This review may contain spoilers
Weak story but strong heart
Let's get the negative out of the way first -1) Weak writing and too many episodes. The first episodes were strong, then a big gap in the middle, then the last couple of issues tied everything up.
2) Often felt like a pout-fest. Between Park Shin Hye and Lee Sung Kyung, someone was always pouting.
3) Absolutely didn't buy Uhm Hyo Sub and Jeon Gook Hwan as father and son, there's only a 14-year difference between them.
4) The friend with the restaurant and the guy that quits and hangs out at her house. They could have both been eliminated with no loss of anything important.
5) The ridiculous breakup of the main couple. First, she tells him to change and then she pouts through the next episode. Just seemed like filler to me.
6) They always seemed to be having coffee or drinks throughout the day. I was wondering when they actually worked.
What I liked:
1) The main couple were so freaking cute together! I'm not normally a fan of student-teacher things, but that didn't bother me here. Once the years have passed and the first thing he does are asking if she's married or has a boyfriend, loved it!
2) I LOVED the story line of Yoon Do. Yoon Kyun Sang did a great job. He was true to his feelings throughout the entire drama, but wasn't obnoxious or trying to break up the main couple all the time.
3) I HATED Seo Woo! But that's a sign of good acting. Lee Sung Kyung made this a character you love to hate.
4) I was surprised to see Namkoong Min in episodes 13-15. That was a treat, he's always excellent.
5) Uhm Hyo Sub was also excellent as Seo Woo's father. I hated that character and felt that he got off too easy.
6) A couple of episodes were very touching.
7) Park Shin Hye downplayed the loud out of control crying.
8) Since this is an older drama, it was fun seeing so many actors that I've enjoyed in other projects.
So, it's not rocket science, but there were a lot of times that just made me smile.
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It took me a while to get back on this, this was on hold for quite some time
It took me a while to get back on this, this was on hold for quite some time, years to be exact. I had to start over again and watch from the very beginning, since I’ve forgotten what happened from where I left off which it episode 5. I am currently on episode 3. I have to admit I cried my eyes out my heart ached. Anything involving old people and animals those are a few things that can easily make me cry. I emphasize with some of the characters too.. it was so tragic. I’ll edit this review once I finish the whole series. I just hope it doesn’t disappoint.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I've read online reviews on this drama that say it doesn't have enough angst, that it plays like an American medical drama (sort of a Grey's Anatomy). My response to these criticisms is - once in a while a viewer would like to have a stress-free viewing experience instead of the emotional turmoil caused by meddling love rivals, meddling parents and the insanity called 'noble break ups'. That being said, ‘Doctors’ did not lack emotion/conflict/suspense. It had plenty with the power struggles, patient issues and the doctor relationships. The leads’ relationship was not smooth sailing although certainly not as angst filled as other dramas. Both characters had to learn how to involve the other in their life – in other words, don’t shoulder the burden alone.I absolutely loved ML. He was so upbeat, good-humored, cheerful and smiles, smiles, smiles! He could be playful and just plain FUN! As soon as he and FL meet again after a 13 year separation, he pretty much makes his intentions known. He immediately asks her if she's married or has a boyfriend. Shortly afterwards, he's plowing full steam ahead, suggesting they date - no mixed messages here. I guess he didn’t want to see her ride off on the back of a motorcycle again. Still, he did hide his troubles with a smile so he wasn’t always forthcoming. This is a complaint the FL had early on that caused them to give each other the silent treatment for a couple episodes. Considering the fact that FL was a prickly pear whenever he involved himself in her problems, she really had no leg to stand on. It was the pot calling the kettle black.
I liked FL despite her flaws. She was too obsessed with grandma's death - let it go, girl! - and her ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude was annoying at times. Nevertheless, I liked her calm, no nonsense demeanor and her confidence - she didn’t back down when faced with difficult decisions/situations. However, you could tell that ML was the wiser, more mature partner in this relationship. He advised her rightly to stop seeking revenge. Her stubborn tenacity was annoying, and I wanted to smack her around episode 16-17. She had strength, but she wasn’t wise. Her rash behavior towards Jin caused Ji Hong to accept consequences on her behalf. What a guy! Noble but not ‘stupid’ noble.
Now Seo Woo...what can I say? Massive inferiority complex. She was also incredibly immature. This immaturity is seen in episode 8 when she feels unjustly reprimanded for her comments during an 'awake' surgery. ML is absolutely right - doctors should remain calm so as not to panic the patient. Rather than liking men who like her, she goes up to whoever she likes and declares that they're going to be hers, which doesn't work out so well for her. Both Ji Hong and Yoon Do are men that know their own minds. Did Yoon Do deserve to be slapped silly? Yeah, he's a pompous ass at times but come on! I'm glad the scriptwriter didn't allow him to end up with her bc I just didn't see them as a couple. Frankly, I don’t think Seo Woo deserved ANY of the guys in this drama.
Yoon Do and his ‘homeless heaven’ added amusement. I’m surprised that a person called ‘knife’ at work would allow the ‘beagles’ to take over his home. Guess his bark is worse than his bite. I really liked In Joo once she ‘grew up’ and got over her crush on Ji Hong. Kang Soo was such an adorable puppy. He’s got the best blonde dye job I've seen on a Korean male. It actually looked good on him. Hated it when he had to shave off his lovely locks. Soon Hee should have kept the dark hair, but she played the bubbly BF well, and I thought her relationship with Joong Dae was cute. I could have done without all the old dudes and their power struggle, but I guess it added filler and intrigue.
Eye roll moment: I really had a hard time believing that both kids (episodes 13-15) had brain tumors at the same time. That’s scriptwriter overkill.
Favorite scene: end of episode 6 - ML dances in the rain and then gets FL to dance with him. Some online reviewers didn't like the 'awkward' kiss at the end of their dance, but it's supposed to be awkward since FL is panicking and pulling away. Future kisses made up for it!
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Decently done!
This is my second time watching Park Shin Hye portray a doctor. The plot is actually quite good, and as someone in the medical field myself, I can understand some of the details in the series. The story follows Dr. Yoo Hye Jung, a tough and rebellious high school bully with a prickly personality. Due to her traumatic childhood, Hye Jung keeps her emotions locked away from others. Her character has great development, and after her grandmother's death, she decides to become a doctor, determined to investigate what went wrong with her grandmother’s surgery. This is one of the reasons she transferred hospitals. In terms of character writing, she stands out.As for the romance, I think it could have worked, but not with the male lead, Professor Hong Ji Hong. I’ve watched a lot of series with significant age gaps, and while the age difference between them didn’t bother me, their chemistry did. It felt off, and I couldn't fully root for them. Part of the issue might be the writing; it was a bit unsettling at first. Teenage Hye Jung didn’t fall for her professor until she was an adult, but it seemed like the professor had feelings for her even when she was a teenager. Despite their relationship starting in adulthood, it was hard for me to support it knowing he was her former teacher.
I wasn't a fan of the professor's character either. Although the actor is talented and a veteran, his character felt stiff and uninteresting to me. On the other hand, Hye Jung had much better chemistry with her best friend Ji Soo or even the mafia guy she treated in the first episode.
Overall, I managed to finish the series, though it was painful at times, and I skipped quite a bit in the second half. While I might rewatch a few good scenes, I wouldn’t sit through the entire series again. The music, however, was quite soothing.
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no regrets watching this drama.. I love this drama, though I'm not a fan of Park Shin Hye and seldom watch medical dramas. Though I do not like a relationship to develop between a teacher and a student, the one between PSH & Kim Rae Won characters was believable. Thankfully the focus of the drama was mainly on the patients and the things happening within the hospital. fun fact, PSH did her own action scenes.
though this drama, I discovered actors Kim Min Seok and Uhm Hyo Sub. Kim Min Seok's impressive performance moved me to tears! Despite watching numerous dramas, I can still recall the storyline. this is what I'd call a good drama!!
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Different Hospital Themed Drama
I have seen four hospital themed kdrama and I can say that each offered variety in different ways. I admire how the story highlighted the misconception we often have about someone who present themselves as nuisance to the society, rotten or misfit. It can be a source of encouragement to individuals who are facing the same predicament. I am certain that they could draw some sort of motivation to pursue their own path and overcome their challenges too. I am a sucker for this type of drama. I prefer watching 16-20 episodes knowing that it is worth my while. Many realities in life is presented in this drama too, like struggle for power, life and death, choices, victim mentality, self-confidence, dedication to the craft or profession, and life-balance to name a few. This drama is not that heavy to watch and not overly romantic (to some who would shy away from this genre). You won't see much gory scene unlike in other drama where there's a significant amount of scenes depicting scenarios in the operating and emergency room treating major wounds or operation. So if you are that person who prefers less of it, this one is for you. The ensemble in this drama is surprisingly good -- I have not seen the male lead actor in other drama yet deemed him right for the role. Although I have seen the female lead and supporting male/female actors in other dramas, they were able to provide or show a different spectrum in terms of their acting or portrayal of the roles. I would recommend this along with the other hospital dramas I have seen so far.Was this review helpful to you?
A medical drama giving Grey's Anatomy vibe with balanced fun, angst, romance and chaebol-ness ?
Growing up in a family of doctors, I have immense fascination and affection for the profession, for which reason I have a slight bias for medical dramas. Not bias in judging, but bias in the priority for watching the show.I have watched most Chinese, Korean, English and Hindi medical dramas, and there's something about this show here that has brought me back to it several times for a rewatch. This show has now become therapeutic for me, wherein it would play in the background on a hectic day and I would relax to the beautiful melody of "It's Love" by Jungyup. Just the starting beats of the OST have me smiling and I can see every single moment between Hye Jung and Ji Hong flash before my eyes.
I like the character development of Hye Jung, and to be fair, PSH is one of the biggest reasons for me to keep watching this show. That coupled with excellent acting by some characters like Yoon Do, Seo Woo, Soon Hee, and Kang Soo keep me going. Soon Hee plays the role of Hye Jung's best friend beautifully and it is so amazing to see their bond traverse over the years. Similarly, LSK has delivered a powerful performance, like always, to the extent where she made me hate her character the first few times. You see her develop from this aloof personality to this strong woman who learns to prioritise herself, which is commendable. I also quite enjoy the cute and hilarious banter between Ji Hong and Yoon Do, kudos to both KRW and YKS for the amazing bromance!
In terms of the story, I like the swift shift we see in terms of the time period from Hye Jung's high school days to her life as a doctor. I also thoroughly enjoyed the storyline revolving around the grandmother and malpractice issue. What lifts it even more for me is LSK's brilliant portrayal of a person involved in the entire issue in some capacity. I also like how they keep it real by not giving it a fairy tale ending by putting the people behind bars for the main issue (not side issues like embezzlement). Hye Jung's acceptance of the issue and how her character derives peace at the end is very beautiful to watch over the span of the show and makes me happy for her. Totally love the grandmother, granddaughter bond. Though, I believe the show could've done without the unnecessary storyline of the stepmother and stepsister. Maybe even water down the story with the father to some extent. They seem like irrelevant characters to me and hence wasting so much time describing feelings related to them seems like unnecessarily stretching the show to me.
However, it's not all rainbows and sunshine. I am all for "age is just a number" and "age is no bar for love" but I'm just not able to understand the development of romantic feelings between the main leads here. He is a qualified and practicing doctor when he is teaching Hye Jung in high school. Which means she's a minor (if I'm not wrong) and it just gives me quite "pedophile vibes". Although it is not a huge age difference per se, it's just the timing of when it seems to begin that makes me uncomfortable because she was just so young. Although nothing happens, and it doesn't actually begin, so it's all okay. It's just uncomfortable in my head.
Another problem I face is the constant neglect of Ji Hong's feelings by Hye Jun. She seems to be walking all over him for most part of the show which really puts me off. Her aloof character begins to annoy but PSH's beautiful expressions make up for it and do not let me dwell too much into it. However, the shift we see in her character and the growth is commendable, which saves this show from going all downhill for me.
All in all, this is definitely worth a one time watch if you're into dramas with conspiracy, medicine and rom-com. It is not the slow burn or way too fluffy kinda romance, so, please keep that in mind when you go ahead with this wonderful piece of work!
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Solid trajectory but watches as continuously repetitive and tired .
Doctors is a drama that depicts lots of heart , growth and humanness.It had a lot going for it with full bodied characters that went through their individual phrasal evolution. That was great to watch until a certain point.
It also had great full circle moments that were great to watch until a certain point.
And I believe the premise of the main love story was totally cringe with the teacher/student angle and that just brought down the atmosphere of the overall drama in hindsight.
The cast was very underwhelming and I did not like the male lead at all. he was wooden and uninspired . Everyone else was plausibly okay.
I also had a hard time finishing it because everything became so repetitive so I felt less inclined to watch past the 16 eps mark.
However , it was a sweet drama with lots of warmth and cool medical procedures that added to thrill of watching the show.So, if you are trying to enter medical dramas , I suggest this one but I can guarantee you there are probably better ones .
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The opening scenes of this are class, we see a mob boss and his gang come into the hospital and our female lead doctor comes to see what the problem is and is greeted by a bunch of sexist nonsense. She tries to approach the boss to examine him and is fended off, with the comment "we don't go easy on girls", to which she replies possibly the best response ever, "does that make it less embarrassing when you get beaten?" and then proceeds to drop them all to the floor with her martial arts skills.
In terms of characters and their development, it was Lee Sung Kyung's character Jin Seo-u that really stood out for me. She is the "third point" of a love triangle and general all around bitter person - she starts out actually good and welcomes new girl Hye Jung (the female lead) into her friend group at school, but it becomes clear that her strength of character is remarkably fragile and when the FL starts to achieve top marks in school things start turning south and she ends up triggering various nasty events that have an impact on numerous other characters lives. She always struck me as someone who was, at her heart, a good person - but having been brought up by parents that have taught her the wrong values she's got something of a fragile character with a keenness for lashing out, much like her father - I was really hoping that by the end of the show she'd have stepped up on her own and gained her own strength of character and one of the absolute highlights of the story for me was when this ultimately happened.
I found the romance between the FL and ML to be... odd. It's like the author threw bits and pieces into the story and it never really gels. Issues arise but don't get resolved and just forgotten about. For example, the FL approaches the ML and says that she's upset that the ML isn't letting her into his life more, he's keen to help her out but won't let her in to return it. He perfectly reasonably explains that it's just not what he's used to because of his past, I get that, and then she says that she needs him to change and let her in. To me, that sounded like a perfectly reasonable discussion and I was thrilled to see communication and compassion between the two. He then, for a separate reason, has to go off to the states for three weeks. When he comes back, he's cold, distant, damn near ignores her and talks formally only to her. I thought it was really odd and thought - oh here comes "stupid breakup #1" but no, he explains "i was waiting for your call", and she says "oh" and boom - we're back on track folks. Wait, what? He still hasn't let you into his life, he still hasn't resolved the core issue you raised, but we're ok now? Hmm.
Once the two actually get together they have a fun time and I enjoyed seeing them together.
Tertiary characters
- In Ju - brilliant, wish we'd seen more of her. I kept getting triggered thinking "I'm sure i've seen her before" and then it dawned on me that some of her expressions and mannerisms are an absolute likeness for a slightly older Kim So Hyun.
- Choi Kang Soo - one of the junior doctors, goes through a tough time and I really enjoyed seeing those parts of the story. Also hints at possible future relationship there though it isn't really explored in the drama.
- Ahn Jong Dae - a fun character, another junior doctor, and potential future relationship for him too - though again, not explored.
Good to see Nam Goong Min in as a guest for two or three episodes too, he played a really nice role, quite a tough one, and it's nice not to see him as the evil bad guy for a change (Remember, Girl who sees Scents).
Overall, worth a watch, but not one that had me keen to click Next Episode as much as some of the others i've seen.
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First I need to confess that I no real fan of medical dramas, this kind of dramas are always in the bottom of my list for watching However I read the plot and I thought why not.
So nice to watch Dortors is a drama that show diferent real cases and situations in a hospital also mix romantic and cute situation, Park Shin Hye did a good work and the principal actor is so nice he is so tender and comprensible always help (I know I fell in love).
My last medical drama was Blood and was the worst. In Doctors you can find kind and cute second male who didnt angry of create unconfortable situations conversely He always funny and his relations with everyone so great.
The ost was nice too. "No way" is my favorite song ^^ you must to listen...In review the cast, situations, the ending(so romantic) are things that worth seeing. No is the best drama I know But no is bad you can enjoy and delight
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Great synopsis
Ah doctors, the name itself suggests that a story would be superheroes saving lives.but you will be disappointed as me if you are a medicA great synopsis was writted to lure the adience into the trap but after the coming from a countryside university PSH backdrop had nothing to do with it. She just focused on her work, the story shifted onto secondry characters.I thought when I started watching this series that PSH is very talented but as the story grew i don't know it lacked all the elements of a good story of this medical field.
The leads were wasted in this story. Had it not been for the leads i would have dropped it after 8 episode.The only possiblie thing that I completed it was PSH.
Matured love couple dating naturally. No spark no feel. Story huh where was it.they were too stiff as a couple. I just coldnt feel their
It was a very poor written script am really very disappointed.
Ost no never want to listen again.
Rewatch please give me a break to finish it.
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Badass female lead for a badass drama.
I love any drama where there is female empowerment. I have particularly enjoyed watching this drama because it shows a different portrait of beauty. Usually Asian dramas tend to depict females as week, gentle and prette but that is not the case. In this drama the female lead is a badass woman, sometimes rude to hide her weaknesses and sometimes gentle and the contrast between these two sides of the character is what makes her beautiful. It is what makes her real.The story is catchy and the acting cast is truly good. I loved every single character especially the second male lead. He truly is husband material. Also the second female lead was an interesting character who, in the end, recognizes her faults and accept them. The main couple was a bit off though, I wish their relationship could be build a little more. Overall, this drama is really good.
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