The Soldiers (Korean더솔져스) is a South Korean military-themed reality television show. The show seeks to find the "best special forces operator in the world," beginning with selecting the best Korean special forces representatives through a series of missions.[1] Twenty male South Korean reservists who served in various special forces units of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces competed on the show. The cast also includes four former special forces operators from the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States and South Korea who serve as mentors and later team leaders to the participants.[2]

The Soldiers
Promotional poster
Hangul
더솔져스
Revised RomanizationDeosoljyeoseu
McCune–ReischauerTŏsolchyŏsŭ
Genre
Created byPark Jae-yong
Written by
  • Lee Min-jung
  • Kim Min-ji
  • Yang Gyu-ok
  • Lee Soo-min
  • Kwon Yeo-reum
Presented byKim Sang-joong
Music byJo Young-joon
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Sung Gi-hoon
  • Min Sun-hong (CP)
Producers
  • Cha Min-young
  • Son Ji-young
  • Kim Hak-sung
  • Choi Jun-hwan
  • Hong Deok-hwan
  • Shin Jun-ho
EditorHan Gwang-man
Running time75 minutes
Production companyNew Button
Original release
NetworkSBS TV
ReleaseNovember 19, 2021 (2021-11-19) –
January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)

The show aired on SBS TV from November 19, 2021, to January 28, 2022, every Friday at 23:10 (KST). Longer, uncut versions of each episode were released the following Wednesday at 18:00 (KST) on the YouTube channel "뉴띵 NDD".

In the first episode, the show was explained as a three-season project:[3]

  • Season 1: select the best team of South Korean special forces reservists
  • Season 2: compete with national representative teams across Asia-Pacific
  • Season 3: find the strongest team across the globe

The survival program has been compared by media and viewers to Steel Troops, which has a similar special forces premise and aired its first season half a year earlier. In response to the comparison, show host Kim Sang-joong said that "[The Soldiers] is more upgraded and entertaining, with more intense missions."[4] Show producer Gi Sang-soo also asserted that The Soldiers is "the first television program of its kind," with its global focus bearing the largest distinction.[4][5]

Cast

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Host and mentors

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Role Name Nationality Military background
Host Kim Sang-joong South Korea ROK Marine Corps
(Discharged as Byeongjang/Sergeant)
Mentor Jay Morton United Kingdom British Army Special Air Service (SAS), 10 years
Former cast of SAS: Who Dares Wins
Mentor Johan Reispass Sweden Swedish Armed Forces Special Operations Task Group (SOG), 17 years
Former cast of Elitstyrkans Hemligheter [sv]
Mentor Wilrolan "Wil" Ravelo United States US Army Special Forces (Green Berets), 13 years
US Marine Corps Force Recon, 4 years
Mentor Lee Chang-jun South Korea ROK Army 707th Special Mission Group
(Sangsa/Master Sergeant on reserve, 13 years active duty)

Participants

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Name Unit Military Branch
Go In-ho KDIC (Korean Defense Intelligence Command)
Republic of Korea Navy
Kim Yeong-cheol
Gong Gi-hwan UDT
해군특수전전단
Kim Hyeon-gon
Park Seong-min
Kim Ho-jong SSU (Sea Salvage & Rescue Unit)
해난구조전대
Park Yo-sep Marine Corps Special Recon
해병대수색대
Park Han-gyeol
Lee Kang-woo
Chu Bu-yeon
Kim Yeong-hwan 707th Special Mission Group
제707특수임무단
Republic of Korea Army
Hong Guk-seong
Hong Beom-seok
Park Se-won Special Warfare Command
육군특수전사령부
Park Jang-ho
Park Hyeok-gyu
Song Byeong-seok
Jo Seung-jun
Hwang Seong-hyun SDT (Special Duty Team)
군사경찰특임대
Kim Chang-wan CCT (Combat Control Team)
공군공정통제사
Republic of Korea Air Force

List of episodes

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In the ratings below, the highest rating for the season will be in red and the lowest rating for the season will be in blue.

Episodes Broadcast Date Rating
1 November 19, 2021 2.8%
2 November 26, 2021 2.6%
3 December 3, 2021 2.1%
4 December 10, 2021 2.9%
5 December 17, 2021 2.0%
6 December 24, 2021 2.3%
7 January 7, 2022[a] 1.7%
8 January 14, 2022 1.2%
9 January 21, 2022 1.8%
10 January 28, 2022 1.4%

Mission results

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The show began with an individual competition, spanning episodes 1 to 3, to assess and rank the 20 participants. At the end of this stage, 4 participants were eliminated. The mentors then collectively ranked the remaining 16 participants prior to selecting their desired team members. However, the top 4 ranked participants were given the right to choose which mentor's team to join instead. From the second half of episode 3, the show then proceeded with the main team competition. In the tables below,

  • results in red indicate a penalty given, such as an extra mission or becoming a candidate for elimination.
  • results in green indicate either gaining a mission benefit or surviving an elimination round.
  • the final champion is indicated in gold.
Participant Unit Individual Competition
Inclined March Race[b] Assault Course[c] Tire Tug & Deep Tank Boxing Battle Overall Rank
Go In-ho UDU 6th Group 4: Failed Won 15th
Kim Yeong-cheol UDU 8th Group 1: Failed Eliminated
Gong Gi-hwan UDT 9th Group 1: 3rd Group 3: 2nd 4th
Kim Hyeon-gon UDT 7th Group 3: Failed Group 4: 2nd 9th
Park Seong-min UDT 12th Group 2: Failed Won 13th
Kim Ho-jong SSU 14th Group 2: 1st Group 1: 2nd 7th
Park Yo-sep MCSR 17th Group 2: Failed Group 3: 4th Eliminated
Park Han-gyeol MCSR 10th Group 4: 1st Group 1: 3rd 5th
Lee Kang-woo MCSR 19th Group 1: Failed Group 4: 4th Won 16th
Chu Bu-yeon MCSR 15th Group 3: Failed Group 4: 1st 10th
Kim Yeong-hwan 707 4th Group 4: 4th Group 4: 3rd 6th
Hong Guk-seong 707 3rd Group 3: 1st Group 1: 4th Won 11th
Hong Beom-seok 707 1st Group 1: 1st Group 1: 1st 1st
Park Se-won SWC 16th Group 4: 3rd Group 3: 3rd 14th
Park Jang-ho SWC 13th Group 4: 2nd Group 2: 4th Eliminated
Park Hyeok-gyu SWC 20th Group 3: 2nd Group 2: 1st 12th
Song Byeong-seok SWC 2nd Group 2: 2nd Group 2: 3rd 3rd
Jo Seung-jun SWC 11th Group 3: 3rd Group 3: 1st 8th
Hwang Seong-hyun SDT 18th Group 2: Failed Eliminated
Kim Chang-wan CCT 5th Group 1: 2nd Group 2: 2nd 2nd
Participant Unit Team Team Competition
Obstacle Route March Cave Escape Mud Car Rescue Counter-terrorism Rescue Underwater Retrieval Mission Battlefield
Lee Chang-jun   Leader Alpha 1st 3rd 2nd 1st Won
Kim Chang-wan CCT
Kim Ho-jong SSU
Chu Bu-yeon MCSR
Hong Beom-seok 707
Jay Morton   Leader Bravo 2nd 1st 1st 2nd Eliminated
Gong Gi-hwan UDT
Kim Yeong-hwan 707
Kim Hyeon-gon UDT
Song Byeong-seok SWC
Johan Reispass   Leader Charlie 3rd Won 2nd Eliminated
Go In-ho HID
Park Se-won SWC
Park Han-gyeol MCSR
Jo Seung-jun SWC
Wil Ravelo   Leader Delta 4th Failed 3rd Eliminated
Park Seong-min UDT
Park Hyeok-gyu SWC
Lee Kang-woo MCSR
Hong Guk-seong 707

Notes

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  1. ^ The show did not air a new episode on December 31, 2021 due to the airing of the 2021 SBS Drama Awards.
  2. ^ Based on their ranking, participants were divided into "higher ranking" (1st to 10th) and "lower ranking" (11th to 20th) bunks for the first night.
  3. ^ As 8 participants failed to complete the full assault course, a rematch was conducted with a shortened assault course to determine the first 4 elimination candidates.

References

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  1. ^ Choi, Ji-yoon (November 19, 2021). "세계서 가장 강한 특수요원은?…김상중의 '더솔져스'" [Who's the strongest special forces operator in the world? ... Kim Sang-joong's 'The Soldiers']. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Kang, Ae-ran (November 19, 2021). "SBS '더솔져스' "글로벌화로 기존 군 예능과 차별화"" [SBS 'The Soldiers': "Differentiated from existing military shows by globalisation"]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  3. ^ [ENG]This is urgent, figure out how to escape | THE SOLDIERS | Ep1. 뉴띵 NDD. November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2022 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b Park, So-young (November 19, 2021). ""우리가 방송 최초"..'더솔져스', '강철부대'와 비교해 보라는 패기?" ["We are a television first"..'The Soldiers' ambitious comparison to 'Steel Troops'?]. Chosun Media (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  5. ^ Yoon, Hyo-jeong (November 19, 2021). "'더솔져스' PD "타 군대예능과 차별점? 우리는 글로벌"" ['The Soldiers' producer: "The difference from other military shows? We're global"]. News1 Korea (in Korean). Retrieved March 22, 2022.
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