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The unprecedented real-life portrayal of the military has been winning rave responses from men in their 20s and 30s, who are skeptical about views that the Korean army has improved and abuses are a thing of the past.
#Korean military struggles root out series#
"D.P." takes a different approach from many previous military-themed Korean TV series or variety shows, including "Descendants of the Sun" (2016) and "The Iron Squad" (2021), which had focused only on bright sides, like romance with soldiers or military camps that give soldiers the chance to toughen up physically. soldier, the series explicitly depicts the pervasive violent culture in the South Korean military through bullying and mistreatment of soft-hearted boys by cruel senior soldiers in barracks.Īnd it points the finger at higher-ups, who were also victims of bullying as juniors, as they try to cover up the hazing scandals, as violent incidents could harm their chances for promotion. Written by Kim Bo-tong, the author of the original webtoon, who is a former D.P.

27, is the latest work that sheds light on the dark side of the military where most of South Korea's twentysomethings spend nearly two precious years. The TV series "D.P.," a Netflix original series released on Aug. So the pains and struggles of young men serving in the armed forces have often been the source of social debates and literary and cinematic interpretations for decades in the country. officers of Private Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in) and Corporal Han Ho-yeol (Koo Kyo-hwan).Īll able-bodied South Korean men must carry out military service for about 18 months in a country that is still technically at war with North Korea as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Set in 2014, "D.P." tells the backstories of soldiers who flee from the military after constant physical and verbal violence and power abuse by superiors through two D.P. The South has been stepping up its own military capabilities, successfully testing its first submarine-launched ballistic missile in September and revealed a supersonic cruise missile.This image provided by Netflix shows a scene from its military series "D.P." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) The wargames always infuriate Pyongyang, which decries them as preparations for invasion. The South and the United States held joint military exercises in August. Washington and Seoul are security allies and Washington stations around 28,500 troops in the South to defend it against its neighbour, which invaded in 1950. The Biden administration has said it is willing to meet North Korean officials at any time or place, without preconditions, in its efforts to seek denuclearisation. In 2018, Kim became the first North Korean leader ever to meet a sitting US president at the headline-grabbing Singapore summit.īut the talks process has been largely at a standstill since a second meeting in Hanoi the following year collapsed over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return. Kim's address came after the North in recent weeks tested a long-range cruise missile and what it said was a hypersonic weapon.

"There is no basis in their actions for believing that it is not hostile," he added, according to KCNA. The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it has no hostile intent towards the North, but Kim told the "Self-Defence 2021" exhibition: "I am very curious if there are people or countries who believe that." In 2017 it tested missiles that can reach the whole of the continental US and carried out by far its most powerful nuclear explosion to date, and Pyongyang says it needs its arsenal to protect itself against a US invasion.
