'Descendants of the Sun' renews viewership record

TV drama "Descendants of the Sun" has set a fresh viewership record for itself on the eighth episode, when Dr. Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) finally confesses her feelings for Army Capt. Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki), data showed Friday.

The KBS 2TV series was viewed by 28.8 percent of TV homes nationwide on Thursday, up 0.3 percentage points from its previous record of 28.5 percent.

In and around Seoul, the figure remained above the 30 percent mark, at 30.5 percent.

In episode 8, Yoo enters a building feared to collapse at any moment to save an earthquake survivor. Not knowing this, money-grubbing power plant owner Jin Young-su tries to destroy the building to find diamonds within.

The building implodes, with Yoo and the survivor getting stuck under the debris. Yoo's right-hand man Seo Dae-young belatedly learns of the danger Yoo is in and mobilizes a team of soldiers to save him.

Meanwhile, an emotional Kang delivers her condolences to the bereaved family of an earthquake victim. Yoo tries to comfort her, saying, "If you plan on fleeing, let's do it together. Fleeing is best done by a man and a woman together."

When it's time for the team of doctors to leave the fictional country of Uruk, Kang decides to stay. That evening, she plays music that reverberates across the barracks, which is followed by what she had considered to be her final words when she almost fell off a cliff in a car:

"If I knew I'd die like this, I should've told him how I truly feel -- that I think I've been kissed by a wonderful man," she says in the recordings. Hearing this, Yoo flashes a smile.

In the next episode, Kang, who didn't intend on broadcasting her final words for everyone to hear, runs away from Yoo.

Lieutenant General Yun then arrives in Uruk unexpectedly, causing anxiety among the soldiers. (Yonhap)