Song Joong-ki’s real army stint shows why he’s suitable to be Captain Yoo Si-jin


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Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:34 pm

South Korea, just like Singapore, has mandatory national service for its male citizens, but people who enlisted in the army in South Korea usually face more risk due to the tension between South Korea and North Korea—any moment, our beloved Lee Kwang-soo or Kim Jong-kook could be recalled back to fight a real war.

Most of them were enlisted before the age of 35 (in Singapore, we’ll have to be enlisted by 18) and would serve from 21 months to 36 months, with most in active service serving 21 months.

With Descendants of the Sun, we got to see more on the military side of South Korea. Most of us also know that it’s Song Joong-ki’s first drama after he was discharged from the army, but here’s the thing: do you know that as a real soldier, Song Joong-ki was a model soldier and performed very well?

Initially, it was reported that Song Joong-ki, during this basic training (most likely like our BMT in Singapore), was caught eating a chocopie.  Okay, that got everyone worried (but anyone who has been in the army would have been caught for doing just about anything), and soon, reports about his excellent performance started pouring in.

Earlier during his “BMT”, someone from his battalion said this: “Song Joong Ki is receiving a lot of praise from his recruit division. He’s adjusting well and is getting along very well with his fellow recruits. He has a sincere and easygoing personality, but I heard that he hasn’t complained even though the training is difficult.”

On 5 October 2013, nearing the end his “BMT” when he was given a post in the search battalion (should be recon in Singapore term), he was praised by his senior officials that his “attitude towards training is great, and his class grades are excellent as well”.  He was then posted to the recon battalion in the 22nd Division.

According to yet another source, he was apparently involved in recon operations in the DMZ. For the uninitiated, the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) is one of the most dangerous areas as it separates South and North Korea. If you’ve watched the first episode of Descendants of the Sun, the knife fight occurred there.

Recon missions are when trained soldiers went into an area to check out any danger. They’re often known as the soldiers who are the first to be in and last to be out. Just check out the Singapore recons in action.

In other words, Song Joong-ki is not just a model soldier, but one who has really being in the thick of action.

So, it’s no brainer that Song Joong-ki be Captain Yoo Si-jin.