Descendants of the Sun (2016)
Quick Take: Descendants of the Sun (2016), starring Song Jung-Ki and Song Hye-ko. 10/10 Practically Perfect. 19 episodes 60 min.
Synopsis: For once the female lead is an intelligent, competent professional woman. Dr. Kang Mo-yeon, a beautiful surgeon, encounters Yoo Si-jin, a Special Forces army captain, who is immediately smitten with her. She rejects him because he is in the business of taking lives, while she is in the business of saving them. However, as fate would have it, they find themselves working together as part of UN peacekeeping forces in the Iraq-ish fictional country of Uruk. Seeing Captain Yoo in action gives Dr. Kang a new perspective on the purpose of the military, and a new appreciation of Yoo Si-jin in particular. Each using their own set of skills, they battle the army brass, some bad guys, a natural disaster, and disease.
Review: DOTS was a major hit in South Korea as well as internationally, and won several awards. There are two romances woven into a heart-stopping drama that includes several near-death experiences, a cliffhanger (literally), a kidnapping, and an earthquake among other adventures.
Recommended.
Rewatchable - 5, Compelling - 5, Plot/ Story/Writing - 10, Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 10, Bonus - 10.
Notes:
Song Joong-ki
was not the first choice for the lead role in DOTS. It was turned down by A-listers Won Bin, Jo In-sung, Gong Yoo, and Kim Woo-bin. The producers felt that SJK was too slender to portray a Special Forces officer but the rest, as they say, is history.
Song Hye-kyo
became an early star of the “Korean Wave” with her breakthrough drama Autumn in My Heart (2000). Her succeeding roles — All In (2003) and the comedy Full House (2004) made her one of the best-known actresses in Asia. Subsequent projects met with varying levels of success until mega-hit DOTS. The two lead actors married (“the Song-Song Couple”) in 2017 but divorced in 2019.
Jin Goo
made his television debut in the gambling drama All In (2003), where he played the younger version of the lead, Lee Byung-hun. In following years he acted steadily in both supporting and main roles, but his second-lead role in DOTS led to a surge in popularity.
Kim Ji-won
was trained in singing, dancing, and acting. She planned to debut as a singer but changed her focus to acting. After her co-star role in The Heirs (2013) she moved quickly into lead roles in Fight for My Way (2017), Arthdal Chronicles (2019), Lovestruck in the City (2020), My Liberation Notes (2022), and Queen of Tears (2023).
Kim Min-seok
had only a supporting role in DOTS, but he was memorable. He played the kid getting beat up in the first episode, whose life as a street thug was turned around by the military. See him also in Because This is my First Life (2017) and Lovestruck in the City (2020).