NEW, the South Korean production company that produced the mega blockbuster “Descendants of the Sun” disclosed that the 16-episode drama has been sold to other Chinese cable networks too, other than video streaming iQiyi.
With the sale, NEW customers for the drama now represent 19 countries, some of which are outside Asia, the traditional market of Korean drama. Yonhap reported that at least four European countries are on the list – Germany, Italy, France and Britain.
That’s on top of Japan, the latest to buy the drama, South Korea and China where “Descendants of the Sun” has been viewed 1 billion times on iQiyi, NEW’s official streaming site in the Asian giant. The number includes those who viewed the video and clicks on related posts about the show on the website.
In contrast, other shows in South Korea could not even keep up with single-digit viewers. Yonhap cited the case of “Goodbye, Mr. Black” shown on MBC and “Please Come Back, Mister,” aired over SBS. But other KBS 2TV shows, where “Descendants of the Sun” is shown, also enjoyed good viewership.
“Five Children,” a weekend series about a blended family with five children, got a 27.9 percent viewer over the weekend. But on Sunday, it reached 30.1 percent, and in Seoul metropolitan area, it was 30.9 percent.
The drawing power of Song Joong-Ki, who stars as Army Captain Yoo Si-jin, is so strong that sales of red ginseng tonic jumped in China after the actor was seen drinking it on the drama set in fictional war-ravaged country Uruk. Apparently, the warning of China’s Ministry of Justice is falling on deaf Chinese ears about women not getting too enamored with Song.
However, all good things must come to an end as the show, now halfway after Episode 8 was shown on March 16 and 17, would not be extended.
“’Descendants of the Sun’ will wrap up on April 14, as planned,” said Jung Sung-hyo, drama bureau chief of KBS. He explained that it is impossible to broadcast more episodes besides the 16 filmed ahead, reported Asia One, since filming ended in 2015.