The smash-hit television series "Descendants of the Sun" received the top honor at the 2017 Korea Communications Commission Broadcasting Awards on Monday.

The series garnered high scores for its quality screenplay and depiction of the core humanitarian values of peace and dedication while being hugely popular at home and abroad as a successful pre-produced drama series, according to the Korea Communications Commission, the nation's broadcasting watchdog body.


Broadcast simultaneously on South Korean terrestrial television network KBS 2TV and Chinese broadcasting and video sharing platform iQiyi in 2016, the Wednesday-Thursday series tells the love story of doctor Kang Mo-yeon (Song Hye-kyo) and Army Capt. Yoo Si-jin (Song Joong-ki) in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk.

It became a sensation in both countries, concluding with a viewership of 38.8 percent in South Korea, which is rare for a weeknight show, narrowly missing the highly anticipated 40-percent milestone.

The second prize went to KNN's radio series, "Barrier-free Opera" while 12 titles, including tvN's two hit series "Guardian:

The Lonely and Great God" and "Signal" and EBS's documentary "Green Animal," won third. (Yonhap)