Jejoongwon is the first modern hospital in Korea established in the Joseon era in 1885. Baek Do Yang is a nobleman who gives up his status to enter its ranks. Hwang Jung is a butcher's son who becomes a physician, while Seok Ran enters Jejoongwon as an interpreter but takes on medical training to become a doctor.

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  Han Hye Jin (Yoo Seok Ran)

  Main Role

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  Park Yong Woo (Hwang Jung)

  Main Role

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  Yeon Jung Hoon (Baek Do Yang)

  Main Role

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  Choi Ja Hye (Naoko)

  Supporting Role

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  Yoon Gi Won (Yoon Je Wook)

  Supporting Role

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  Kim Sung Oh (Sungkyunkwan scholar)

  Supporting Role

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• Jan 29, 2012 36 of 36 episodes seen

  dramajunkie
  14 of 14 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  10
  • Story  10
  • Acting/Cast  10
  • Music  10
  • Rewatch Value  9

  **Note: this review contains minor spoilers. **
  
  There are dramas that you watch and shortly forget about. There are dramas that you occasionally recall, but are not too memorable. Then, there are dramas that remain with you for a long time and immediately come to mind when asked about good dramas in general. Jejoongwon undoubtedly belongs to the last group. It has a “complete package” that is sure to please its viewers.
  
  Jejoongwon tells the true story of the first western medical hospital in Joseon era Korea. There are three central stories to Jejoongwon: the so called “rags-to-riches” story, the rivalry between two very competent people story, and the love story. All of these sub-stories are told in a very different manner than most k-dramas, and provide something for everyone to enjoy.
  
  The “rags-to-riches” part presents a man, Hwang Jung, belonging to the lowest class in the Korean caste system, the butchers (who were considered so low in status, they weren’t even allowed to have family names and were referred to by nicknames given to each other), who defies all obstacles (and there are many!) to become one of the first physicians of Korea.
  
  The rivalry is between Hwang Jung and Beak Do Yang, the son of a nobleman with a keen interest in western medicine. The two have a natural affinity to medicine and are both outstanding at what they do, but one will always be better. The progression is unlike what many would expect, and doesn’t overpower the larger story at hand.
  
  The main romance is between Hwang Jung and Yu Seok Ran, the daughter of an interpreter. Their romance is very gentle and gradual, but very fervent and touching nonetheless. Yu Seok Ran is a very unique k-drama heroine. She is ahead of her time, intelligent, kind, and self-assured. She also has a wonderful relationship with her father that is very moving and hard to come by.
  
  At its core, Jejoongwon depicts the lives of three very different people who all see a similar future for Korea. They recognize that times are changing, and aid in the modernization of Korea through medicine.
  
  The story is extremely well written. Taking historical events and rewriting them into a drama must be a difficult task, but it was executed very well. The characters were well developed and scene transitions were especially done well.
  
  The acting was exceptional also. The casting of roles was very fitting for the characters. The role of Hwang Jung was played to perfection by Park Yong Woo. Hwang Jung is a man that has had to be invisible when facing member of the other classes for all of his life. He was not allowed to look at them directly, and needed to stick to the butcher’s neighborhood as much as possible or else be beaten and spit on. This causes confusion for someone who was instilled with these ideas since childhood and now has to live among people of the upper classes. Everything from Park Yong Woo’s facial expressions to body language expressed exactly what Hwang Jung was feeling throughout the story, a feature that is hard to find in many actors. Han Hye Jin has a great screen presence and brought Yu Seok Ran to life beautifully. Yun Jung Hoon also did a good job as Beak Do Yang, though not great.
  
  Jejoongwon has one of the best OST’s I’ve heard in a while. The music fit the story well and increased emotional reactions to the scenes at hand.
  
  The cinematography was not outstanding, but there were a few shots that were admirably filmed. I do wish there were more of those shots, but I was satisfied with everything else being done well.
  
  In short, this was a very well produced drama that has sadly been overlooked, but deserves its recognition. A great story, excellent acting, plus a good OST to intensify the viewing experience, I recommend to this to everyone who has not had the chance to watch it.
  
  **I have tried to make this review as objective as possible, but it is very hard to do with something that has moved me this much.** read more

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• Dec 22, 2011 36 of 36 episodes seen

  BladeySteeleye
  13 of 13 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  10
  • Story  10
  • Acting/Cast  10
  • Music  9
  • Rewatch Value  5

  Times are a changing' is a suitable tagline for this drama, set at the decline of the Joseon dynasty era.
  
  
  The story is slow but once it ends, it leaves the viewer with a feeling of great satisfaction and completeness. There is a sense of having experienced a change; it's also a very consistent drama in terms of pace, development and balancing some things out; it's a steady story but I felt butterflies and knots when things got to a particulary meaningful or touching moment.
  
  In short, it's a heart-warming and heart-wrenching drama about changes and progress, about great difficulties and political changes and a hopeful drama about good people struggling to be happy and help others, to bring about a change; it is also a drama about some immature douchebags growing and becoming better humans. At te core is essentially the struggle to become the best doctor possible.
  
  
  Story: 10/10 The story is very interesting because it deals with how Korean society has to adjust to new, Western ways in a very particular area: medicine, where so many folk beliefs, supersitions misconceptions and class preudcices are especially noticeable. In doing so, the drama deal with certain issues, such as class prejudices and domestic abuse of women. There is a lot of symbolism here related to belonging to a class and rejecting a class into which one is born. The sheer need for that is significant for the drama and enhances its general mood.
  
  Woven into it is a story focused on three main characters who undertake training to be doctors (the show does have a few medicine details and can be a bit graphic since they do show a bit of operating practices, so be forewarned, if you are asily made queasy and/or disgusted, you may want to skip some parts) and we have here a great sense of development. There is a growing and very gentle love story full of respect, true partnership (but also reverence) and a bit of a love triangle on the side, but the female protagonist is never really swayed in her feelings and I never really had a sense that the "third wheel" or second male lead in this particular triagnle was ever really interested in her; he was far more focused on the competition and becoming better than Hwang Jung. And that he was interested her felt more as a prt of not wanting to lose to Hwang Jung, which made im to go to significant lengths.
  
  The focus on medicine is, aside from personal and societal dimensions, also embedded in its political contexts, especially given problematic Korean-Japanese relationships, which is to be especially felt in the later part of the story.
  
  The story is therefore very rich and multi-layered, there is a sense of depth stemming from its gradual development. The progress is very satisfying, the love story subtle- it's the kind of drama where every gesture, every look are meanigful and heart-warming or heartbreaking, where respect is still a form of showing affection; it is a story of a true love and professional partnership, a very deep bond and also a very deep committment to helping people. The process of learning is greatly enhanced by numerous personal tragedies that befall our likeable heroes.
  
  Acting and Characters: 10/10 : The cast is just splendid! Park Young Woo brings out in his character, the Butcher littleDog who later becomes Hwang Jung (a sort of transition from lowborn to a freeborn, again in this time of Korea in transition) a great sense of deep humility and quiet fervour; he is predestined to be partnered in many ways than one with the female Yu Seok Ran, acted out by Han Hye Jin, a lovely and devoted lady whose parents, well at least the father, are quite progressive for the period. Or, to put it more apty- they are accepting with the changes and go with the spirit of the times and support the decisions of their daughter, even though they know she may be in for a difficult task : being a woman doctor.
  
  Then there is the Baek Do Yan noble who is very immature throughout most of the drama and his immaturity is deeply felt by the viewer to the point of being annoyed but it later comes together nicely.
  There are the wonderful characters of Dr Allen (the first director of the eponymous hospital) and Dr Horton (female),. Dr Allen is such a nice guy and has nice English too. There are also the successive hospital directors who are also quite likeable but given the great partk dr Allen has in the story and development, he is one of athe very memorable characters.
  
  All cast does excellent job but park Yong Woo was captivating at creating his characters- a deeply humane person, a quick learner who has a lot of pride too. Hasn Hye Jin ios equally fanbulous at portraying her character.
  
  Music: 9/10 Beautiful soundtrack enhances the moods of the drama perfectly and changes accordingly; it;s a really beautiful OST.
  
  Rewatch value is fine- I would rewatch some parts of it, but this is the kind of drama that leaves you with a sense of satisfaction that is quite enough; the characters, however are so memorable that you may want to meet with them again, to reminisce their story; but it's not a drama you'd rewatch, especially because it;s one of the longer ones.
  
  All in all, as long as you won't be discouraged by slow pace and a bit of graphic portryal of operating and even dissecting at the beginning, it's a thoroughly interesting and beautiful drama and the characters really memorable, the love story gentle and fragile and subdued; and a rivarly...
  
  Definitely worth a watch!
  
  This drama is largely underrated and received on ly one recoginition for Han Hye Jin's acting. I'm a bit sad that Park Yong Woo did not get any recongition, since I did feel he aqcted his heart out. read more

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• 
  Jewel in the Palace

  Both are quite long historical dramas with a very strong story, great cast, great development and a lot of substance. They take their time in telling the story; both also have similar medical-healing theme, although Jewel in the palace focuses more on the development of a single woman while the range of Jejoongwon is more sweeping, encompassing a much broader theme of introducing western medicine and establishing western hospital in Korea on the background of some political upheaveals, while following the story of three students and their trials and tribulations and also features some really memorable, strong, good and also some progressive-minded characters.

  reportRecommended by BladeySteeleye