The special forces of laughter are dispatched.

Genie TV original drama ‘Rookie 3’ (directed by Min Jin-ki, Jo Je-wook, written by Yoon Ki-young, Kang Go-eun) depicts the Shinwha Unit on high alert due to the transfer of two unpredictable rookies and the return of an unprecedented villain, as well as the increasingly difficult military life of Park Min-seok (played by Kim Min-ho) who is about to be promoted to corporal.

‘Rookies’ Kim Min-ho, Nam Tae-woo, Lee Sang-jin, Jo Jin-se, Lee Chung-goo, Kim Hyun-gyu, Lee Jung-hyun, Jeon Seung-hoon, and Lee Soo-ji are once again active in ‘Evolved Military Life’. Kim Dong-jun, Oh Dae-hwan, and Kim Yo-han have newly joined the cast and are also active.

Director Min Jin-ki, who successfully led the previous two seasons. He said he felt pressured to be presenting the third season already and said, “I am determined to bring you even bigger laughter. As I wrapped up filming for ‘Rookie 3’, I thought it was like being discharged after serving in the military three times. It was a physically difficult time, but at the same time, I made a lot of memories, so it was even more memorable,” he said with excitement.

The ‘Rookie’ series broke down the barriers between dramas and entertainment shows and made its mark on the comedy genre as a ‘military content’. Director Min Jin-ki has a special belief behind this. “I think the laughter that a comedy drama should pursue is naturalness that starts from empathy”. He explained, “In that sense, I think ‘Rookie’, which is set in the military, was able to come this far because of the love and support of viewers. He continued, “Compared to the previous season, ‘Rookie 3’ has more attractive points and richer characters. If the previous season was based on realistic character play based on hyper-realism, this season, with the addition of new characters such as Segye, who started out as an actor, Captain Cho Baek-ho, who is full of humanity, Moon Bit-na-ri, who reminds us of Park Min-seok‘s days as a retired soldier, and Sergeant Park Min-joo, a super-special female warrior, the situation comedy has been strengthened,“ he said.

Writer Yoon Ki-young also chose character, empathy, and growth as keywords for Season 3. He explained, ”The charm of ‘Rookie 3’ is that you can see characters who are close to your daily life living together, bumping into each other, and growing through laughter through incidents and emotions that anyone can relate to that can happen in the military on a daily basis.“

With everything upgraded, what is the biggest difference? Director Min Jin-ki said, ”‘Rookie 3’ has more episodes and richer characters, so I focused on strengthening the dramatic fun.“ That’s why I tried to portray the emotions and worries of individuals, and the conflicts between classes as detailed and realistically as possible,” he explained. Writer Yoon Ki-young also said, “During the planning stage, we looked for materials through various consultations and interviews with soldiers, military prosecutors, and soldiers serving at the time, with the top priority being, ‘It has to be something that could definitely happen in the military,’” and “I thought a lot about materials and incidents that weren‘t covered in previous seasons, and things that could possibly happen.”

Lastly, director Min Jin-ki said, “We tried to deliver all the fun that a series drama can offer, from even more enhanced comedy, satire and humor about the absurdity within the military, the human figures portrayed by the rich characters, romance, and parody,” and said, “I couldn’t ask for more if it can be a work that can bring a smile to someone‘s tough life, even if only for a moment.” Here, writer Yoon Ki-young said, “I think the reason ’Rookie 3‘ was able to return is thanks to the viewers who enjoyed watching seasons 1 and 2. The production team and actors have prepared hard to live up to that anticipation and interest, so you can look forward to ’Rookie 3‘ that has grown even more than the previous seasons.”

’Rookie 3‘ will be first aired on Channel ENA at 10 p.m. on April 7.
Reporter Hong Se-young, projecthong@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.