Descendants Of The Sun, 태양의 후예

GENRE

Drama, romance, medical, military, war

EPISODES

16

RELEASE DATE

February 24th, 2016

MAIN CAST

        Song Joong Ki                  Song Hye Kyo                      Jin Goo                     Kim Ji Won

SHORT SYNOPSIS

Gang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo) is a skilled doctor, working at Haesung Hospital, while Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki) is a committed captain of a South Korean Special Forces Unit. 

They meet for the very first time in the emergency room, at the hospital, where Gang Mo Yeon is working. But as quick, as they become attracted to each other, they are forced to part ways, due to their very different ideals and goals in life.

A few months later their paths cross again unexpectedly. Yoo Shi Jin's team is sent on an eight-month deployment to Urk. On the other hand, as the result and punishment of turning down the hospital chairman's advances, Gang Mo Yeon is sent to the exact same location to lead a volunteer medical team.

MY REFLECTIONS

Okay, so I'll be honest with you. For me, this drama was absolutely outstanding, at least when it came to romance. While watching it, I have had this huge and serious crush on Song Joong Ki. (Well, I kind of still have.) Men in uniform? YES, PLEASE. Especially soldiers.

Anyway, the plot was original and interesting. If you watch dramas mainly because you want to see and experience those heart fluttering moments, then this is an absolute must watch. It really is. 

Many scenes were really moving, so I found myself bawling my eyes out since the first episode.

Major spoilers alert below!

MAIN CHARACTERS

Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki) is such an adorable and good-looking character. He is really devoted and loyal soldier, caring for the nation's well-being. He believes that by serving the army, he is protecting a good cause and the lives of his loved ones. Personally, he is an easy-going and witty, but also a really smart person. He likes to turn everything into a joke to lighten a little bit up a heavy atmosphere, but also he is a really straightforward person.

Gang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo) is a strong, assertive woman that stands firmly by her principles. In private life sometimes she is a bit slow, clumsy and really indecisive. At some points, I was really annoyed with her and really disliked her, but that was completely on a personal level because there was quite a good chemistry going on between those two. Overall, I think Song Hye Kyo did a really good job in this drama, she was well suited for this character.

Seo Dae Young (Jin Goo) is an honorable soldier in Yoo Shi Jin's team, and also his best friend. He feels more comfortable dealing with heavy and dangerous actions, therefore he has a hard time expressing his feelings. However, deep inside he is a caring person that treasures those around him. 

Yoon Myeong Ju (Kim Ji Won) is an army doctor and the daughter of South Korean Special Forces Brigade's commander. She graduated from the same university as Gang Mo Yeon and their relationship is pretty rough. I could probably say they are rivals. Yoon Myeong Ju is a determined woman which does not hesitate a minute to pursue what she desires. She has a complicated relationship with Seo Dae Young. Throughout the drama, I really shipped those two for the things to work out between them.

FAVORITE MOMENTS

Romance, romance, and romance once again

Obviously, the romance is a key point of this drama. And it is actually good. The relationships between the characters are thoroughly written and well played. You can actually see different emotions painted on the actor's faces. I especially liked how you could see the characters' dilemmas, their dialogues, arguments, and reactions.

Those hilarious scenes

There were quite a few really funny scenes when I found myself laughing out loud. I think, for me, the funniest thing to watch was the frustration of the characters and their arguments while they were at it. Their teasing too. I also loved the side characters, especially those from the medical team. They were a great addition and a fulfillment of the whole story. Well done DOTS cast!

That stupidity of Song Hye Kyo

All in all, she was a quite likable character, but, oh, man... How can a human being be sometimes so slow? By the way - in the screenshot above he looks rather pleased with himself.

Yoo Shi Jin: Do you know who Yoon Myeong Ju is? I think she was in your class.
Gang Mo Yeon: How do you know her? Are you... Ahh... That sergeant, or color sergeant, or the sergeant major... of some sort?
Yoo Shi Jin: Do you mean, sheriff?
Gang Mo Yeon: Ah, right, sheriff. Are you that guy?

At times she seemed really stupid... but adorable.

Yoo Shi Jin: How did she study medicine with a brain like that?

Well, my thoughts exactly.

That sexy face and body

Okay, so I actually watch Korean dramas mainly for such eye candies. It is the main factor when it comes to picking out what to watch next. If the guy is hot, I'm on it. Of course, I pay attention to other aspects of the show. It's not like I watch it only because there is a good looking or cute guy in it. The plot and the acting have to be also good. But just look at him...

Those sad expressions(still sexy, though)

THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME

There was one major thing that puts me off of this drama and caused my opinion to drop dramatically. I'm talking about how bad the pronunciation and the accent while speaking in English sounded in this drama. For someone who can actually understand and is able to communicate freely in English, it's a bit hard to not notice this. I know that I may not be the one to talk about usage of the English language because I am fully aware that my English isn't perfect. You could probably find trillions of grammatical and stylistic mistakes in my posts, but that's just me sharing my opinion and thoughts about the drama. (I'm really sorry, Song Joong Ki, but other than that you did a completely amazing job!)

So I think that's it for Descendants of the Sun. It was a good watch. It has had everything I could ask for in drama. My ideal type of a man and a good romance with moving scenes, where I could cry my eyes out. Also, some pretty funny scenes to laugh at. I would highly recommend this drama to anyone. It wasn't perfect, but it was surely good enough to give it a try.