Mr. Sunshine is a 2018 South Korean television series written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Lee Eung-bok, starring Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-ri, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Min-jung, and Byun Yo-han. The series is set in Hanseong in the early 1900s, and focuses on activists fighting for Korea's independence. The series aired every Saturday and Sunday on tvN starting from July 7, 2018, and ended on September 30, 2018. It premiered internationally on Netflix.
Upon its final broadcast, Mr. Sunshine was the third highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history, with the last episode reaching 18.129% and netting an average rating of 12.955%, the highest average rating ever recorded for cable television at the time. While it received critical acclaim for cinematography and storytelling, as well as its strong female characters and portrayal of the lower classes, the series also received a certain amount of criticism for what was perceived as inaccurate representation of historical facts, with some accusing it of being "pro-Japanese", while others argued that it actually enforced stereotypes of the Japanese as villains and the Americans as heroes.