The popularity of the new South Korean drama series “Descendants of the Sun” is exploding.

According to the audience measurement company Nielsen Korea, the KBS drama registered a viewer rating of 31-point-two percent in the capital Seoul for its fifth episode aired on Wednesday, surpassing the 30-percent mark for the first time.

The national rating for the episode reached 27-point-four percent, up three percentage points from the previous episode.

The romance drama, set in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk, features hallyu stars Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo. The 16-episode drama was filmed in its entirety before the first episode aired.