Jennylyn Mercado, Dominic Zapata formally accept 'DOTS PH' first int'l award

A month after GMA Network announced Descendants of the Sun (The Philippine Adaptation)'s first international recognition, Jennylyn Mercado and its director, Dominic Zapata, formally accepted the Kapuso series' Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year award from the recently concluded 15th Seoul International Drama Awards.

Both Jennylyn and Dominic pre-recorded their speeches at home as the awards ceremony was held without an audience due to the COVID-19 scare.

They may not be able to attend the ceremony, but they expressed their sincerest gratitude to the Seoul International Drama Awards committee.

Jennylyn, who plays the female lead role of Dr. Maxine, said, "I would like to thank Seoul International Drama Awards for awarding our show, Descendants of the Sun, as the Most Popular Foreign Drama for 2020.

"We're so sorry we cannot make it for the awards ceremony but, nonetheless, it's truly an honor that our love and passion for telling stories in television is recognized internationally."

For his part, Direk Dom said in his speech, "On behalf of the creative team, staff and crew, and the management of GMA Network Philippines, thank you so much to the Seoul International Drama Awards for this honor."

The 15th Seoul International Drama Awards also awarded Dingdong Dantes the Asian Star Prize for his stellar performance as Captain Lucas Manalo in the local adaptation of Korean drama series, Descendants of the Sun.

Both Most Foreign Drama of the Year and Asian Star Prize awards are non-competition categories in the Seoul International Drama Awards, honoring excellence in television drama productions worldwide.

Its awards ceremony was held on September 10 at the MBC Media Center Public Hall, and was streamed on MBC Drama's YouTube channel today, September 15.