The Descendant of the Sun (2016) ✓

The Descendant of the Sun (2016)

 

A soldier belonging to the South Korean Special Forces falls in love with a beautiful surgeon. However, their relationship is short-lived as their professions keep them apart.

Starring: Song Joong-ki; Song Hye-kyo; Jin Goo; Kim Ji-won

No. of episodes: 16 + 3 special episodes

No. of seasons: 1

Genre: Romance; Melodrama; Action

Written by: Kim Eun-sook; Kim Won-seok

Creative directors: Yoo Young-eun; Kim Hyung-joon

Aptly titled, South Korean blockbuster television series ‘Descendants of the Sun’ is a sincere, nuanced and genuinely moving story, set against the sweeping backdrop of the armed forces. 

The acclaimed wartime drama is a stunning blend of everyday authenticity and underplayed grandeur. With its refreshingly engaging script, stellar acting performances particularly by the lead pair, and on-point direction, ‘Descendants of the Sun’ is a class act.

The story chronicles love between soldier Yoo Si-Jin (Song Joong-Ki) and doctor Kang Mo-Yeon (Song Hye-Kyo). Yoo Si-Jin is the Captain of the Alpha Team – an elite Special Forces Unit of soldiers in South Korea. The team is deployed for hostage rescue and counter terrorism operations in the country and abroad. 

Yoo Si-Jin is enjoying leave with his friend and second-in-command, Master Sergeant Seo Dae-young (Jin Goo). A string of events result in Yoo Si-Jin meeting Kang Mo-Yeon at the hospital where she works. 

Romance in Times of War

There is an instant attraction between the two. They set up a date the next day. But Yoo Si-Jin is urgently recalled with his team for a crucial hostage rescue mission. He leaves, promising to see Kang Mo-Yeon in a week. However, the next date too ends up the same way. 

While he is away, Kang Mo-Yeon is reeling with professional disappointments. Despite working hard, she’s been overlooked for promotion for the third time; the position going to an incompetent but better-connected colleague. 

In such a state, she’s unsure she can handle her relationship with Yoo Si-Jin. She believes their professional lives are diametrically different — he takes lives and she preserves them. She is unable to believe they could reconcile their seemingly different principles. And so they part ways. 

Eight months pass. Kang Mo-Yeon has now become the face of the hospital appearing on a medical television show. While seemingly content she still thinks about Yoo Si-Jin from time to time.