No. 154 / Oct 18, 2021
Have you ever heard of Deserter Pursuit (D.P.)? On August 27, Netflix released an original series drama named D.P. that tells a story of D.P. This is a hot topic in Asia, including Korea. In particular, this drama is receiving great attention in countries with conscription systems, and there have been criticisms that it exaggerates the reality or instills prejudice against the military. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) of Korea also expressed discomfort with the drama, which clearly reveals military irrationality. However, many people commented favorably on the quality of the drama and sympathized with the plots.
This drama deals with D.P. who track and arrest deserters. This is an adaptation of a webtoon named D.P. Dog’s Day and its background is set in 2014. Due to the year, many people assume that the drama was produced against the backdrop of “The Murder of Medic in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do”. This drama tells a lot of stories of individual deserters, which allowed us to hear various stories of them. The stories of soldiers who fled the military for assault, maladjustment, money, or family reasons are not far from reality. According to five-year figures presented by the MND, more than 500 soldiers ran away for the above reasons. They knew that they would be punished, but they nevertheless abandoned the military. In fact, many people are suffering from the bad custom in the military in Korea. Nowadays, it is said that life in the military has improved because soldiers can report some irregularities directly to the Military Human Rights Center, but there are still large and small absurdities. The drama D.P. shows the sad situations in the military by detailing irrational incidents.
Then, what does D.P. do? They are literally soldiers who catch deserters. However, unlike ordinary soldiers, they can wear their casual clothes instead of military uniforms and grow their hair. Usually, D.P. are organized into one or two groups per unit to perform missions. They must hide their identities outside the military to ask civilians for help, so they need to maintain a neat appearance. They can also use military police tools, such as handcuffs. Currently, there are approximately 140 D.P. working in 39 Army units in Korea, and there are few D.P. in the Air Force and the Navy.
However, D.P. will disappear in Korea from July 1, 2022. Non-commissioned officers of the military police team or civilian workers in the military in charge of criminal investigation will replace D.P. who are gradually disappearing. D.P. will become a memory in the history of Korea. It is good thing that the drama was created and people became interested in D.P., which was unfamiliar to many people before it disappeared. Please pay a lot of attention to Season 2 of the drama D.P.!
By Lee Ga-eun, AG Reporter
dlrkdms2231@ajou.ac.kr
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