What a view | Netflix series D.P. reveals harsh truths about South Korean military, and puts mandatory national service under the spotlight
- D.P. follows pizza delivery boy Jung Hae-in as he joins the South Korean military police and tracks down deserters who flee their mandatory military service
- The harsh treatment and bullying portrayed in the series has led to calls to end the requirement for men in South Korea to perform two years’ national service
It seems we have Kim Jong-un to thank for the fact that South Korea still demands conscription to its armed forces. And by extension, for Netflix series D.P. (Season 1 now streaming).
Korean military service appears unlikely to be a hoot for anyone, not least Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in), who is transformed overnight from pizza delivery boy to defender of democracy – even though he joined up voluntarily. Nevertheless, he is lucky, avoiding some of the humiliation of, and physical attacks on, new recruits to the army by being invited to join the Military Police.
And it is in this sub-branch of the force that we lay our scene, and from where new mutiny is inevitably going to break forth against traditional constraints – don’t beat up your superiors, don’t answer back, that sort of thing.
Bad eggs among the recruits who compound their transgressions by going AWOL mean the soldiers of the Deserter Pursuit (DP) team have their hands full trying to apprehend and bring them back. Not that they can be blamed for going on the run, when back at barracks all they have to look forward to is almost two years of being punched, kicked, tormented psychologically and other delights.
On the other hand, preparing troops for battle was never designed to be a stroll through a meadow full of daisies. And technically, the Korean war is still being fought.
