China’s Ministry of Justice was quite alarmed by the popularity of Korean drama “Descendants of the Sun” that it just warned iQiyi viewers from falling in love with lead actor Song Joong-Ki.
According to Nielsen Korea, Episode 6 of the 16-episode TV drama got a 28.5 percent viewer rating. It is higher than the previous record-holder of 28.1 percent, the SBS TV series “My Love from the Star,” reported Kpopherald.
However, it is slightly lower than the 31.2 percent for Episode 5 logged in Seoul. Episode 6, shown simultaneously on Wednesday and Thursday in China and South Korea, had the lead stars Song, who portrays an army officer, and actress Song Hye-kyo, who plays a surgeon, in an earthquake zone in the fictional city of Urk.
When the victims from the earthquake were screaming in pain, the real-time viewer rating reached a peak of 34.3 percent. Episode 7 would have the two team up with another couple as they attempt to save lives of the tremor victims.
In comparison, its competitors on South Korean TV got measly ratings of 5.6 percent for SBS’ “Please Come Back, Mister” and 3 percent for the final episode of MBC’s “One More Happy Ending.”
In South Korea, the show has reached 120 million views. “Descendants of the Sun” is also the most-mentioned Korean drama on social media, according to Sina, an online media outlet in China.
If Song appears so convincing as an army officer in “Descendants of the Sun,” it is because he underwent a two-year compulsory military service which is mandatory for all South Korean males. His last Korean drama series as “The Innocent Man.”