Descendants of the Sun

태양의 후예 • The Sun's Descendants, Taeyangeui Huye, Taeyangui Huye, DOTS

Completed 16 episodes 2016

Genre : Comedy · Drama · Medical · Melodrama · Military · Romance
Broadcast : February 24, 2016
Where to watch: Netflix, KBS2
Director : Lee Eung-bok, Baek Sang-hoon
Screenwriter : Kim Eun-sook, Kim Won-seok
Casting : Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, Kim Ji-won, Lee Seung-joon, Seo Jeong-yeon, Park Hwan-hee, Onew, Jo Woo-ri, Hyun Jyu-ni, Tae In-ho, Park Ah-in, Kang Shin-il, Kim Byung-chul, Park Hoon, Ahn Bo-hyun, Choi Woong, Kim Min-seok, Jasper Cho, Jeon Soo-jin, David McInnis, Jo Jae-yoon, Lee Yi-kyung, Ji Seung-hyun, Lee Kwang-soo, Ryu Hwa-young, Lee Jong-hyuk, Yoo Ah-in, Nam Ki-ae, Red Velvet.

The Story

Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) is a captain in the South Korean Special Forces and leads Alpha Team. Following an operation with his friend Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo), he meets the surgeon at the hospital Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo). A connection quickly develops between them, but their opposing views on life complicate their relationship: Si-jin is a soldier willing to kill to protect lives, while Mo-yeon is a doctor whose mission is to save them.

After they broke up, their paths crossed again in the fictional country of’Uruk, in which Si-jin takes part in a military peacekeeping mission and Mo-yeon leads a humanitarian medical team. Faced with an earthquake, an epidemic, and various armed conflicts, they must learn to balance their personal feelings with their professional responsibilities. At the same time, Seo Dae-young and the military doctor Yoon Myeong-joo (Kim Ji-won) are in a relationship that is complicated by the military and by her father.

Impact and Success

Descendants of the Sun was one of South Korea's television phenomena of 2016. The national Nielsen rating rose from 14.3 % for the first episode to 38.8 % for the finale, which reached 41.6 % in the Seoul area; the average rating for the 16 episodes was 28.58 % nationwide. The show’s success extended far beyond Korea: the production company reported exports to 32 countries, while in China, the series had accumulated 2.3 billion views on iQiyi as of April 2016.

At the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, the series won the Daesang (Grand Prize) for television; Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo also won the Popularity Awards and the iQiyi Special Awards.

Note: Cultural phenomenon

The drama’s success also translated into commercial success: several brands featured on screen saw an increase in sales, and the Two Tone Lip Bar lipstick worn by Song Hye-kyo, in particular, became so popular that it sold out on a major Chinese e-commerce platform just a few days after its launch.

Announcements

Descendants of the Sun It also played an important role in the spread of Hallyu across Asia and significantly boosted the international popularity of Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won.