dissolved, rose to become a king of the underworld and founded this organization.
Kim Bujang Meets Lee Do-gyu — One of the Webtoon’s Most Famous Scenes
This scene is already legendary among webtoon readers. Lee Do-gyu shows up to their first meeting completely naked, throwing Kim Bujang off balance. What follows is framed as a normal job interview — until Kim Bujang holds back, and an offended Lee Do-gyu tries to throw him out, only to properly begin the real confrontation after reading his resume.
Refusing to use any weapon, Kim Bujang drives Lee Do-gyu into a wall bare-handed and makes him cough blood with a chon-gyeong strike. Then Lee Do-gyu gets back up, unbothered, and sends Kim Bujang into a wall with a single punch, flipping the fight entirely.
What starts as an “interview” ends up foreshadowing exactly the kind of tense, unresolved dynamic these two will carry for the rest of the story.
After He’s Hired — The Broad Strokes
Once Kim Bujang joins Baekho Manpower, the webtoon moves through several major arcs. There’s an early stretch where he completes his first assignments and finds his footing inside the organization, a crisis where Kim Bujang himself gets kidnapped, and a later stretch that tangles him up with a massive conglomerate. The story keeps expanding from there.
Along the way, Seong Han-su supports Kim Bujang as both friend and colleague, and their families become close too. Park Jin-cheol gets a deeper arc through Ares — a private military outfit he leads, named after the Greek god of war. Even Lee Do-gyu develops past a simple brute, revealing a sharper side that maneuvers situations to his own advantage.
A Character Shift — Not the “Uncle,” but the Manager
Here’s an interesting wrinkle. In Lookism — the original series where he first appeared as a cameo — Kim Bujang came across as relatively relaxed and warm, the type who tells a kid not to work himself too hard.
In his own series, though, as a former special forces operative working for Baekho Manpower, he’s shown as far colder and more clinical about the jobs he’s assigned. The same character reads differently depending on which story he’s standing in.
The Verdict — What This Ending Actually Leaves Behind
Agent Kim Reactivated‘s finale wasn’t a conclusion. It was a starting line. Whatever happened in episodes 9 and 10, the show landed at the exact right coordinates in the end, and that earned back a measure of fan trust.
It’s also what keeps a Season 2 possible — and given how popular the source webtoon already is, the commercial case for one isn’t weak either.
If a second season happens, this is where it starts: Baekho Manpower, Lee Do-gyu, and an organization whose real purpose still hasn’t been revealed.
Basic Info
- English Title: Agent Kim Reactivated
- Korean Title: 김부장 (Kim Bujang)
- Network / Streaming: SBS (Fri/Sat drama), simultaneous Netflix release
- Episodes: 10
- Cast: So Ji-sub, Choi Dae-hoon, Yoon Kyung-ho, Joo Sang-wook, Son Na-eun, Kim Sung-kyu
Haven’t started the show yet? Start here:
Agent Kim Reactivated: What You Need to Know Before You Watch
Meet the man himself — the full backstory of Code Name 66:
Who Is Code Name 66? Manager Kim’s Backstory Explained
Want the war machine and the martial artist too?
Agent Kim Reactivated: Who Is Park Jin-cheol, the “God of War”?
Agent Kim Reactivated: Who Is Seong Han-su, the Martial Arts Master?
Three legendary fathers, three fighting styles — who actually wins?
Agent Kim Reactivated: The Three Legends — Who Is Actually the Strongest?
Already watched the whole thing? Here’s the full spoiler review — story and ending explained:
Agent Kim Reactivated: Full Story and Ending Explained
Curious how the drama’s villains compare to their real webtoon fates?
Agent Kim Reactivated: The Villains’ Real Fates in the Webtoon
Looking for another Netflix Korean drama you need to watch right now? Here’s a no-spoiler review:
Should You Watch The East Palace? A Korean Viewer’s Take
Would you watch a Season 2 that follows the webtoon? Drop your take in the comments.
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