'Descendants Of The Sun' Producer Offers Clues About How The K-Drama Will End

by Jesse L. / Mar 28, 2016 07:23 PM EDT

Kim Woo Taek, the director of NEW, the company that produces “Descendants Of The Sun"

film poster for "Descendants Of The Sun"

"Descendants Of The Sun" fans have Kim Woo Taek to thank, more than anyone else, for the popular South Korean television drama.

The director of NEW, the company that produces "Descendants Of The Sun" and financed the ambitious $111 million project before a network was attached, green lit the series despite it being his company's first project.

According to Kim, NOW didn't have a choice.

"It was certain that no one would want to invest in a film distribution company that's trying out a $111 million drama series for the first time," the the 52-year-old producer and "Descendants Of The Sun" financier told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an interview in his Seoul office on Monday.

"Moreover, we were adopting the early filming method, not to mention allowing televising rights only to terrestrial broadcasting companies."

It wasn't always clear that the pre-shot drama series (a rarity in the mostly live world of K-drama programs) would be the juggernaut hit that it was.

"Everyone said we were crazy, but I had confidence in our content and managed to make up the production cost as soon as we aired the first episode, thanks to profit made from selling rights to foreign broadcasters and from product placement," Kim said. "After that, we managed to readjust our contract with [Korean Broadcasting System, the network that airs 'Descendants of the Sun'] to not just selling the broadcasting rights but also receive part of the investment."

And as if fans of the show, which has been able to enjoy simultaneous broadcasting in China, because the "early filming" has allowed that country's censors to review the material beforehand, need more reasons to like the NOW director, he even was willing to give a few hints as to the series finale.

Stopping short of any spoilers, Kim gave "Descendants of the Sun" viewers a lot to reflect on.

"My wife told me that she predicts that one of the characters will die in the end, asking me who's going to die, but I did not respond," he said.

"Obviously, toward the end, the story will develop faster than before and it will become more dynamic. The love story between the two couples in the drama becomes more ardent amid disasters and terror."