Anchor: KBS' "Descendants of the Sun" is going viral at home and abroad. As the TV series enters its second half of the story, it recorded over 30 percent in viewer ratings. 
Our Kim Eun-ji tells us that the Korean drama may be more popular outside of Korea.
 
Report: With the series more than half way through, the KBS hit drama “Descendants of the Sun” is gaining popularity that South Korean miniseries haven’t seen in recent years.
 
The television rating surveyor Nielsen Korea analyzed that the ninth episode, which aired on Wednesday, recorded a nationwide viewer rating of 30-point-four percent.
 
It is the first time a miniseries surpassed 30 percent in viewer ratings since MBC’s “The Moon that Embraces the Sun” in 2012.
 
The 16-episode drama takes place in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk, featuring Song Joong-ki as a Special Warfare Command lieutenant and Song Hye-kyo as a doctor heading a volunteer medical team.
 
The romance between the two main characters, who encounter life-and-death situations, is drawing attention of drama lovers not only in South Korea but also in other countries.
 
So far, the pre-produced drama has been exported to 27 countries, including China, Japan, England and France.
 
China’s video-sharing Web site iQiyi, which bought rights to air the drama for 25-thousand U.S. dollars per episode, is already seeing skyrocketing popularity.
 
Chinese media reported that the number of hits for “Descendants of the Sun” surpassed any previous records set by South Korean dramas in China. As of early this week, the cumulative hits for the drama on iQiyi have already surpassed one billion. 
 
Critics say the fast-paced storyline coupled with the budding romance in an unusual setting filled with disasters are what make the drama so popular.  
  
As screenwriter Kim Hyun-sook herself admitted that the latest drama is the best fantasy she has ever written, the most unrealistic aspects could be what is winning the hearts of drama lovers around the world.
Kim Eun-ji, KBS World Radio News.