D.P. (TV series)

D.P.
Promotional poster for season 2
Also known asDeserter Pursuit
Hangul
디피
Revised RomanizationDipi
McCune–ReischauerTip'i
Genre
Based onD.P Dog's Day
by Kim Bo-tong
Screenplay by
Directed byHan Jun-hee
Starring
Music byPrimary[3]
Opening theme"Crazy"
by Kevin Oh
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
  • Byun Seung-min[3]
  • Han Jun-hee[3]
ProducerKim Dong-min[3]
CinematographyYoo Ji-sun[3]
EditorPark Min-sun[3]
Running time41–64 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27) –
July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)

D.P. (Korean: 디피; an acronym for Deserter Pursuit) is a South Korean military action television series for Netflix. Directed by Han Jun-hee, from a screenplay by Kim Bo-tong and Han, based on the Lezhin webtoon D.P Dog's Day by Kim, and starring Jung Hae-in, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun, and Son Suk-ku.[4][5] The first season was released on August 27, 2021,[6][7] and the second season was released on July 28, 2023.[8][9]

Synopsis

Season 1

Set in 2014, D.P. tells the story of a team of Korean military police with their mission to catch deserters.

The series magnifies the undesirable nature of the military, especially within a South Korean context. The widespread bullying and hazing as well as the mindset for the "survival of the fittest" are rife, with those presumed the "weakest" thrown to the bottom of the pile and served horrifying experiences at the hands of their superiors and compatriots.

Private Ahn Jun-ho and Corporal Han Ho-yeol team up to find the deserters, and they end up on an adventurous journey.

Season 2

Season 2 is a direct continuation of Season 1. Like the first season, Season 2 magnifies the undesirable nature of the South Korean military, but it is mostly done through the perspective of senior officers, covering topics such as corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and the question of whether the military as an organization is responsible for soldiers who act out violently due to abuse by their fellow soldiers.

Cast

Character appearances

Character Portrayed by Season
1 2
Main
Private Ahn Joon-ho Jung Hae-in Main
Corporal Han Ho-yeol Koo Kyo-hwan
Sergeant First Class Park Beom-gu Kim Sung-kyun
Captain Im Ji-sup Son Suk-ku
Warrant Officer Oh Min-woo Jung Seok-yong Main
Lieutenant Colonel Seo-eun Kim Ji-hyun
Brigadier General Gu Ja-woon Ji Jin-hee
Supporting
Corporal Park Sung-woo[10] Go Kyung-pyo Guest Recurring
Shin Hye-yeon[11] Lee Seol
Jo Suk-bong Cho Hyun-chul Recurring —
Hwang Jang-soo Shin Seung-ho
Heo Ki-young Park Se-joon
Shin Woo-suk Park Jung-woo
Choi Joon-mok Kim Dong-young
Jung Hyun-min Lee Jun-young
Heo Chi-do Choi Joon-young
Kim Roo-ri[12] Moon Sang-hoon Recurring
Chun Yong-duk Hyun Bong-sik —
Ryu Yi-kang Hong Kyung
Kim Kyu Bae Yoo-ram
Jun-mok's mother Oh Min-ae
Lee Jae-chang Song Duk-ho
Tae Sung-gon Han Woo-yul
Ahn Soo-jin Lee Yeon
Lee Hyo-sang Joo Jong-hyuk
Shin Ah-hui[13] Choi Hyun-wook — Recurring
Park Se-woong[14] Yoo Su-bin
Jang Seong-min Bae Na-ra
Sergeant Na Joong-seok Lim Seong-jae

Guest

Episodes

Series overview
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
16August 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
26July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)

Season 1 (2021)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"A Man Holding Flowers"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
22"Daydream"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
33"That Woman"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
44"The Monty Hall Problem"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
55"Military Dog"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
66"Onlookers"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)

Season 2 (2023)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
71"The Rains"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
82"Dirty Play"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
93"Curtain Call"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
104"The Charred Remains"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
115"An Jun-ho"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
126"The Day"Han Jun-heeKim Bo-tong & Han Jun-heeJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)

Production

Development

In late June 2020, Lezhin Entertainment officially announced that Lezhin Studio and Homemade Film would co-produce a 6-part adaptation of the hit webtoon D.P: Dog Days by Kim Bo-tong, to be released exclusively through Netflix.[17][18] The story is based on Kim's own experience during his mandatory military service.[19]

Director and co-writer Han Jun-hee had wanted to work on the webtoon's adaptation "for five or six years [before he] finally got a chance" to do so.[20] Though Ahn Joon-ho is a Corporal in the webtoon, Han wanted him to be a Private in the series so people could "resonate with the story and consider Joon-ho as a friend who just started his military service."[21]

On September 1, 2021, Jung Hae-in revealed during an interview that he is "looking forward to season 2, and the director and writer are already writing the script." On May 31, 2022, Netflix officially announced the production of the season 2 with all four main cast reprising their roles.[22]

On December 14, 2021, a second season was confirmed.[23]

Casting

On September 3, 2020, Jung Hae-in, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun and Son Suk-ku were confirmed to star in the series.[24][25] Koo's character does not appear in the webtoon, which he found "hard but exciting to portray a character exclusive to the series."[26] To prepare for his role, Koo received help from his road manager who was part of the D.P. team during his military service.[27] As for Jung, he practiced boxing for three months before filming began, in order to do his own action scenes.[28]

Kim Bo-tong, who wrote the webtoon and co-wrote the series, commented that he "never dreamed of such a cast. They fit so perfectly into their roles that it seems like the roles were written for them."[29]

Filming

Principal photography began in the summer of 2020.[30]

Reception

Audience viewership

Following its release, the series topped Netflix's Top 10 in South Korea.[31]

Critical response

William Schwartz of HanCinema praised Jung Hae-in's acting, commenting that he "is sublime here, in a brooding cinematic role radically different from the romances he's better known for." He added that "D.P. is worth watching, not just by people curious what South Korean mandatory military service is really like, but anyone from any country who's seriously thinking about joining up."[32]

Pierce Conran of the South China Morning Post gave the series a 4.5/5 rating, noting that "D.P. hits home with a story that spans the past and present, as it acknowledges that yesterday's problems can still be today's." He also praised the cinematography as well as Jung and Koo's "electric chemistry".[33]

Greg Wheeler of The Review Geek rated the series 4.3/5, noting that "D.P. is a stunning Korean drama [which] takes an unflinching look at bullying, the effect it has on mental health and larger societal questions about the mandatory military service in Korea" and praising the series for its "impressive" cinematography and for the way it "explore[s] a very sensitive and prevalent topic in a raw, artistic and unflinching way."[34]

In a mixed review, Hidzir Junaini of NME gave the series a 3/5 rating, commenting that "Kim Bo-tong and Han Jun-hee must be given credit for how this series tackles such extraordinarily difficult and tragic subject matter with compassion and sensitivity", and praising the "uniformly excellent performances, splendid cinematography, addictive pacing, and intrepid commitment to shedding light on the appalling culture of bullying in the military", but criticizing the "weak characterization [of the] three main leads" as well as the "ludicrous escalation of events during its climax, which suddenly turns a fairly grounded show into a melodramatic action thriller."[35]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Ref.
APAN Star Awards 2022 Best Director Han Jun-hee Nominated [36][37]
Top Excellence Award, Actor in an OTT Drama Jung Hae-in Won
Excellence Award, Actor in an OTT Drama Koo Kyo-hwan Nominated
Asian Academy Creative Awards 2022 Best Actor in a leading role Jung Hae-in Won [38]
Baeksang Arts Awards 2022 Best Drama D.P. Won [39][40]
Best Director Han Jun-hee Nominated
Best Actor Jung Hae-in Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Cho Hyun-chul Won
Best New Actor Koo Kyo-hwan Won
Shin Seung-ho Nominated
Blue Dragon Series Awards 2022 Best Drama D.P. Won [41][42]
Best Leading Actor Jung Hae-in Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Son Suk-ku Nominated
Best New Actor Koo Kyo-hwan Won
Director's Cut Awards 2022 Best Actor (TV) Jung Hae-in Nominated [43]
Koo Kyo-hwan Won
Best Director (TV) Han Jun-hee Nominated
Best Screenplay (TV) Kim Bo-tong
Han Jun-hee 		Nominated
Best New Actor (TV) Koo Kyo-hwan Nominated
Cho Hyun-chul Won
Best New Actress (TV) Won Jian Nominated
Korea Drama Awards 2023 Excellence Award, Actor Kim Sung-kyun Won [44]

Listicle

Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
Time 2023 The 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2023 on Netflix Included [45]

References

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  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 꽃을 든 남자 [A Man Holding Flowers]. D.P. Episode 1 (in Korean). August 27, 2023. Netflix.
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