Channel A‘s hit series ‘Steel Troops’, the first female soldier special, ‘Steel Troops W’, has come to an explosive end, and will air an epilogue on the 24th.

On the 18th, Channel A announced, “‘Comrades Association’, which contains the untold story of ‘Steel Troops W’, which shed light on the toughness and extraordinary military spirit of the female soldiers of the Republic of Korea and formed an explosive fandom, will be released on the 24th.‘Steel Troops W’, which first aired on October 1st and continued to generate high viewership ratings and buzz for three months, ended on the 17th with the Marines winning for the first time in the season’s history.

CP Seo Hye-seung and PD Shin Jae-ho, who successfully led the program, gave generous applause to the 24 reservists from 6 units who participated in the broadcast.

First, CP Seo Hye-seung explained the reason for planning the first female soldier special of the season, saying, “After the broadcast of the last season, ‘Steel Troops 3’, we thought a lot about whether there was a story we could take further. We chose female soldiers at the crossroads of whether to increase the scale or look at it from a different perspective.” She added, “As a result, the female soldiers who are strong, trustworthy, and armed with great spirit and have diverse characters provided a story that made it more immersive to the ‘Steel Troops’ narrative. They also created a fandom that rivals that of Season 1, proved their skills, and showed that they are cool soldiers.”

Including the Marines who actually won, all the units‘ members made their names known to the viewers, and even the ‘Pop-up Store’ recorded a huge hit with their huge fandom. The ‘Pop-up Store’ held in Yeouido from October 18th to 31st was so crowded that the surrounding area was paralyzed.

PD Shin, who visited the ‘Pop-up Store’ at the time, was very surprised because it was his first time experiencing the heat of “‘Steel Troop W’. There were so many people that they urgently had to request crowd control. “I was shocked by the sight that was reminiscent of an idol fan signing event,” he said, conveying the heated atmosphere on site.

When asked which unit he expected to win, PD Shin honestly answered, “I predicted the Marines would have the upper hand based on their physicals, but it was hard to predict. I thought 707 would be a strong candidate after the first mission.” He then explained, “It was only when we reached the end of the final mission that I thought, ’What if there was a complete upset?‘ and the Marines’ victory came to mind.”

PD Shin also expressed special gratitude to the Marines and Special Forces who made it to the finals. He said, “The Marines were cool for showing their bold side as a unit carrying out landing operations,” and reflected, “I was impressed by Agent Yang Hae-joo‘s words, ’The special forces will carry out the same operation even if they go back after knowing the results.‘” CP Seo also said, “I am grateful for burning passion for the unit they dedicated their youth to.”

When asked about the memorable scene and the most impressive agent from this season, both of them chose 707 Park Bo-ram and ‘48 Second Sniper’, drawing attention. CP Seo said, “Agent Park Bo-ram set a record for the shortest time to clear a mission in the history of ‘Steel Troops’. This scene garnered close to 4 million views, showing how much viewers are crazy about agents with the best skills. In particular, the response from female viewers in their 20s and 30s was explosive,” he said. PD Shin also emphasized, “At the time, on set, even the camera director and Master Choi Young-jae were all struggling to keep up with the next target. I don’t think any agent from the previous seasons would be able to surpass Agent Park Bo-ram in sniping.”

They also generously revealed the hidden stories of ‘Steel Troop W’. CP Seo said, “When we said we were planning a female soldier special, ‘Remastered’ MCs Park Gun and Lee Jin-bong guaranteed that it wouldn’t be possible and that it wouldn’t be successful because the number of female special forces is small. PD Shin was stimulated by these words and said, ‘I will definitely make it a success,”,” making everyone laugh.

While the will and passion of PD Shin Jae-ho, who made a project that even the previous season’s cast worried about a success, is surprising, the fact that the regular units, the Army and Navy, participated for the first time in the season, was also evaluated as a ‘god‘s stroke of luck’.

Regarding the surprising skills of the Army and Navy, who were considered the weakest, CP Seo said, “Thank you for proving the underdog’s rebellion”, and PD Shin said, “Team Leader Won Cho-hee of the Navy scored 10 points in 3 consecutive ‘pistol shooting’, and the Army‘s strong physical strength and IBS paddling ability surprised all the on-site staff. It properly impressed upon us that there are many excellent and spirited soldiers even if they are not special forces.”

If the members ran around the battlefield and did a great job, the ‘Studio MC Corps’ also ‘double-pulled’ the popularity of the program with their sincere comments and heated discussions. In particular, MC Kim Dong-hyun’s shoulders soared high when the Marines won for the first time this season. PD Shin said, “Mr. Kim Dong-hyun has been a consistent supporter of the Marines since Season 1, as expected from a Marine Corps background. As soon as the Marines‘ victory was announced, I can’t forget the look on Mr. Kim Dong-hyun‘s face when he was delighted and said, ‘Is this real?’,” he laughed.

Also, when asked if the studio MCs had any complaints about the tense endings of each episode, they said, “Mr. Kim Hee-chul often sent text messages full of internal conflict, such as, ‘Why on earth did you cut him off there? No, don’t answer!’. I was secretly proud,” he said.

He also said, “I was always grateful that the MCs were so immersed in the show. I was also touched when the MCs shed tears at the sight of Team 707 Jeon Min-seon struggling during the quarterfinals. When Team Leader Jo Sung-won’s special task force was eliminated, the MCs were heartbroken. They were so upset that the attractive team member they wanted to watch was eliminated that they even hurled complaints at me after the recording was over.”

Team Leader Jo Sung-won made a surprise appearance as a special MC due to the enthusiastic response from the MCs. PD Shin added, “He was a very popular team member, and the production team was also disappointed that he was eliminated early. That’s why we invited him to the studio.” PD Shin also did not forget to express gratitude for Master Choi Young-jae’s hard work, not only in the studio but also on site. He said, “Master Choi Young-jae trained many female soldiers when he was serving as a captain, so I was able to hear a lot of practical advice. We shared opinions organically, and I received a lot of help on set, such as when preparing props.”

Lastly, regarding the success factor of ‘Steel Troop W’, CP Seo said, “The members were honest in expressing their emotions and showed their love and respect without holding back. ‘Steel Troop W’ will end, but the members‘ characters will remain.” PD Shin said, “‘Steel Troop W’ is not a survival program that only highlights the winners. The tears of the five eliminated units and their thoughts during the competition give us a clear message. I think the members’ sincere words, ”The results are disappointing, but I have no regrets because I gave it my all,“ contain the essence of life.”

Regarding the possibility of producing the next female soldier special or spin-off, CP Seo emphasized, “I hope you watch the ‘Steel Troop W’ comradeship first to increase your anticipation for the next season. You will be able to see the intimacy and cute decorations of the female soldiers. Although the format of the subsequent seasons has not been confirmed, we will continue to grow.” PD Shin also said, “If we produce a ‘Steel Troop W’ season 2, I have high expectations that we will be able to meet more diverse applicants,” expressing his anticipation with the same mindset as the viewers.

Meanwhile, the untold stories of the six units of ‘Steel Troop W’ that made viewers laugh and cry over the past three months and their various charms can be seen on ‘Steel Troop W-Comradeship,’ which will air on the 24th at 10 p.m.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com