The Channel A entertainment program ‘Steel Troop W’, which gained explosive popularity by depicting the passionate camaraderie of female soldiers, is finally nearing its finale. The program, which has been depicting the competition between six teams of female reservists for the honor of their units since last October, will conclude its two-month journey by revealing the winning unit in its final episode on the 17th.

○ A new milestone for ‘Tough Women’

The program has been a hot topic even before it aired as the first female soldier episode of Channel A‘s mega hit series ‘Steel Troop W’. In addition to the existing participating units such as the Special Mission Force (SMF), the 707th Special Mission Group (707), and the Military Special Warfare Command (SMF), a total of 6 teams including the Army and the Navy competed to reflect the small number of female reservists.

The final episode that will air on the 17th will reveal the final battle between the Special Forces and the Marine Corps that advanced to the final round. Previously, the contestants demonstrated strong physical and mental strength in various missions that pushed them to the limit, creating an unpredictable match. Thanks to this, the Special Mission Force and 707, which were strong candidates for the championship, were eliminated, and the Marine Corps advanced to the finals for the first time this season, resulting in a twist.

In particular, Marine ‘Elephant’ Lee Su-yeon with extraordinary strength, 707 Park Bo-ram who set the record for clearing a mission in the shortest time in the series’ history, and Special Forces team leader Kim Ji-eun who led the team to the finals with calm leadership, etc. showed a new image of strong women on the broadcasting industry and caused a sensation. Thanks to their deep camaraderie that was so touching, some people responded by saying ‘Some prejudices against female soldiers were broken’.

○Reconfirmation of IP expandability

‘Steel Troops W’, the fourth installment of ‘Steel Troops’, has proven the power of a strong IP (intellectual property) by expanding the scale and scope of the series.

This program, in addition to existing missions such as trench warfare, added events that require shooting skills and strategies such as night sniping, tank shell supply march, and weapon recapture battle, thereby presenting a more diverse range of fun in the military entertainment format. In addition, large-scale military facilities such as 3,000-ton ships and a circular shooting range were mobilized to maximize the scale.

According to producer Shin Jae-ho, the changes were made “with the aim of discovering new characters and energy to continue the series”. Thanks to the popularity of this season, which ranked 3rd in the non-drama category of ‘TV·OTT Topic’ announced by topicality research company Good Data Corporation, the broadcaster‘s will to diversify its formats is also growing.

The new entertainment program ‘Steel Earth’, which features the cast of all seasons of ‘Steel Troops’ traveling through the great outdoors, is already on the air. The YouTube content ‘Steel Troops W Remastered’ series, in which ‘Steel Troops’ alumni such as Park Jun-woo (Park Gun) and Lee Jin-bong watch and commentate on the original broadcast, is also popular, with over 600,000 views at its peak.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com