Nam Ji-hyun and Kim Jae-young’s TVING original series “Make Me Tingle” is finding an audience well beyond South Korea, climbing streaming charts in Japan and on Rakuten Viki as its run reaches its midpoint.
According to Seoul Economic Daily, the romantic comedy has risen to No. 2 overall on Disney+ in Japan and No. 3 overall in major regions on Rakuten Viki, a showing the outlet framed as proof that the show’s central romance is landing with global viewers. Independent chart tracker FlixPatrol has likewise listed the series at No. 2 among Disney+ titles in Japan in recent days, while also placing it near the top of HBO Max television charts in several Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
“Make Me Tingle” stars Nam as Gong Yeon-su, a woman who believes love must come before any relationship, and Kim as Dokgo Dal, the chief executive of an adult products startup who is comfortable with physical intimacy as a way of understanding another person. The clash between those two outlooks is the engine of the series, and Seoul Economic Daily’s report walks through how that tension plays out both in their dating life and at work.
In one early sequence, Yeon-su treats a date as a slow process of getting to know someone over a meal and a cup of tea, while Dal suggests a very different kind of date. Her flustered exit from that encounter sets the comic tone for a relationship in which neither side quite understands the other’s rules. The same divide follows them into the office, where Yeon-su, dispatched to Dal’s company as an advertising marketer, argues with him over a random box project. She proposes items such as perfume, candles and toys that build atmosphere gradually, while he pushes a more direct, practical configuration aimed at satisfying consumer desire head-on.
The friction continues as the pair prepare a pop-up store in Busan. Ahead of the event, Dal asks Yeon-su whether she has ever personally used the company’s products, a question that exposes how far apart their comfort levels remain. Yeon-su has not crossed that psychological barrier, while Dal speaks about product experience without hesitation. The report notes that their feelings for each other are clearly growing even as the gap in their values refuses to close, leaving viewers to wonder whether the two can narrow their differences and become a genuine couple.
That question carries into the next release. Episodes 7 and 8 of “Make Me Tingle” arrive on TVING at 6 p.m. KST on October 29, continuing a schedule that began with four episodes on October 15 and has since added two episodes each Thursday. The series is set to run for 10 episodes in total, with its final pair due on November 5.
The international response builds on a strong start at home. The show premiered on October 15 as a TVING original, and its unusual premise — a traditionally minded marketer assigned to promote an adult products company run by a man she met on a blind date — gave it an immediate talking point. Distribution has split by region, with TVING in South Korea, Disney+ carrying the TVING Collection in Japan, HBO Max across much of Asia-Pacific, and Rakuten Viki serving the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania and India.
The casting itself has drawn attention. Nam and Kim previously appeared together in the 2018 drama “100 Days My Prince,” where they played siblings, making “Make Me Tingle” their first romantic pairing. Ahead of the premiere, Nam rated their chemistry at 110 out of 100, calling Kim fundamentally delicate, kind and warm-hearted, while Kim returned a score of 100 and described working with her again as a great honor. That established comfort appears to be translating on screen, with the leads’ push-and-pull carrying both the comedy and the slower emotional beats.
No official statement from TVING about the overseas rankings was included in the Seoul Economic Daily report, which attributed the chart positions to the platforms’ rankings. What is clear from the two independent chart sources is that the series is not relying on a single market: its Japanese Disney+ position is matched by strong placements elsewhere in Asia, and its Viki ranking points to traction with international audiences watching with subtitles.
With three episodes still to come after this week’s pair, the story’s next test is whether Yeon-su and Dal can move from attraction and argument toward compromise. The show has built its appeal on refusing to resolve that question too quickly, and its global chart run suggests that slow, bickering road to understanding is exactly what viewers are tuning in to follow.
