South Korean drama DP, which has released on Netflix, has generated quite a buzz on social media for showing the dark side of the country’s mandatory military service. While some people who have been subjected to mistreatment during their service are relating to the drama, the others, who believe that the military life in the country has become much easier over the years, are criticising the show.

For those unversed, in South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to mandatorily serve 18 months of military service. The show DP, which refers to “deserter pursuit”, revolves around a team that is tasked with tracking down and capturing military deserters.

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Kim, who adapted the show from his popular digital comic of the same name, has based some of the plots on his own experience as a former DP soldier. In the show, while the deserters have several reasons for running away from the military camp, one theme that consistently pops up is violence.

Speaking to BBC, actor Kang Un, who served in the military from 2012 to 2014, said, “When I saw the villain hit the soldier’s neck, I had to pause the show, because that is exactly what I experienced. I was beaten by my seniors a lot as well. When someone hits your neck like that 20 times, you end up in tears.”

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The show is set in 2014, when several cases of army abuse was reported and sparked a public outcry. One of them was the death of private Yoon Seung-joo, who died in April 2014 after being beaten by members of the senior ranks. Prior to his death, he had reportedly suffered other forms of abuse including being denied food and sleep. Later that year, a sergeant shot five fellow soldiers to death, allegedly in revenge for bullying. 

Following this, the Ministry of National Defense implemented several changes, such as improving the communication channels between recruits and their family.