Descendants of the Sun is the heart-pounding story of surgeon Kang Mo-yeon, played by Song Hye-kyo (The Glory), and the soldier she falls in love with, Captain Yoo Sin-ji (Song Joong-ki of Vincenco). Theirs is not an easy path to love. Special Forces operations, mercenaries, natural disasters, and medical emergencies all get in the way of their growing love.
Captain Yoo’s best friend, Master Sergeant Seo Dae Yeong (Jin Goo) has his own trouble in love when it comes to Kim Ji-Won’s (Queen of Tears) First Lt. Yoon Myeong-joo. Pride and misunderstanding keep them apart.
Complete with glorious settings, sweeping music and stellar acting, Descendants of the Sun is a masterful story full of actions, suspense, and romance.
- Series Title: Descendants of the Sun (Korean: 태양의 후예)
- Starring: Song Joong-ki, Song Hye Kyo, Jin Goo and Kim Ji-Won
- Written by: Kim Eun-sook, Kim Won-seok
- Directed by: Lee Eung-bok, Baek Sang-hoon
- Network: KBS2
- Where to watch in the US: Hulu
- Year Released: 2016
- # of episodes: 16
- KafeNook Rating: 4.7 sips
Descendants of the Sun — !! Spoilers Ahead!!
What is not to love about the Kdrama, Descendants of the Sun, a Korean drama already adapted twice? The premise is intriguing – a love story between a surgeon and a special forces officer. Those who read romance novels and watch Hallmark movies know that some of the best storylines come about when the main characters have seemingly opposite goals in life. Descendants of the Sun is no exception. Dr. Kang is a surgeon who will do everything in her power as a doctor to save a someone’s life. Captain Yoo is soldier who will take lives to protect his country and those he loves.
So far, I have loved every Kdrama I have watched written by Kim Eun-sook. The women’s writing can be edgy, endearing, often poetic and occasionally silly, but she sure knows how to pull on your heart strings. I watched The King: Eternal Monarch before Descendants of the Sun and loved it, so I already knew that I would enjoy DOTS. What I didn’t realize is how much I would like it or how it would make me think about the romance between my own parents.
Letters From the Past
A couple of years ago, I found the letters my parents wrote to each other from the time they starting dating to their marriage 18 months later. They met in college a few months before my dad graduated and went off to the army as a 2nd Lieutenant. He left the northeast for his first posting in the southwest while my mom went to school in Massachusetts to become a medical technologist. In a way, they had their own soldier/medical professional love story. The letters reflect their growing love for each other, plans for marriage, and their hopes and dreams for the future.
My parents describe the difficulty and uncertainty of being separated from each other due to my dad’s military commitment. Unlike Dr. Kang, my mom never wavered about loving a man on active duty and looked forward to joining him. He left the military before I was born and my parents had fifteen years together before he passed away. Reading these letters has allowed me get to know my parents as young adults. While I have never experienced the hardship of being apart from the man I love, I can better understand what they went through.
The Soldier and the Doctor
Surgeon Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye Ko) finds out firsthand how difficult it is to have a relationship with someone in the military. She is attracted to Captain Yoo the moment he first steps into her emergency room, but after a series of almost dates where he gets mysteriously pulled away, she becomes tentative about their relationship. Through her experiences, Dr. Kang grows as a doctor and a leader and eventually learns to open her heart.
Song Joong-ki as Captain Yoo Sin-ji, is handsome, smart (he went to the South Korean military school as well as West Point), highly skilled (just a look at that hand-to-hand knife combat in the first episode), a good leader and friend, romantic and funny. Dr. Kang does not have a chance but to fall for him. Both are highly committed to their work but compassionate in their own way. Dr. Kang’s compassion is for her patients. Captain Yoo’s compassion involves protecting his country, as well as women and children.
The Master Sargeant and the First Lieutenant
The secondary romance in the show involves Jin Goo as Master Sergeant Seo Dae-yeong and Kim Ji-Won as First Lt. Yoon Myeong-joo. There is a bit of mystery to their relationship to begin with. Throughout the series it slowly plays out and is every bit as interesting as that of Captain Yoo and Dr. Kang. First Lt. Yoon is the daughter of Sergeant’s Seo’s senior officer, Lt. General Yoon. The General does not approve of his daughter dating a non-commissioned officer and wants her to marry Captain Yoo instead. Sergeant Seo is given the opportunity to leave the military for a corporate job, something that might win the General over to his side. But due to his devotion to the military and Captain Yoo – he gives up on Lt. Yoon. Not to be deterred, Lt. Yoon continues to pursue him.
Action in Uruk
Many of the episodes are set in the fictional country of Uruk. There, the South Korean army helps the people of the region by building a power station and setting up a medical unit. Dr. Kang and a team of doctors from a hospital in Seoul spend quality time in the country helping the locals as well as the South Korean soldiers stationed there. There are light moments in Uruk. Like the reoccurring joke of the women from the medical staff ogling the shirtless South Korean soldiers out for their morning run. (When in a place where there is great scenery, it’s important to take advantage of it!) But the majority of the time, the Korean contingent faces crises after crises – conflict around an ailing president of the Arab League, the effects of an earthquake, an epidemic, arms dealers and human traffickers
Lives are continually at risk. Captain Yoo falls into a hole in a collapsed building and requires rescuing. Lt. Yoon comes down with a contagion while trying to save a patient. Dr. Kang is kidnapped by arms dealer, Argus (David Lee McInnis). In the process of saving her, Captain Yoo takes a bullet before killing his former friend. (This leads to a great tear-jerker scene where Dr. Kang finds Captain Yoo crying over the picture taken of the time he rescued Argus. How sad that he had to kill a person he once saved.)
Descendants of the Sun Ending
The heart-pounding actions continues back in Seoul when Captain Yoo and Dr. Kang become involved with a North Korean spy. Dr. Kang discovers that her gunshot wound patient is non-other than Captain Yoo. After a brief respite, Captain Yoo and Sergeant Seo set off on a three-month mission. Disaster strikes when the mission goes south, and both are believed to be killed in action.
Heartbroken, Dr. Kang and Lt. Yoon struggle to go on with their lives. On the anniversary of the death of the men that the loved, they return to Uruk. There, Dr. Kang builds a bier for her Captain – but wait! Who is that on the hill looking like someone out of a Lawrence of Arabia movie? It’s none other than Captain Yoo. Dr. Kang appears stunned. He walks slowly down the hill toward her. (Maybe after a long trek he is saving strength?). As she begins to collapse, he runs to her. After a funny exchange where she wonders if she is seeing things, they embrace.
Back at base, Lt. Yoon is walking down a path when her Sergeant, sporting a sling on his arm appears. She is a soldier so manages to keep it together until he is standing right in front of her. After hitting him repeatedly (isn’t he injured enough already?) she falls into his arms. It’s another great tear-jerker moment. However – young army recruit, Kim Ki-boem (Kim Min-Suk), earns the spot for the scene that brought me to tears. It’s the moment he sees Sergeant Seo after thinking he is dead. Ki-boem takes one look at his sergeant and breaks down crying. Me too, Ki-boem. Me too.
It turns out that our brave Captain and Sargent were captured and spent months being tortured in a prison. Their escape is aided by the North Korean spy Captain Yoo once helped. He wants to pay back his debt. It takes a while for them to get back to civilization and inform the military they are alive.
Both couples have lovely final moments. The Lt. and the Sergeant’s comes in a military mess where she commands everyone to look away so that she can kiss her Sergeant. Captain Yoo takes Dr. Kang back to the island they visited in Uruk where they share a magical kiss in the moonlight.
If that’s not enough, the drama has one final scene where everyone is in Canada for a wedding. The guests are having a good time when suddenly sirens and bombs go off and they all jump into action. Not a moment of peace for these heroes.
Descendants of the Sun Soundtrack
The iconic soundtrack of Descendants of the Sun features the hit songs: Always, sung by Yoon Mi-rae and Gummy’s You’re My Everything. I also enjoy the collaboration by Kim Na-young and Mad Clown for Once Again and the upbeat sounds of Talk Love sung by K. Will.
