Two weeks after release, a Korean thriller about a stolen identity sits at the top of Netflix’s global non-English chart. If you have been putting off The Rat, the numbers now say something about how far it has travelled.
The Rat (Korean title 들쥐) reached No.1 on Netflix’s global non-English shows chart two weeks after its 28 August 2026 release, entering the Top 10 in 45 countries.
A second Korean title, tvN’s Four Hands, sat at No.5 in the same week — two Korean shows in the global Top 10 at once.
What the numbers actually say
Netflix’s official tally, published on its Tudum site, put The Rat at No.1 among non-English shows in the week following its second weekend of availability. The show entered the Top 10 in 45 countries in the same period.
Two weeks is the part worth noticing. Korean titles often peak in week one on the strength of pre-release attention, then slide. Climbing to No.1 in week two means the audience grew after word of mouth started, not before it.
The show is also not alone. Song Kang and Lee Jun-young’s tvN drama Four Hands held No.5 on the same non-English chart, and topped domestic buzz rankings for a second consecutive week. Having two Korean shows inside one global Top 10 is not unusual any more, but it is still a useful measure of depth.
The confusing title situation
You may run into three different names for the same show, so it is worth clearing up before you search for it.
| Name | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| The Rat | The English title used for the series |
| 들쥐 (Deuljwi) | The Korean title, literally “field mouse” |
| Field Mouse | The Kakao webtoon the series adapts |
English-language coverage has also used Mousetrap at various points, which appears to come from an earlier working stage. If a search for one name returns nothing on your regional Netflix, try the Korean title or the webtoon name. The series page itself is the reliable check.
Who made it
The Rat is a mystery thriller written by Lee Jae-gon and directed by Kim Hong-sun. It runs 10 episodes and was released on Netflix on 28 August 2026. The source material is the Kakao webtoon Field Mouse by Ludovico.
Kim Hong-sun is a useful signal for what kind of show this is. He works in tightly plotted genre territory rather than melodrama, and the pacing here reflects that. Viewers coming from romance-forward Korean dramas should expect a different rhythm.
The webtoon origin matters too. Adaptations from Kakao and Naver webtoons arrive with a plot already stress-tested by serialised readers, which is part of why so many of them convert well to streaming. The trade-off is that readers of the original know the reveals, so discussion threads fill with spoilers faster than for original screenplays.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Release | 28 August 2026 |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Genre | Mystery thriller |
| Director | Kim Hong-sun |
| Writer | Lee Jae-gon |
| Source | Kakao webtoon Field Mouse by Ludovico |
| Platform | Netflix |
The cast, and why it matters here
Ryu Jun-yeol plays Je Moon-jae, a novelist. Sul Kyung-gu plays No-ja, a loan shark. Lee Kyu-hyung plays Sun-yong, a detective. The premise puts a man whose entire life has been stolen alongside the lender who was chasing him, and pushes the two into an uneasy alliance.
The pairing is the draw. Sul Kyung-gu is a film actor with three decades of leading roles, and this is his first time sharing a series with Ryu Jun-yeol. Korean coverage has framed the show largely around that pairing rather than around the plot, which tells you where the interest is concentrated.
Ryu Jun-yeol also carries a dual role, a structural choice that gives the identity-theft premise somewhere to go across ten episodes rather than resolving in three.
What to expect if you start it
This is a thriller built on a single engine: someone else is living your life, and you have to take it back. That setup rewards viewers who like plot mechanics and puzzle-box reveals.
It is less suited to viewers who came to Korean drama for warmth. There is no comfort-watch quality here, and the loan-shark alliance keeps the moral footing deliberately unstable. If your last Korean series was a romance, this will feel like a different genre wearing the same industry label.
Ten episodes is also a manageable commitment. Korean thrillers in this range tend to hold their shape better than 16-episode network runs, where the middle stretch often sags.
Two Korean shows in one Top 10
The more interesting story sits underneath the No.1 placement. The Rat at No.1 and Four Hands at No.5 means Korean production is filling multiple slots on the same chart in the same week, across different genres and different original platforms.
That pattern has been building. Netflix’s own half-year viewing reports, published since 2023, show a set of Korean titles that keep reappearing in the rankings rather than spiking once and vanishing. Steady presence is a different achievement from a single hit, and it is the one that changes commissioning decisions.
For viewers, the practical effect is that the Korean section of your regional Netflix is no longer a single recommendation row. There is enough depth now that genre preference, not availability, is the thing that decides what you watch.
Where to check before you commit
One more practical note. Netflix counts a show’s week by hours viewed, not by subscriber numbers, so a ten-episode series has a structural advantage over a six-episode one on these charts. It does not invalidate the ranking, but it is worth knowing when comparing titles of different lengths.
Regional availability still varies. A show can sit at No.1 globally and remain absent from a specific country’s catalogue, or arrive weeks later. Netflix’s Top 10 page breaks the chart down by country, which is the fastest way to confirm whether a title has landed where you are.
Episode counts and release patterns also differ between titles. Some Korean series drop in full, others release weekly in two-episode blocks. Checking the series page before starting saves the frustration of hitting a wall at episode four.
Subtitle and dub availability is the last variable. Dubs for Korean titles usually trail the subtitled release by several weeks in smaller language markets, and the dub track can appear without any announcement. If you started a show and set it aside because of that, it is worth reopening the page rather than assuming nothing changed.
The Rat on Netflix frequently asked questions
Is The Rat the same show as Mousetrap?
Yes. The Korean title is 들쥐, and English-language coverage has used both The Rat and Mousetrap at different points. The Kakao webtoon it adapts is titled Field Mouse, which is where the third name comes from. All three refer to the same 10-episode series.
How many episodes does The Rat have?
Ten. The series was released on Netflix on 28 August 2026. Ten episodes is a shorter run than a traditional 16-episode Korean network drama, which suits the single-engine thriller structure.
Did it actually reach No.1 worldwide?
It reached No.1 on Netflix’s global non-English shows chart, which is the ranking that covers all non-English-language titles. It also entered the Top 10 in 45 countries. That is separate from the overall English-language chart.
Who stars in it?
Ryu Jun-yeol as novelist Je Moon-jae, Sul Kyung-gu as loan shark No-ja, and Lee Kyu-hyung as detective Sun-yong. It marks the first time Sul Kyung-gu and Ryu Jun-yeol have worked together on a series.
What was the other Korean show in the Top 10?
Four Hands, a tvN drama starring Song Kang and Lee Jun-young, held No.5 on the same non-English chart that week. It also topped domestic buzz rankings for two consecutive weeks.
