'Descendants of the Sun' keeps on climbing

The popular TV series "Descendants of the Sun" has continued to reach new heights in viewership on the 10th episode, data showed Friday.

The drama starring actor Song Joong-ki and actress Song Hye-kyo raked in 36.4 percent of viewers in Seoul, a record for the show, on Thursday night. Nationwide, 31.6 percent of TV homes tuned into the show, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous day.

The tale of romance between a South Korean special forces captain and a volunteer doctor in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk is the first South Korean show to premiere in both South Korea and China. It's also the first South Korean drama shown on weeknights to surpass 30 percent in nationwide viewership in four years.

In episode 10, Capt. Yoo Si-jin and Dr. Kang Mo-yeon try to save an Uruk girl taken hostage by gang members in a dilapidated building. Yoo orders Kang to wait in her car and leave if he doesn't return in five minutes. After five minutes, however, Kang drives into the building and rescues Yoo, who was severely outnumbered.

Later, Kang and medic Yun Myeong-ju operate on a South Korean power plant owner in Uruk. During surgery, Yun contracts a potentially deadly virus called M3.

In the next episode, an unidentified gang breaks into the barracks of the South Korean special forces where a team of volunteer doctors are also stationed and abduct Kang.

"Descendants of the Sun" airs Wednesday and Thursday nights on KBS 2TV at 10 p.m. In China, episodes are streamed on the video website iQiyi. (Yonhap)