This week had one of those news cycles where you check your phone once in the morning and twice by lunch you've already missed three separate headlines. Song Hye-kyo ended a 14-year agency relationship, a military discharge gave Carats their first big reunion moment, a Supreme Court ruling closed out a four-year legal saga, and a Netflix drama just quietly became one of the platform's biggest Korean hits ever. None of it happened on the same day, but all of it happened in the same seven.
This is K-Entertainment Weekly, going up every Saturday here on All About K-Culture — the stuff that actually mattered this week, with the context international fans usually don't get from a headline alone.
Table of Contents
- What Happened in K-Drama This Week
- What Happened in K-Pop This Week
- K-Entertainment Issue This Week
- Quick Hits
- FAQ
What Happened in K-Drama This Week {#k-drama}
"Teach You a Lesson" Is Closing In On "The Glory"
This is the story of the month, not just the week. According to Netflix's global rankings released on June 24, "Teach You a Lesson" recorded 11.8 million views and 126.2 million viewing hours for the week, successfully defending its No. 1 position on the Global Top 10 Non-English TV chart for a third consecutive week.
The growth curve on this show is genuinely wild. The drama opened with 6.4 million views in its first week, surged to 21.1 million views in week two, and added another 11.8 million views in week three, bringing its cumulative total to 39.3 million views. It ranked No. 1 in 19 major Asian markets, including South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia, while also landing in the Top 10 in 85 countries worldwide.
What makes this number genuinely impressive: by reaching 39.3 million views in three weeks, the series has already overtaken 2021's "My Name," claiming sixth place on Netflix's all-time Korean drama rankings, sitting just 400,000 views behind "The Glory." Based on the Naver webtoon "Get Schooled," the show follows a government bureau that uses unconventional, occasionally aggressive methods to discipline school bullies — and it's controversial by design.
Insider's Insight: I'll be honest, when I first heard the premise — a government task force "teaching bullies a lesson" with physical intervention — I was skeptical it would land outside Korea. School violence dramas tend to either get sanitized for international audiences or feel exploitative. What's interesting is that critics are split exactly along that line too: some praise the catharsis, others flag the ethical discomfort of glorifying vigilante-style discipline. Both readings are valid, and that tension is probably part of why people can't stop talking about it.
Doctor on the Edge Wins Back the Ratings Crown
Quieter news, but worth tracking if you're following the June drama slate: ENA's "Doctor on the Edge" reclaimed the ratings crown just one day after losing the No. 1 spot to a new tvN drama. Lee Jae-wook's island-doctor drama has had real staying power for a show that premiered in what's typically a quieter broadcast month.
What Happened in K-Pop This Week {#k-pop}
SEVENTEEN's Jeonghan Comes Home First
SEVENTEEN member Jeonghan officially completed his mandatory military service on June 25 KST, after finishing his service as a public service worker — marking the end of roughly one year and nine months of alternative service that began on September 26, 2024. With his discharge, Jeonghan has become the first SEVENTEEN member to complete military duty, while Wonwoo continues serving as a public service worker and Hoshi and Woozi serve as active-duty soldiers.
Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino are expected to enlist in the coming months. Just before his discharge, the group held its 10th annual fan meeting, "Carat Land," on June 20 and 21 at Incheon Asiad Main Stadium — one of the group's final full-lineup events before more members step away.
Been There: Watching how Korean fandoms handle the military service cycle has been one of the more genuinely touching parts of following K-pop long-term. There's no equivalent in Western pop culture — imagine if every member of a globally massive group had to pause their career for nearly two years, one at a time, on a rolling basis, for half a decade straight. SEVENTEEN is now staring down that exact gauntlet with eight more members to go. Jeonghan being first just means the clock has officially started.
Song Hye-kyo Steps Away From Her Agency of 14 Years
Actress Song Hye-kyo is parting ways with her longtime agency after 14 years together — on June 26, UAA announced that its exclusive contract with Song Hye-kyo had recently expired, stating they had decided to conclude their journey together while wishing each other the best in their respective futures.
Song Hye-kyo became UAA's first signed artist when she joined the agency in 2012, and during their 14-year partnership she starred in hit projects including "Descendants of the Sun" and "The Glory." She is currently preparing for the release of the upcoming Netflix series "Tantara," written by acclaimed screenwriter Noh Hee-kyung, also starring Gong Yoo and Kim Seol-hyun.
Real Talk: Fourteen years with one agency is almost unheard of for an A-list actress at Song Hye-kyo's level — most top-tier Korean stars rotate agencies every few years as leverage shifts. The amicable framing on both sides, plus the fact that she's heading straight into a high-profile Noh Hee-kyung project, strongly suggests this is a calculated next-chapter move rather than any kind of fallout. Worth watching who she signs with next.
K-Entertainment Issue This Week {#issue}
The Oh Yeong-su Case Reaches Its Final Chapter
Oh Yeong-su, age 82, has been acquitted by South Korea's Supreme Court, bringing an end to a legal battle that lasted three years and seven months over allegations of forcible molestation involving a female theater member. On June 25, the Supreme Court's Third Division dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the appellate court's not-guilty ruling, determining that the grounds for appeal were procedurally invalid, making the acquittal final.
Oh Yeong-su was indicted without detention in November 2022 on charges of forcibly molesting a female troupe member on two occasions in 2017, with prosecutors alleging he hugged her against her will and kissed her on the cheek. The first trial found him guilty and sentenced him to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, but the appellate court later overturned the conviction, citing that a criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt and that the benefit of the doubt must go to the defendant when reasonable doubt exists.
Oh Yeong-su won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on TV at the 2022 Golden Globe Awards for his role as the elderly contestant in Netflix's "Squid Game."
Worth Noting: This case has been genuinely divisive in Korea, and the divide hasn't closed with the final ruling. The appellate court itself acknowledged that suspicion of wrongdoing existed even while acquitting him on legal-standard grounds — that's an unusual thing for a court to say out loud, and it's part of why this isn't being read in Korea as a clean vindication so much as a legal resolution. International coverage tends to flatten this into a simple "acquitted" headline, but the nuance matters if you're trying to understand why the conversation in Korean entertainment circles isn't over just because the courtroom part is.
Quick Hits: What Else You Should Know {#quick-hits}
- BTS's Jungkook set a Calvin Klein collaboration record this week, with the brand's CEO calling it the company's biggest partnership ever.
- TXT's Yeonjun dropped new teasers for his solo comeback, "NO LABELS: PART 02."
- So Ji Sub returns to SBS with "Agent Kim Reactivated" after 13 years away from the network.
- ENHYPEN's Sunoo donated 50 million KRW to pediatric patients on his birthday, bringing his total giving to 200 million KRW.
FAQ: K-Entertainment Weekly June 21–27, 2026 {#faq}
Q: How many views does "Teach You a Lesson" have on Netflix? A: As of June 24, 2026, "Teach You a Lesson" has reached 39.3 million cumulative views across three weeks (6.4 million in week one, 21.1 million in week two, 11.8 million in week three), placing it sixth on Netflix's all-time Korean drama rankings, just behind "The Glory" at 39.7 million.
Q: Is "Teach You a Lesson" based on a true story or a webtoon? A: It's based on the Naver webtoon "Get Schooled" by Chae Yong-taek and Han Ga-ram, following a fictional government bureau authorized to use unconventional methods to discipline school bullies and reform troubled schools.
Q: Which SEVENTEEN members have completed military service as of June 2026? A: As of June 25, 2026, Jeonghan is the only SEVENTEEN member to have completed his service, discharged after 21 months as a public service worker. Wonwoo is currently serving in the same capacity, while Hoshi and Woozi are on active duty. The remaining five members are expected to enlist in the coming months.
Q: Why did Song Hye-kyo leave her agency UAA? A: Song Hye-kyo's exclusive contract with UAA expired after 14 years, and both parties announced the parting on June 26, 2026 in amicable terms. She joined UAA as its first signed artist in 2012 and is now preparing for the Netflix series "Tantara."
Q: What was the final outcome of the Oh Yeong-su Supreme Court case? A: On June 25, 2026, South Korea's Supreme Court finalized Oh Yeong-su's acquittal on charges of forcible molestation from a 2017 incident, dismissing the prosecution's final appeal after a legal battle lasting three years and seven months.
Q: Where can I watch "Teach You a Lesson" internationally? A: "Teach You a Lesson" is streaming exclusively on Netflix worldwide, released June 5, 2026, and currently ranked No. 1 on Netflix's Global Non-English TV chart in 19 countries including South Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Wrapping Up
Some weeks in K-entertainment are quiet. This was not one of them. A streaming record on the verge of falling, a major agency split, a long-awaited military homecoming, and a Supreme Court case finally closing — that's a lot to process even for those of us who follow this daily.
See you next Saturday for another round. What story from this week caught your attention the most? Let me know in the comments.
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