November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19) – January 28, 2022 (2022-01-28)
The Soldiers (Korean: 더솔져스) 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 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]
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 show did not air a new episode on December 31, 2021 due to the airing of the 2021 SBS Drama Awards.
^Based on their ranking, participants were divided into "higher ranking" (1st to 10th) and "lower ranking" (11th to 20th) bunks for the first night.
^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
^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.
^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.
^ abPark, 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.
^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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