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First script read for blockbuster melodrama Descended From the Sun

It’s so nice to see Song Joong-ki (Nice Guy) fresh out of army and back at work. He wasted no time and jumped right into the first script read for his comeback drama Descended From the Sun, opposite Song Hye-gyo (That Winter, the Wind Blows). The new project from star writer Kim Eun-sook (Heirs, Gentleman’s Dignity, Secret Garden) and the PD of Secret is a large blockbuster-scale production that’s due out later this year, but is planning a few months in advance because of extended overseas shoots.

The drama is about doctors and soldiers stationed overseas in war zones, and will be a human melodrama about the people who deal with life and death on the front lines. The story centers around an army surgeon (played by Song Hye-gyo) and a special forces officer (Song Joong-ki), and their budding romance. Why do I have the feeling that the setting will be Saving Private Ryan but the story will be Secret Garden?

Kim Ji-won (Gap-dong) and Jin Gu (Falling for Innocence) will play another army surgeon-officer pair just like the first, with their own love story on the sidelines. Kang Shin-il (Pinocchio), Shinee’s Onew, Hyun Joo-ni (Angel Eyes), Seo Jung-yeon (Heard It Through the Grapevine), and Lee Seung-joon (Hyde, Jekyll, Me) co-star.

The story will take place in a fictional war zone, which is curious since we’re not exactly lacking for war-torn countries to set a triage story in, but I guess I can see the pitfalls of locking yourself into current events that way. Still, how do you determine what language is spoken in your fictional country, and why all the doctors and soldiers there are Korean? I don’t know, maybe it won’t matter, but what’s wrong with setting your story a little in the past to use history to your advantage?

It’ll be about the young people who are each there for a different reason but suddenly find themselves fighting for survival, surrounded by disease and war. The drama promises tense thrills and romance amidst the chaos, in a story about finding love and humanity in the darkest of times. It’s a tall order, but I do hope that the scale of what they’ve been describing for the project comes across onscreen.

Descended From the Sun plans to air on KBS later this year.

Via TV Report

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SHG looks gorgeous as ever and though i'm super excited for Joongki's drama comeback - he was sorely missed in those two years! - but this drama does not seem to pique my interest. Hopefully it's good since he has generally picked good projects in the past.

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Now here's to hoping that Song Joong Ki goes on RM with some of his costars of this drama. Better yet, SJK returns as a regular.

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I doubt it, the drama is airing on KBS and Running Man is on SBS. If anything maybe SJK will guest star in one episode just because and not for any other promotional reason.

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Maybe in 1n2d as Cha Tae Hyun's best mate.

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SJK is too busy w/ his acting career to return as a regular and frankly, he didn't have a role/persona on RM as opposed to being the "pretty" face (which is why the few times SJK came up w/ a clever quip, the rest of the cast members would be amazed).

The current RM cast size is perfect as is - was a bit unwieldy when SJK and Lizzy were members.

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Ah, mee too! I want SJK nd SHK to just simply come as guest to promote this drama, I got 1+1 ! Since almost SHK's fellow A-List actress has been guest in RM ; kim tae hee, choi ji woo, shin min ah,etc... I'm dying to see her in varietyland chebal..

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No KTH yet on RM.

She, SHK and JJH are the probably the last of the great beauties who haven't made it yet to RM (the other big get would be YEH).

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also im soo jung, soo ae and kim so yeon... maybe kang sora also..
probably no hopes of getting im soo jung but i'm crossing my fingers for soo ae! she appeared on 1n2d season 2 and she was so beautiful and charming... would love to see her with RM's male cast together :)

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sorry i was meant to say Son Ye Jin. YES so true, SHK, JJH, would be very big gem if they agree show up in RM. RM's members will flip side. RM scores a lot in actress section ; Ha Ji-Won, Kim Hee-Sun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Han Ga-in, Kim Sun-ah, Gong Hyo-Jin, Lee Dahe, Moon Geung-Yoon, Choi Kang-hee, etc

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"Why do I have the feeling that the setting will be Saving Private Ryan but the story will be Secret Garden?"
I immediately thought Tom Hanks as Kim Joo Won. Okay. That's weird.
Anyway, I share the confusion as why do they make this in a fictional country? Why not a period drama set in 1950s or a fictional war in the future Korea?
It sounds like a blockbuster, and it will be one if it's done right. I mean, you know how KES' dramas were..... and I did not really like the directing of Secret (despite the good acting and storyline). Just hope for the best.

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I can see why not the 50's, it can actually be pretty expensive to reproduce all that 50's backdrop and prop stuff.

But why not some border conflict with North Korea, even if just the result of some NK commander "going rogue"?

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Because it's predictable and overdone?

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That probably applies no matter where it supposedly takes place.

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SG had a good story line?

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Joo-won will scream "is that the best you can do?!" to his subordinates at war while surrounding himself in an army tent full of fresh flowers and turning neurotic
Oh yeah and he will have his pack of highlighters on his front pocket of the army suit. LOL
Gahhh hyun bin. Hope he wipes the stink of Hyde Jekyll me soon and come back with another drama.

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Lololllol! ? love your imagination Stardust!

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Song Joong-ki is back and he looks sooooooo good, oh my !!! Jin Gu is here too !!!! Oh my, Oh my !!!! *crossing fingers* Let this be a good , Fighting !!!

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I swear age isn't a problem here because Song Hye Kyo looks really young, I would even believe if told she's younger than SJK! Weird.

Looking forward because of the casts, not because of the writer. And good luck for war-disaster zone! I just hope even if it's fictional they make it believable.

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I just watched Autumn in My Heart, it's a hundred year old drama (okay, 15, but still), and she still looks the same! #envyeyes

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Wow, everyone looks really great! I'm looking forward to this mainly for the cast, but the plot sounds not too bad I guess. We'll see how it goes. I hope it turns out well though, and even becomes successful, if only for pre-productions to be the trend and eventually become the norm.

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Despite my love for Song Joong Ki and my happiness at seeing him back to work, I cannot motivate myself to be remotely interested in watching this. (sigh)

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You know, you'd never guess the way this drama's talked about that there's a co-writer on board, Kim Won-Seok (Queen's Classroom, Friend Our Legend), when he's the one who wrote the scenario (originally titled Doctors Without Borders) that placed at the KOCCA story competition and eventually caught Kim Eun-Sook's attention. He's part of the mystery, what the project's about, what the collaboration will look like, and while it's difficult to suss it out (in part because they've been cagey with releasing details), it makes even less sense to leave him out when his contribution has to be factored.

And yes, I'm here for Song Joong-Ki.

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isnt he out long time ago? and KES writes this alone now

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He's seated right next to SJK in the picture (the blurry, bearded guy) and is always credited as co-writer in the Korean articles. He wouldn't attend the table-read if he weren't working on the scripts with KES.

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Nope, they're co-writing this, so everyone who doesn't like her writing that much can still give it a try if they want to since it won't be completely written by her.

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That's good to hear. I just hope n pray that he'll stay on board (read: pd n staff will make sure he stays on board).

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Kwang Soo & Jo In Sung & Joong Ki are right now on vacation in Thailand

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I think he'll join the others in July for filming. IDK what they'll film until he joins them, but I'm sure they'll find plenty of scenes and the fact that is pre-produced makes it easier to just film episodes out of order.

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Awwww....love how SJK all smiling. I hope this is a good drama comeback for him. I'm not sure about the story tho. But, lets hope for the best.

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Mostly watching for SJK! Not a huge fan of SHG but the nasty comments about her on certain sites are really unnecessary. Yes she wasn't my first choice for this role either but it is how it is. And she isn't terrrible! Her tax evasion scandal is probably the only reason she should've kept it low-key for a while.

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I like the casting, but I hope the drama will be good!

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Looking forward to it! Not just for SJK but also the story. I've worked with people who lived through war and conflict and I'm curious to see how they show that and what the fictional country will be like.

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I just hope they don't have that usual scene where a massive battle is taking place, but the hero or heroine finds their buddy/lover/whatever and the battle just totally stops for 3 minutes while they say stupid things.

Out of 33,000 war movies, that scene is in 29,875 of them :D

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This looks like a drama made to manufacture tons of plot holes. For some reason I am getting that "Doctor Stranger and Weirder" vibe.

No doubt that somewhere in the drama the heroine will run out onto the battlefield, dodging bullets and artillery to toss two or three wounded soldiers on her back and become a total heroine.

OK, maybe farfetched. Or maybe not. Not really anticipating this, but will probably end up watching it just to see if I am right in my predictions.

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I really like Song Joong Ki but I only wish that they swap out Song Joong Ki for Jo In Sung. Now that was a couple oozing with chemistry and gorgeous perfection! I wonder if Jo In Sung feels sad his best friend will be romancing the girl he used to have a crush on. Kekekeke.

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So much pretty in one picture... And Joongki's boyish smile just makes me smile too. Hope this drama turns out good

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makes sense that they created a fictional conflict as their main audience is china (hence why shk is there even though she's vastly unpopular w/ k-netz right now. not only for the tax scandal but that she just carries on while jgs was cut from three meals and has been keeping low). you can't write a story about a conflict zone and peacekeepers w/o going into the politics but you also don't want to piss off your country, your allies or your business partners in china, so they're keeping it safe with the fictional setting.

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Yeah they had a lot of trouble with the sale of Doctor Stranger to China since they had plenty of anti-communism talks in that one. I don't even know if they ended up selling it or not so its' better to keep it fictional and clean.

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I don't know abt you all, but this make up disaster zone, love and chaos thing sounds like recipe for disaster. Add the writer into the mix, ewww it's wierd she has had hits dramas but I had serious problems with most of them.
Keeping fingers crossed

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SJK and Onew ?❤

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Everytime Kim Eunsook has new drama, the early description always sounds decent and rich and extravagant and all. Then we get to watch 1-2 first episode(s) and we feel 'oh, that's cute and light opening' and the conflicts look promising. But then... that's all we get. The rest episodes look like mere filler, lame plot, ridiculous noble idiocy etc etc.
I hope this one will be different since I want to watch Kim Jiwon shines more through this drama.

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I love the cast so I'm hoping for their sake that this goes well. And ugh, SJK and SHK both look so good as separate individuals so having them both together on screen to stare at would not be something I'd complain about. I just hope they'll have convincing chemistry. So far, from the photos, it looks like it won't be that much of a problem.

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Ever so briefly, I thought SJK had really terrible hair in that main pic above. *phew*

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I'll be rooting for Kim Ji won ^^

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It puzzles me that they would want or need to tell a story with such an expensive premise. Some of the other dramas can't pay staff, and all dramas run their staff ragged working all hours. Spend the money on making it a high quality, high integrity production, rather than exotic shoots with explosions.
Is the audience asking for these types of settings?
Cause not matter where they are, if the central relationships aren't interesting, the viewers will turn it off.

Oh, wait. Heirs...

Never mind.

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I feel you, jomo. -_-

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Ugh, I'm not excited for this premise or probable storyline at all, or the main romantic pairing or much of the cast. But Song Joong-Li! <3 I would watch him in basically anything, let's be real.... I kind of do want to see him in lighter fare though. Also yes to the much-suggested guest stint on Running Man! Since it's unlikely he'll have the time to be a regular member again. ;(

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Song Hye-gyo though. I've only seen her in Full House and That Winter The Wind Blows and both times I found her incredibly underwhelming, especially in That Winter. Conversely, I've seen Song Joong-ki in A Werewolf Boy and Sungkyunkwan Scandal only and I was so blown away by his performance (still waiting for him and Seo Hyo-rim to do another drama together), so I'd probably just watch him and the other leads. Heirs is one of my favourite dramas, Yes I said it, and Kim Eun-sook is one of my favourite writers so I'm going to trust her completely for this drama. On a shallow note, does anyone else think that Kim Eun-sook has a thing for dimples? All her leading men have them. Does Song Joong-ki have them too?

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Oh maaaan, how does Song Hye-gyo look so fresh?! I can't believe I am seeing the same actress from that old drama ALL IN and she still LOOKS LIKE THIS?!

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I love Jin Goo by the way. He was awwwwesome as Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek. Not fond of Song Joong-ki, but Song Hye-gyo's beauty is enough for me. (Though 'That Winter' was horrible that not even my intense Song Hye-gyo fangirling can atone for it) Jin Goooo! ♥

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Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! he's officially back in the fold. can't wait for his drama to air!

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Look at all those smiles! :D I'm so glad Song Joong-ki is back, but not feeling too optimistic about this particular drama.

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I totally agree with girlfriday that this blockbuster disaster centric story set in a beleaguered war torn nation is a tall order. Such shows usually garner mixed reviews, praised for its special effects but lacking in plots and dialogues. Perhaps this is why it is set in a fictional country so it won't be criticized for its historical and political facts.

But I admire that KBS is taking on such a challenging and ambitious endeavour. In light of the calamities in the world around us, this will shed light on the real life humanitarian stories. It does help that it is headlined by fan favourite Song Joong Ki, mega star Song Hye Kyo and proven writer Kim Eun Suk. I am looking forward to this one. It feels like an epic film rather than the usual kdrama. The 1996 movie The English Patient comes to mind on this one.

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Ohhhh boyyyyy, shk sooo geourgeus as always, she look the same even more yonger since endless love fiftheen years ago. I cant believe!!
Cant wait for dots!

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A contemporary war story set in a fictional, and perhaps non-descript country...Sounds like a recipe for endless groans and countless eye-rolls. I think I'll read the recaps of the first few episodes before committing to watching this one.

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Yeay! Nice guy is back! Cant wait! ^^

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I thought it is a comedy for a second...all look so happy reading the script!
I can the chemistry between the lead already!
I am so excited for Song Hye Gyo! She looks fabulous! How old was she again?! She looks 18 in the photo.
I wasn't so excited about Song Joong Ki earlier because I always saw him as a pretty face though he was very good in "A werewolf boy". I would have loved to see more seasoned and better actor for Song Hye Gyo but seeing the photos above, I am already rooting for them because I can clearly see a chemistry there and it is always nice to watch a drama where the leads actually have something going on...
Can't wait! :)

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Korean dramas, many..many but none of Korean actress could be like Song Hye Kyo:
-beautiful at any corner of shooting, right...straight...front
-naturally acting
-best comedy skill
-attractive
-so much chemistry with any partner
-watching Song Hye Kyo's dramas, movies again and again but no wasting time!

Not liking Heirs, dropped at middle of episode 2 because of the lead actress Park Shin Hye's acting and not attractive actress then failed in romantic scenes(not Heirs but in all dramas)
Same writer Kim Eun Sook but will 'stick' with screen from A-Z because trust the casts from Descendant Of The Sun. All of them are good acting!

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Yeah because it's all about one's appearance.

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It seems still having so much 'haters'...because ...jealous about TOP actress Song Hye Kyo! And because she is so good actress!
Watching all her dramas and movies, she's desever to be respected..because she is a real talent Korea actress.
Song Hye Kyo &Song Joong Ki will bring to the viewers many suprises in Descendant Of The Sun!
Song Hye Kyo 's good actress since she's young actress
Could not wait drama Descendant Of The Sun! And will watching it again and again like
All In
Full House
Autumn In My Heart
That Winter the Wind Blow
My Brilliant Life
............no wasting time!
Best Wish, Descendant Of The Sun!

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I'm hoping this drama is a City Hall and not an Heirs. Because I'm obligated to watch for my boy SJK! I'm also hoping the cast clicks because so far I love them all individually but I don't know how it'll be on screen. I can't wait to see though!

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Oppa ?

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Best wish, Descendant Of The Sun!'
2015, having many good dramas with top actors&actress who acting good, beautiful, chemistry......
But many hope from Descendant Of The Sun:
-good acting(supporting casts, included)
-chemistry between screen couples(all, not from LEAD only)
-storyline, very interesting, not SAME, Korean writers who 'stepping' on other writers' ideas......so much!
-both SHK and SJK, in TOP 10 Actors/Actress list, from INSIDER INDUSTRY(Proffesional's voting). Song Jong Ki has acting career in 5 years(less?)
-in acting for DOTS, good for lead actor SJK and SHK who knowing each other already(Laneige, same best friends from celebrities.....).
haeng un eul bin da-inf, Descendant Of the Sun, drama that keep the viewers on the edge of their seat!

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