As of now, the most successful K-drama to air this year is Descendants of the Sun . Making its debut in the double-digit teens for its viewership ratings for the entire nation of South Korea and the Seoul National Capital Area for both TNS Media Korea and AGB Nielsen, the popular K-drama increased in popularity, eventually slaughtering its competition with over 20 percent viewership ratings . Descendants of the Sun would continue to become more of a ratings powerhouse when it reached over 30 percent viewership ratings by the ninth episode. Then it became a question if it could surpass The Moon Embracing The Sun , the last K-drama to surpass 40 percent viewership ratings, when a particular scene actually passed that threshold.
Overall, Descendants of the Sun was the most successful and most profitable K-drama in years for the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). Sadly, KBS has made it clear that they will not extend the series past 16 episodes. However, they are going to show their thanks nevertheless through a three-part special in which the last part features an epilogue once Descendants of the Sun concludes.
The news about KBS airing the three-part special after Descendants of the Sun concludes was first reported by Korean news outlet Naver . Through a translation by KpopStarz , KBS wants to do the special to show their appreciation for the tantamount support the K-drama received. After the K-drama concludes, the first of the three-part special will air on Wednesday, April 20, at 10 p.m. KST. The following two days afterwards, another part of the special will air at the same time.
Details on the three-part special was said, too. The first two parts will focus on highlighting very important scenes from Descendants of the Sun , re-editing them to make an already great K-drama even better. The last part, however, will be the most-anticipated as it is an epilogue which will show what happens to Captain Yoo Shi Jin (played by Song Joong Ki) and Doctor Kang Mo Yeon (played by Song Hye Kyo) after the final episode of the series. The last part will also include a behind-the-scenes video.
It seems that KBS is doing all they can to make sure the three-part special is a success because ultimately, it is taking up airtime. Not to mention the last time KBS aired a special after one of their K-dramas concluded was with Producer. However, the special “13th Episode” was a major flop earning only a 5.7 percent average viewership rating nationwide. Compared to the finale episode of Producerearning up to 20 percent viewership, that was surely an embarrassment.
Nevertheless, K-drama fans are anticipating the conclusion of Descendants of the Sun , with the penultimate episode airing on Wednesday, April 13, followed by its finale the next day, April 14. For those who were following the last four episodes, they were quite intense as it took a more action-packed and suspenseful turn after the plant rescue effort (which is featured on the official poster so it is technically not a spoiler) concluded.
With the series about to come to a conclusion, it is best to start watching now for those who like to marathon a series. Descendants of the Sun is available to view for free with ads, on both Viki and DramaFever pending region. Take note that DramaFever is behind by eight episodes because Viki had viewership rights to air it along with KBS.
[Image via Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Promotions/Official Poster of Descendants of the Sun ]