JTBC’s weekend drama Reborn Rookie wrapped its run with a new ratings high, but its finale is being met with anything but applause. Viewers are calling out the drama’s rushed happy ending, with some dismissing it as a “great setup, what-the-heck payoff.”
The final episode, which aired July 5th, scored a nationwide 13.6% rating, according to Nielsen Korea, and peaked at 14.8% in real time, finishing No. 1 in its time slot. But while the numbers gave the show a blockbuster sendoff on paper, the reaction from audiences told a different story.
The finale saw the Choiseong Group succession war wrapped up according to Chairman Kang Yong Ho’s (played by Son Hyun Joo) plan. Hwang Jun Hyun (Lee Jun Young), who had boldly approached Kang Jae Kyung (Jeon Hye Jin) with a blank check and told her to “hand over Choiseong,” was revealed to have already joined forces with Chairman Kang, who had miraculously awakened in his original body. Together, they exposed Kang Jae Kyung’s slush fund and corrupt dealings at the board meeting, before Chairman Kang made his dramatic return and stripped her of the chairman title.
The real issue came in the finale’s sudden redemption tour for the Choiseong family. Characters who had spent the series as full-fledged villains were either punished or rehabilitated almost overnight. Kang Jae Kyung, who lost her grip on reality, was left in her husband’s care, while eldest son Kang Jae Sung (Jin Goo), once a key schemer, resurfaced overseas as a reformed father raising a child.
아니 이것뭐예…요?
신입사원 강회장 엔딩에 있지 류진 특출했는데
이준영이랑 영혼체인지됨 너무 당황스러워 pic.twitter.com/KYu7xjniUd— 🍙 (@mydramaxz) July 5, 2026
The show then rushed through its closing beats: Chairman Kang handed the company to professional management, Hwang Jun Hyun became a coach at a soccer foundation, and he and his youngest daughter, Kang Bang Geul (Lee Ju Myoung), continued a surprise secret romance. As one final twist, Hwang Jun Hyun bumped into ITZY’s Ryujin on the street, seemingly setting off another abrupt soul swap.
Up until its final act, Reborn Rookie had built its appeal on a fresh body-swap hook and the satisfying spectacle of a veteran chairman, trapped in a young man’s body, dismantling stale corporate politics and corruption with old-school savvy. Lee Jun Young also earned consistent praise for channeling Son Hyun Joo’s commanding presence while putting his own spin on the young chairman role.
By the ratings, Reborn Rookie exited at the top of its game. But for many viewers, the finale landed more like a misfire than a victory lap, leaving the drama with the bruising reputation of a show that opened strong and fumbled the landing.
>> ‘Reborn Rookie’ Star Lee Jun Young Opens Up About His Most Challenging Role Yet
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