Near flawless execution of the age-old Korean drama formula
I was hesitant to watch Doctor John for two main reasons: the medical genre and the actor Ji Sung, but the positive online comments and strong viewership ratings made me reconsider. I am delighted to report that this drama is well-worth a watch. Doctor John tastefully navigates the familiar kdrama plot line and accurately nails each and every emotional delivery, leaving viewers connecting and empathizing just like our main leads.Story:
Although the pace and structure of the story follows the familiar formula, there is just enough flavor and twist to keep viewers engaged throughout the plot. Doctor John also balances this with a healthy dose of foreshadowing while not making the plot boring and obvious. I’m not very familiar with the Screenwriter (Kim Jiwoon), but the director (Jo Soowon) has an impressive resume of tightly directed stories.
This brings me to my first hesitation with Doctor John, the hospital setting. My favorite “medical” drama is Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim, and that drama relies less on medical complications than Doctor John. The cases in Doctor John are more severe and less believable to me, but when I do buy into the story, the cases are surprising charming. On top of this, Doctor John does not lack in connecting the patient cases to the leads’ lives, which is the strength of RDTK. Though it requires some imagination and suspension of disbelief, the medical plot of Doctor John is engaging, contrary to my expectations.
The other major component of the story is the character designs. On the surface, the designs pretty much cover all the different types of characters we expect in kdrama, and that means that viewers can relate to and root for many characters for varying reasons. I think that’s a key of why kdrama is popular with global audiences, so I can’t knock Doctor John for sticking to stereotypical character designs.
Overall, Doctor John encapsulates the things we love about Korean dramas, suspenseful cliffhangers, loveable characters, and awkward product placement (PPL). After Doctor John, I am less hesitant to watch another Korean medical drama.
Acting:
My second major hesitation for not watching this drama is Ji Sung, and that’s because of how poorly I rated him in Kill Me, Heal Me. I cannot agree with the prevailing sentiment on KMHM. However, Ji Sung outperforms my misconception and cleanly executed his role, and I can now confidently use Ji Sung as an example of an actor that meets “Main Role” expectations, especially amidst the crop of rookie actors of the past few years.
I want to clear up a small point about the “Strong Female Lead” tag; the female lead actually cries a lot. She cries because her strength is empathy (react how you will). I just wish that she could convey her “empathy” in more ways than crying. In a similar vein, many of the supporting actors only play their stereotypical characters when I would have liked to see more risk-taking acting. The caveat is that the director has shown a tendency to do this to side characters based on his past works.
Still, I found the acting in Doctor John above expectations and look forward to all the actors’ next works. Specifically, Ji Sung’s performance convinced me to go back and watch Familiar Wife, another drama I put off due to his involvement.
Music:
2019 has been an amazing year for drama OSTs, but the music of Doctor John rates average at best. In some ways, the music is an accurate representation of the drama as a whole. There is a well-planned mix of music that is carefully crafted to fit various scenes. The music always adds and does not detract from what is happening on screen. However, it does not stand out on its own and leaves no lasting impact when the scene ends.
Rewatch Value:
The only drawback to such a well executed drama is that it executed the standard kdrama formula, which is relatively safe. It is as if this drama was conceived from a focus group of veteran drama watchers listing the things that they enjoy, and the result is a mashup of ideas that are all a little too familiar. I’m sure more dramas will continue to attempt the same, and I will continue to watch them, instead of circling back and rewatching Doctor John. I can only imagine how amazing this drama could have been had it executed a more risky and daring concept.
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♡This drama had brought me to a new perspective about doctors, specifically in anesthesiology department and pain department center. It gave me a lot of motivation especially to strive hard and do the best in my study. This drama did not only gave me entertainment, but the most important part is I've learned a lot from this drama. It was also very overwhelming for Dr. Cha and his team whom don't give up easily to their patients and want those patients to live longer. ?? I've also got to learn about how and what a doctor really is. ??⚕️??⚕️??⚕️??⚕️
♡The background song of this drama should also need to be given a huge compliment and praise. I'm really obsessed with this lovely song. ??
♡Ji Sung and Se Young have worked very hard to adapt to their character. Both of them did a great job. I've saw so much chemistry between Dr. Cha Yo Han and Dr. Kang Si Young although they have a huge age gap. They were both amazing and gives off a real vibe. I'm really really fond of them and sincerely wish them winning the Best Couple Awards. ??♀️??♀️??⚕️??⚕️
♡
Love from,
Malaysia ??
♡
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Unfortunately this great start came soon to an abruptly end, the show change environment and explain in a rushed way what happened, at this point you ask your self “now what?”
I stick around to see where the plot line wanted to go but nothing major happened, they start adding sub-plots after sub-plots. There are so many that is hard to get attached to one of them, because the show switch constantly between them. Each sub plot is moving slowly making very little progress, I dropped this half way and I still can’t tell you what the drama is trying to tell us. It’s a romance? It’s a medical? It’s a legal?
The writer try to fit too many elements and this create an unbalanced story where one of the main lead is almost relegated to a supportive role because there is no time for him.
The various sub plots steal tons of screen time, therefore there is no space to develop any of the other character involved in the story, specially the other main lead. Definitely a huge mistake made by the writer.
Another problem is that, as always happens with kdrama, they forced the romance and they use it as a bait to grab the viewers, in fact many viewers are over hyped about it. I watched half drama and there isn’t actually a romance plot-line, there are sweet moments here and there but that’s it. The FL has a crush on the ML and follow him around like a puppy, this is the extension of the romance during this 16 episodes. Besides considering she is a trainee much more younger than him, I find the romance very forced whereas a doctor/trainee relationship where she respect her mentor without falling in love would have be more realistic. The FL is also one of those doctor that feels empathy and for this reason her character came out as one of those kdrama girl who cry a lot.
Nothing to tell about the acting that is superb like always when Ji Sung is involved, but unfortunately the plot is a mess.
Overall this drama has a great concept but it is obvious that the writer didn’t know how to fill the plot and end up adding too much stuff without being able to control it.
Dropped at ep 16 out of 32.
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The story plot was well-written and the music is on point! Though I understand some people doesn't like romance tied into it, but this is a kdrama, what's a kdrama without romance :p I don't mind it but I do hope they will focus more on euthanasia plot line.
This is one of my top favorite drama even though I didn't finish it yet. Cannot wait for the next episode!
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Rewatching it again for the 3rd or 4th time
As someone who loves medical drama, this hands down to be in my top 3 best medical drama I’ve ever watched.No matter how many times I rewatch this drama, I absolutely enjoy every minute of it.
I have no complain about the plot, nor the pace of this drama.
The love story between the 2 main lead is BEAUTIFUL.
I’m a big fan of Ji-Sung and he portrays Cha Yo Han as someone who’s a bit mysterious, crazy, genius and all that really good. How he carry himself portraying his character shows that he is indeed deserved all the love and the support from everyone who enjoys seeing him as an actor.
Lee Se Young, well she’s been acting since she was a child. So, i like her here. Though sometimes I think that she might be a little dramatic at some point, but it’s just my opinion.
No complain whatsoever about the side characters.
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Surprisingly disappointing. Good story though the logic is super off. Terrible character design.
Story Plot [+]It's a very good story - good plot on the ML's life, quite a few of thought-provoking/impressive/inspiring moments, but the character design on the villain side is the worst. It's a story full of clever people who are intentionally unprofessional and prejudiced.
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Logic of the story [-]
I don't understand why so many people in the story try to say that a person who can't feel physical pain due to an illness isn't approved to be a doctor as well as put all the blames on the person. This logic comes out so forcefully. The series tries super hard to make this claim valid, but it still feels super off.
I don't understand either why people like the prosecutor take the idea of euthanasia of consent, terminally ill patients as something to be so vengeful toward the doctor who is willing to help the patients. It's to the point that he wants to destroy the doctor's life and career as well as put him into jail even though the action of the doctor complies with the patient's desire. This topic of euthanasia is surely a socially debatable topic. But the opposing side in this series takes this issue very personally to the point of personal grudge and vengeance. It's so extreme without a proper root or cause that would help the viewers to understand and empathize with, thus their actions feel very off. It's like this series has devalued this social issue by portraying the opinions from the opposing side as illogical to the point of absurd and psychopathic. This topic that is worth being discussed has become some nonsense, personal issue of the irrational villains.
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Character Design [-]
The first one is the prosecutor who is competent but blindsided and has the habit of rushing to a conclusion. I don't understand his competence at all. These traits of his must prevent him from being clearheaded enough to be able to have an objective analysis on his cases. Not to talk about his vengefulness in destroying an ex-verdict without a proper cause. I don't understand his long-term vengeance towards the ML who has no personal issue with him. He often blames the ML that the ML euthanized his patient to make his own mind feel at ease by not having to see the patient being tortured from the terminal illness, but he also says the ML doesn't have the right to treat patients because ML has an illness that makes him not able to feel pain thus he wouldn't understand patients' pain and just does the scientific experiment on human's bodies due to curiosity via medical treatment. Is this kind of contradictory logic supposed to come from a character who is a competent prosecutor?
The second is the hospital-management-team doctor who openly attacks the ML on all sorts of unreasonable issues no matter how nonsense the issue is to start with. It's like he is clouded by a kind of hatred that doesn't have a cause, either. The ML isn't even a threat to his position. I don't understand his stupidity at all. In reality, all the blames he openly puts on the ML would normally harm himself back as a high-level doctor. It would easily cause people to be skeptical about his qualification in his position that needs objectivity and analytical skills. I don't understand at all how he's in the hospital management team with this kind of intelligence.
The third person is the female villain of the story. She's designed to be an extreme emo. She is a stalker who is vengeful towards a murderer who killed her daughter, but later shifts all the hatred and vengefulness to the ML who put the murderer to death. I understand her upset, but this vengefulness is so offset. I don't understand how it is shifted to the ML and even after the ML was imprisoned for 3 years, she still stalks him and is willing to destroy his career and his life after he was released - all of this because he killed the murderer who had killed her daughter?! I don't understand even more when the prosecutor agrees with this person's perspective (though his son was also killed together with the daughter, his character is positioned to be highly rational.) The prosecutor always believes that he is righteous in what he does, but all his actions contradict what he thinks he is. This female villain and the prosecutor make this series super absurd and drag the overall score of the series down immensely.
With this kind of character design, this story becomes too unreasonable, excessively absurd and overly melodramatic.
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Acting [~]
I would say the acting of the ML carries the whole series. I watch this series till the end only because of him and the struggle in his life with his illness and his profession's experience. The FL's acting is off from time to time. I watched her in Red Sleeve before this one and let me say her acting doesn't improve as the years passed. The second ML's character design contradicts itself at the beginning of the story and that contradiction makes me feel off about him for the whole series. The second FL's acting and expression are not good enough to be a second FL. All other supporting roles' actings are just so-so.
By the way, I don't feel any connection in the FL's family at all. They all work at the same hospital, see one another very often, and always have interactions, but these people who are FL's mother, uncle, aunt and sister don't look like they're related at all -- not related to the FL and not to one another. There's zero family relationship among them even when they're in the same scene talking face-to-face to each other.
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Dr cha is really charismatic and oozes sexiness without trying. he was so much fun to watch. And i cant really think of any other actor that would have fit this role.... his acting was really perfect and he deserves some awards for this.
Se young chased after dr cha first but it wasnt cringey puppy eyed love at all. i really loved her character and cried with her every "tear" of the way (lol).
Her sister was annoying at first but it was understandable why... her character growth was one of the best in the drama.
Their mum the director was quite an interesting character.... she loves her daughters but is very strict with them and doesnt try to over familiarize with them at work. the girls are more comfortable around their dr aunt who is more jovial with them.
Dr Lee is literally a clown.... he made up the comedic part of the show alongside the other two male residents and the nurses in their team. (and i may be tripping but he looks so much like goblin imo)
weird nurse; i had a hard time understanding her transfer of aggression to dr cha..... or her relationship to the prosecutor... were they married or just friends because their kids were victims. As for the prosecutor i m pretty sure stalking dr cha was illegal or something. his redemption was satisfying though.
i could feel all the emotions of all the actors, the stories of the patients really touched me.... especially the CIPA boy. i learnt a couple of medical stuffs lol.
the music was beautiful, even the english pop songs played i the bar were so nice and up to date.
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So much squandered potential
I wish this had just been a straight up House style diagnostic procedural where the doctors solve a case per episode and that's it. The patient stories and the debates about euthanasia and end of life care were good, the rest of the show was lacking. I hated the relationship between the two leads. Even apart from their DOA romance, I found the leads to be shallow and underwritten characters. This was especially true for the FL. So much staring into space as crappy ballads drone on in the background. The antagonists are potentially interesting but the show doesn't know how to utilize them effectively and they were ultimately just frustratingly inconsistent and two dimensional. The last few episodes are particularly frustrating, sloppily plotted and emotionally unsatisfying.Was this review helpful to you?
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Overall i rate this drama above average, at least I finished it despite skipping huge chunks of it. I stopped watching k drama since full house in 2004 (I didn't even finish that) and only just picked up again since COVID. Must admit I couldn't finish most of them so anything I can finish watching even with skipping is worth noting. What I like:
The music
The romance
ML acting
What I don't like:
The plot and subplots and all
The characters
Story:
Summary in a few words: forced, illogical and over-dramatic. I generally cant tolerate medical drama (with the exception of Hospital playlist) because of gross inaccuracy in the portrait of healthcare professionals and in medical knowledge. I picked up doctor John because of the high ratings and the topic of euthanasia, which if done right in highlighting both sides, the proponents and opponents of euthanasia, could be explosive. However, this show fails to deliver. I skipped most if not all of the hospital scenes unless involving the main couple romance.
What the ML did is involuntary euthanasia, which is considered murder and illegal in all countries. He deserves jail time and having his license revoked permanently. He does not have the right to end a patient's life without consent under the disguise of relieving pain. Also he has absolutely no respect for patients' wishes. I absolutely hate that kind of doctors who think they know better and willingly violate patients autonomy. The show confuses euthanasia, assisted suicide, assisted dying and DNR etc, hence the whole euthanasia plot is just a mess. The prosecutor and the nurse are obsessed with Cha for no valid reasons, or in other words, the reason the show presents is very forced. They should be charged with harassment. Cha did not kill their kids and the killer dies a painful death, so the grudge is very contrived, particularly for the prosecutor who is supposed to be smart and competent. I'm not even sure if it's legal for him to be involved in Cha's case to begin with. His involvement seems like a blatant conflict of interest to me. They are just batshit crazy for no reason. And I hate that trope in Kdrama, bad guys are bad just because they are bad. The lawyer and the former minister are even more ludicrous. There are plenty of drugs already available for assisted suicide. There's no good reason to develop a new drug to kill yourself with no financial gain. I initially thought it was to get rich but turned out they just want to die themselves. How stupid.
The CIPA/hospital plot is even less convincing. On what ground can't a doctor treat patients because he has an illness especially when it's not contagious and does not hamper his ability to work?????? If so, there wouldn't be any doctors left in this world. Doctors are also human and they can get sick, too. Dismissal based on this is discriminatory and illegal. Plus I can't understand why the hospital executives are so hellbent in getting rid of Cha while he is not even a threat to their positions. It also appears that doctors in this fictional hospital do nothing but running around aimlessly. One patient is tended by several dozens of doctors.
Let's not even get into the medical stuffs because I accept the fact it's a fictional work, there's no need to nitpick the inaccuracy.
The only reason that I kept watching was the romance. I'm a bit lost in the first two episodes why the FL decides to return to work after the encounter with ML other than her love-at-first-sight crush for him. It seems very forced when she has been dwelling on it for 2 years and one encounter somehow was enough to resolve her emotional turmoil and restore her confidence. If she was a as competent doctor as supposed to be, she shouldn't have trusted a stranger whose credibility is questionable. In fact she doesn't even know if he is qualified to give medical advice. I wouldn't if I was her. If her confidence is that low to even take on quack medical advice on the street, she shouldn't have returned to be a doctor. But Ill let it slide because I can see why the two of them are a match and she also redeems herself by taking the lead in the relationship. She is a lost puppy looking for a mentor and he fits the bill. He is aloof and closed off to the world because of his illness so if it wasn't for her forwardness, he would have never taken a move. I can see why her clinginess and ott expression touch a lonely man like him and why he falls for it. Thanks to Jisung' s suberb acting, the ML shows subtle hint of romantic interest in FL from the very beginning and never pretends to not like her, like earlier trope in Kdrama of the 00's (jerk ml has a crush on FL but acts otherwise, the main reason I quit watching years ago). I'm also very glad that there is no love triangle and all of it's banality. Their romance appears to be very accepting, understanding and supportive even without the lovey-dovey, which I absolutely love. The confession scene in the penultimate episode is heart melting, thanks to Jisung's electrifying gaze. However, the finale was disappointing, I still have no idea why they break up, like the writers has nothing better than time lapse to fill the slot. The more convincing logic wouldn't be to be with your loved one and go through difficult time together, would it? Anyway, romance is still the only plot that scores point for this show.
Acting/casts:
As I said earlier, Jisung's top-notch acting skill saves the show. I have never heard of him or watched any of his show before, probably because he debut after I quit kdrama. Although I don't like how the character Dr. Cha is written, the acting is still outstanding. Jisung delivers excellent performance in portraying the character's personality, the struggle and loneliness with his illness. His eyes speak volume. He gives me butterflies just with a tiny lift in the corner of his mouth, not to mention his heart-melting gaze, the perfect blend of care, concerns, gratefulness and sincerity.
As for the FL, I can't comment when her character does nothing but crying. I give her credit for her crying skill 😂
Other characters have so little story to tell for the acting to shine.
Music
I absolutely love the OST, very fitting for the romance.
Rewatch value:
I can watch the confession scene hundreds time. But that's about it .
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Monotonous
Having watched numerous dramas of similar genre, my anticipation for this one was fueled, perhaps in part by the esteemed lead actors. Initially, the drama's start and the introduction of the lead characters showed promise. However, around the 3rd or 4th episodes, it began to lose its charm, particularly as I struggled to reconcile the protagonist's swift release from jail and seamless return to his former practices. While he garnered respect, one would expect a more cautious approach after such an ordeal. Additionally, his battle with a debilitating illness added depth, though the eventual healing allowed both lead characters to continue their work with unwavering dignity. The subtle romance between them served as a welcomed balance amidst the drama's complexities.Was this review helpful to you?
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Great medical drama with a really disappointing plot element at the end
8/10 is my rating. This is a South Korean medical romantic drama with 32, 22 minute, episodes.When they first meet, Kang Si-young (Lee Se-young) is working as a doctor to inmates but has no confidence as she quit medical school after a tragic accident left her guilt ridden and convinced she is flawed as a doctor. Cha Yo-han (Ji Sung) was a famous pain doctor but a career altering decision landed him in prison for three years. In prison he is known as the man with all the medical answers since the doctors that work in the prison tend to shy away from diagnosis and perform medical triage. Si-young is not sure about this mysterious doctor at first but quickly decides he knows what he is talking about. With just a little mentoring from him, Si-young regains some confidence and decides to return to residency only to discover Dr. Cha was released and reinstated at the same hospital she returned to. As they work closely together he as her professor and mentor and she as the mentee and resident, they find many similarities in the circumstances of the past as well as in their approach to medicine.
spoilers* This had such a great start and was intriguing the whole way through. The ending really ruined it a bit for me. I love both the Male Lead and Female Lead characters. Both are doctors who suffer emotional wounds from patients who were terminal and where they had to make a determination between life and death. Their experience in that regard is what draws them together. They are both brilliant, dedicated doctors who do not play politics but do whatever is best for their patients. Because they are so much alike, it is easy to understand how they would like each other as deeply as they do. The series deeply explored the ethics around euthanasia. Where it fell apart for me was toward the end when they have confessed their love for each other and he disappears from her life for three years. He comes back with some lame excuse about needing to take care of his health but, to me, that is exactly the time when you should be drawing the person you love closer not pushing them away. He watches her from afar for nearly a year when she doesn't even know he is back in South Korea. She is so heart broken during that whole time that it is hard to imagine her ever forgiving him for trampling on her heart. But she does forgive him, and actually quite easily, which made me disappointed in both the male and female lead characters. This is worth the watch but just expect that the ending will sour it a bit as he acts in total disregard to her feelings and she forgives far too easily
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