1. There were three actresses that promoted most the Hallyu (wave of exporting Korean culture, here cinematic) to the world (mostly Asia): Kim Tae-hee, Song Hye-kyo and Jun Ji-hyun. In this article I examine another extravaganza, a highly romantic epic the title of which has little to do with the plot itself.
“Descendants of the Sun” (2016) is a serial of 16 hourly episodes, in the established formula for most Korean tivi series. It is the romance of a female surgeon (Song Hye-kyo) and a captain in the special forces, Alpha team, with a few convincing military scenes.
2. Protagonists are Song Joo-ki as captain Yoo Si-jin (and “Boss”) who wants to protect those who need protection – (pretty) women, the elderly and, of course, the motherland. He is endowed with much humour and lightness in facing all situations but also honesty and seriousness and does not hesitate to circumvent orders in order to pursue what is right and just.
Also, of course, Song Hye-kyo as Dr. Kang Mo-yeon (and “Pretty one”) who believes in ability, not connections, and is not swayed by sentiments. She rejects our gallant captain 3 times before she accepts fully his lightness, straightness and honesty (“this amazing man”) and does admit her mistakes. (Occasionally she acts rashly or in panic).
Jin Goo (2nd photo) is very good (and stolid) as sergeant Soe Dae-young (and “Wolf”), right hand of captain and trusted friend. He is faithful to the spirit and letter of military law and, despite his deep love, he obeys his superior commander (Yoon) who does not approve of the sergeant’s relationship with his daughter, even though she reciprocates the sergeant’s feelings. It will be a long time before the relationship attains normality. He is a good contrast to the captain and his impulsiveness. Soe had trained him in the Military Academy.
Kim Ji-won is lovely as lieutenant Yoon Myung-ju; she is a doctor too in the army, Commander’s daughter and in love with the sergeant, ignoring her father’s wish that she should turn to the captain. Her total, unwavering love for her sergeant is a good contrast to cautious Dr Kang.
3. Like all Korean serials over 6 episodes, this too moves slowly but is acceptable. It has its inconsistencies, several exaggerations (especially in tearful scenes) and very few absurdities. It has none of the caricatures characters we so often meet in such serials, but one couple of doctors provide comic relief.
Totally unconvincing is the mission of the batch of doctors under the leadership of Dr Kang (from the hospital Haesung) to the totally unrealistic country of Uruk, somewhere in the Balkans (Greek island Zakynthos and Albania), but combined with the equally unrealistic mission of the Alfa Team to the same place(!) for experience and relaxation. All this is a Korean contribution to the needs of the natives (sometimes Christian, sometimes Muslim!) of the imaginary Uruk. It brings together again the amiable couples.
Action proceeds normally with its ups and downs and a few surprises and some new characters and events. The two couples pursue their relationship nicely. But in episode 10 there comes definitely a sharp fall in quality and this continues to the end.
4. In 11 we watch the inexcusable event whereby Kang, who is usually down to earth, gets abducted by 3 persons who say they are policemen and come to the Korean Camp to arrest a native youngster (Fatima) on the charge of drug-smuggling. It is obvious they are thugs, but instead of checking with the Police Department, with which Koreans have very good relations, she follows them stupidly and gets held by those criminals.
Captain Si-jin learns of her suspicious departure and not finding his beloved in the PD, embarks on a search alone (rather foolishly), knowing full well that they are a criminal-gang, a sort of local Mafia, run by a former colleague in the Military, an American called Argus: now this fellow does smugling of weapons, drugs, children, archaeological artefacts and what not. When he sees Argus threatening Kang with a pistol, he surrenders his own. The absurdity deepens as Argus departs with Kang as his captive in a car, his thugs following, but leaves behind Fatima whom he actually wanted! And with additional irrationality, the captain says he will kill him, Argus, with his own hands! Why this ridiculous threat?
The whole incident would have been avoided if our pre-eminently hard-thinking and realistic Dr Kang had telephoned to the PD at the start!
5. Another irrationality appears later, Captain Si-jin goes alone to Argus’ hideout to save his beloved and Korean citizen (beautiful woman and daughter of the motherland!). There, alone, he kills one after another several thugs. At one moment when he is threatened, his friend, the sergeant appears with 3 of their unit, save their captain and finish off Argus and his gang, in the usual line of such action movies.
Now, while he saves Kang herself covering her with his body and thereby receiving a bullet, she clings onto some small lies he has told her so that she should not worry. She says she won’t be able to trust him (!) and they shall not be able to converse beyond the petty things of the daily routine! He asks if she wants to break up. She says revealingly “I am just thinking I won’t be able to handle you”. She moves away leaving us with the question whether they’ll separate again. But as we know there are 4 more episodes, we know that probably they will come together again.
Another curious inconsistency appears at the end of the 14th episode when first a North Korean agent, then our captain, arrive all bloody and unconscious at the Haesung hospital and Kang receives them.Now, I would have thought they both would have been conveyed to a military hospital – particularly the Korean. But the director needed another highly emotional show from Miss Song, as if we had not seen enough.
6. In this, as in most other Korean serials, there is not any eroticism as in most western productions: no female nudity nor sexual embracing. Although the captain says Dr Kang is very sexy in the surgery theatre and she repeats that she’s sexy, we don’t see sexy scenes. All embracing and kissing are romantic and restrained – even in the case of the sergeant and his beloved. I found this pleasant, but the romantic colour suggested a fairy-tale atmosphere, not contemporary realistic human relationships.
Miss Song acted wonderfully. She could not avoid some instances of exaggeration in sorrow or panic (in the car on the cliff) but I suspect these were imposed by the director (and producers?) who wanted to rouse the audience’s sentiment. She’s probably the best actress in Korea and certainly much better than Song Joong-ki who is very pleasant (perhaps charismatic) with his slanting smile (and some very clever lines given to him in the script), but he is limited in his expressiveness, as I observed in some other serials I have seen like the much vaunted Vincenzo (2021) or The Arthdal Chronicles 2019. I suspect that for this reason the marriage with Song Hye-kyo did not last long (?).
Descendants of the Sun is one of the very few Korean good serials – and I say “good” only in comparison with other Korean serials not British or American. I think the two protagonists did deserve the highest-prize award Daesang which they received in 2016.
