If you are watching just because you want to see an inmate performing surgery on other prisoners, you won't have to watch far before dropping it. But if you stick around, the show does get interesting.
The medical portions of this drama are not overly unrealistic apart from the usual exceedingly rare medical conditions that somehow always pop up around the lead doctor.
My main gripe is how the show handles romance but I'll try to leave it spoiler-free. You will be irritated at how one of the main leads handles his love life and how unjustly the partner is treated.
Overall, one of the better medical dramas I have seen. Ji Sung's acting has improved since the Kill Me Heal Me days, or maybe it's because he only needs to act as one character this time.
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Slow romance, definitely there but slow.
I have watched Ji Sung's show from Secret Love onwards and I can say that, ALL shows that I have watched thus far are amazing. Even for a simple drama "Entertainment", it was a light and great one. Shows that would teach people about certain things in life. Just like this one.Doctor John taught us to look at things in another perspective. The person might be doing this but he's actually doing it for another purpose. Some people suffer throughout their whole life without showing people much and they still carry on living their life. Life is important no matter what illness/condition/disease you have. Being alive is a gift.
I love how the story slowly builds up for the mentor and mentee. They were a GREAT team even though ALL of them had their doubts against Dr Cha that he did what he did. But he had proved himself and he deserves the best. <3
Great OST that's totally in the scene. I love it, most shows I don't really remember much about the OST but this one did a great job too.
Casts were all great. Crazy nurse was a nuisance but she did whatever she could (as a human being), we all knows human are selfish by nature (don't lie). Prosecutor was more sensible and it was all good.
Those mini stories between the patients and all the casts members were good. I love the inmate patient, CIPA actor and the phantom limb patient, they were great too~ Hope they would have better casting opportunity in the future!
I am sure everyone just wasn't satisfied with the ending as it seems a little ridiculous but at least, they did show us what happened to EVERYONE at the end :3
I don't usually watch medical show or have any FAV medical show. This will probably be the number one as compared to the rest that I've watched as I love how they showed us the struggles they had and solving them together, etc.
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Lovable drama
Doctors are just so amazing for saving their patients without giving up.After knowing about cipa i realized that life with pain is hell but life without pain is also hell. Kang mirae and dr.lee playing with the cat, matong matong cheering,hanse wish club, and many other things were just so adorable. Cha yohan hiding for a year and seeing si young without her knowledge was so cute.
That kiss in the airport was unexpected but finally they did that :') omg
The ending was so beautiful
That hospital near a forest area. It looked more like a park than a hospital :)
Dr.cha's last prescrption for pain~
"Having someone next to you to share your pain with reduces your pain and gives you the courage to embrace your pain."
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If its any good.
I will watch anything that features Ji Sung.To me he is one of the best Korean actors by far. He never ages and still has the looks
to give you heart flutters.. Devil Judge.. Heal me kill me were a joy to watch but in this Series he was still fab but the annoying
part of the series was it focused to much on
Kang Shi Young and her fragilitys. Not that she was a bad actress.. she wasn't but he was a fully fledged doctor and she was a novice but seemed to think she could give him advice when clearly she was the one needing his experience. Her weepy eyes
sad expressions totally got me down.
As for the other cast they were all very professional .. The storyline was great but There should have been more emphasis on ji Sung.. He was the draw.. without a woman popping up every 5 minutes. Maybe I was jealous.. 😂 rewatch. Value.. 2/5
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A decent medical drama with lukewarm romance
I liked the medical aspect of the drama involving figuring out difficult diagnoses and treating patients. It was also interesting how doctors resolved the moral dilemma between saving lives and ensuring the quality of care for terminally ill patients, and, the moral implications of voluntary euthanasia.I didn't really care for FL and found her a bit boring. At the beginning, she had her own story and trauma, which made her interesting. Later on, her arc was forgotten and she just obsessed over Dr. Cha's diagnosis involving a lot of overacted crying on her part. This was a bit disappointing because trauma was what allowed FL and ML to form a bond. Overcoming their issues together would've been an interesting character and plot development. The romance was also a bit underwhelming. After FL confessed, the story was left at that as the plot centered around Dr. Cha's illness until the romance arc was nicely wrapped up at the end in a feel-good way. I do like happy endings.
I did like the resolution to the Dr. Cha's/prosecutor's/nurse's arc relating to the murder of their children and the resentment from Dr. Cha's mercy killing of the suspect. We had a very genuine apology, a heart-to-heart conversation, healing, and moving on. I also liked that Dr. Cha helped with the prosecutor's cancer which allowed them to actually become friends at the end. This story left me feelings really good and hopeful that even the worst of tragedies can be overcome with forgiveness, acceptance, and moving forward.
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Drama Médico envolvente!
Não sou tão apaixonada por qualquer tipo de série envolvendo medicina, mas Dr. John conquistou o meu coração. Mas também é difícil não me apaixonar com a dupla Ji Sung e Lee Se Young, gosto muito dos trabalhos desses dois atores.O desenvolvimento dos personagens é muito comovente, e eles juntos vão enfrentado seus pesadelos ocasionado pelos seus passados. O que torna tudo interessante! Gostei muito também da química deles.
O que me incomodou um pouco foi o quase final, o fato dele ainda querer esconder as coisas dela. Achei que depois de todo o amadurecimento para eles ficarem juntos, isso foi um retrocesso. Mas tirando isso, amei a história e todas as histórias paralelas necessárias para a sua construção.
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I can't finish it because what the hell is this drama :)
BTW this is just my opinion from watching 10 episodes. Maybe it will turn out better... But I'll drop it for now.The plot is kinda good. But, it's very flat. And developed SO badly. Very badly. If you want to watch for medical drama, don't watch. It's just full of rare/unheard/not that common diseases.
First of all, I'm sorry but I find the girl annoying.
She looks like she needs to portray a strong woman but she keeps crying and thinking about that one problem... And she keeps following Yohan... And asking him some things... Also why is she falling for Yohan like too quickly almost? Like ☠️ sis
Also she always stops and stares. Or stops before going into a room or doing something. Girl. Just WALK. Also the way she hesitated in the first patient, the jail one. But when she finds out Yohan is a murderer, she quickly runs in the rain. Girl where's your priorities? The sick boy literally so sick. JUST SEND HIM TO THE HOSPITAL. Why did she even hesitate ☠️
The romance is unnecessary. One of the main part (Idek what's main anymore. So many things going on) is her trauma but it's like her life is evolving around that and that only. As if she doesn't have any life other than that.
Second of all, this is unrelated but the prison boy is kinda a good actor. Hoping he'll do well in the future.
The story is so much but so little. It's like Idk... Everything is happening but nothing is happening. You understand me? 😭
Character development? Nah.
Also I'm quite disappointed how Yohan isn't as cool as he was portrayed to be. But gotta admit he's still kinda cool. Maybe because Jisung is a good actor.
It's VERY SLOW. Like it doesn't feel like it's moving. It also feels like as if the same thing happens but in different theme.
It has a lot of things but not really solved.
The thing I'm most upset is that it has a potential to be good. Maybe great even.
They should focus on main things instead of making a lot of things occuring but nothing feels like the main thing. Just elaborate the main plots. The problem is, it's like there are no main plots. There are just plots.
Yohan could've been cooler. They could've stayed in prison longer, or not at all.
They can make of the patient died because of her, because she actually kept getting in the way when Yohan wants to treat some patients. And then she could've triggered by the trauma. Then, she can cry. Instead of crying everyday. Also her dad... It's not even important to keep him alive. It's just for the 'pain' quotes isn't it 😭😭😭 Could've just made him dead 1 year ago.
The first patient was so cool tho. And pretty heartbreaking. But it is not touching. It's like it's almost but not there. It's never there ☝🏻😭
It's like never touching or sad.
It's like I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE MEDICAL THINGY, NOT HER PROBLEMS AND CRYING.
Could've made Yohan the main MAIN character instead of shoving the girl as main character. Some of the problems look forced too...
Other than the way Yohan cooly treats the patients, even though it's not quite logic, other things are kinda ????????what???? Okay??? So???
I don't like this drama but the actors are pretty good actually.
Idek what the hell is going on with the storyline. That's the conclusion. Thank you.
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Nothing special to keep me interested
While I think the cast is very talented and good, I just couldn't continue the series. I almost made it halfway through but I decided to just drop it. Many people prefer shows such as "Dr. Romantic", so I will definitely give that a chance in terms of medical drama coupled with romance. Ji Sung has very pretty eyes and melted my heart one too many times, but that is not enugh to keep me interested :(.I need to vent my frustration with Kang Mi Rae:
She is pissed at her sister, our female lead, because she accuses Kang Si Young to having given up on their father and basically supporting the decision to let him die. Euthanasia plays a big part in this drama, it is controversial, everyone has their own opiniions on that matter. I personally support the decision to let the father find rest after spending more than one year on a machine that does the "living" for him. The man had already accepted that he might die even before being admitted to the hospital, but the family (of doctors) cannot bear to let him go. While the female lead, her aunt and her mother silently wish to finally let her father go, Mi Rae opposes to it. I get it, she doesn't want to see her father die. Her behavior, however, is very frustrating. The way she treats her sister because of the incident is just awful. So much hatred, frustration and hostility for something that wasn't anyone's fault. Mi Rae acts like only her (medical) opinion and feelings matter, that only she is right, and it pisses me off so! much. In those moments it is very clear that it's not Dr. Kang Mi Rae who has these opinions, but Miss Kang Mi Rae, the daughter. At this point, it is selfish to keep the man attached to a bunch of machines just because you can't let go, however hard it may be. This isn't life that he's living, he's merely existing, unable to (ever) do anything at all (again). Her treating her sister like that is just AH very annoying.
Next, the two antagonists, that nurse and the prosecutor, I'll keep it short though.
I don't know, if I found out that a doctor ended a patient's life who 1) was TERMINALLY ill, meaning he would have died anyway (with or without clinical trial) (and also in hell lot of pain too), and 2) (lowkey more importantly) was a kidnapper who killed two children, I would choose my priorities differently. The nurse is pissed because she's against euthanasia and also thought the patient didn't deserve to die; the prosecutor is pissed because he's against euthanasia and the death penalty (in general). However, I found their targeting Doctor Cha invasive and weird. Don't y'all have jobs??? Just chilling in front of the hospital (or even in the building) and lowkey threatening him.... that is just harassment lmao, that makes you no better to be honest. Doctor Cha served his 3-year sentence and is now out and about, saving patients' lives. Their motivations were... i don't know weird.
The OST was cute but not that great. Chemistry was fine. Acting great but the story just didn't pull me in 100%. Si Young could be a lil nosy sometimes and do just a lil toooo much idk.
Overall, disappointing considering its hype, but I don't want to spend any more time on that show, I'll watch some other medical romance drama lmao.
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didn't expected it to be this good
i really didn't expected it will be this good both the main plot and romance , I have to say this is the rare type where story is really good feels realistic and true love, I got hooked from first epi choose this drama because of ml I have already watched his few which I like all equally and FML was first time both characters in this drama are really good
i recently dropped a medical drama before I liked nothing the characters,plot or the main leads interaction and story focus completely on surgery
this one they do show patients alot but there's also enough interactions of ml and FML ,and proper slow burn romance
i came for romance but stayed because of plot and the 2 characters ml and FML are so good in this that I didn't care about romance at all I was ready to watch till end even if romance wasn't there because it was too good a type I can't find in actual romance focused stories,I actually rate the one mentioned as romance low because they're not shown the way it should be, all side characters are also good
romance - first half is focused on both interactions and they interact alot this is how it should be , 2nd half mid is where confession happens but as this is medical genre it's not lovey dovey or totally romance focused, the slow burn is actually shown right away and chemistry is really good , they get together then a little time skip happens and at the end got back together I'm totally satisfied but I wanted to watch more I'm sad it ended already ಥ_ಥ😭😭😭😭😭 I'm definitely going to re-watch it
their love also feels really realistic
what I dislike - first i didn't like the villians didn't make sense you should target real killer not ml,it wasn't too annoying because later it made sense why they do that the prosecutor and nurse both lost child and disliked what ml did( I think it was both right and wrong) ,but I'm shocked they forgive eachother and get along with eachother, didn't expected I liked how it ended
this is not highly romance focused, but definitely a good slow burn ,does have I should say slight romance and enough interactions together
some people don't like time skip and no contact I think that was better I don't want to see the main character die suffer, good that his suffering and sick part wasn't shown, a breakup shown is better than main character sickness to me
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Brilliant
One of the best dramas ever. Doctor John truly focuses on real and unique issues/cases. I feel like Doctor John is fairly accurate considering how it tries to show the necessity of properly catering to any patients and the idea/morality of euthanasia [not the same as assisted success]. The first episode is epic, Doctor John performs surgery on himself and became the king or leader (not literally but everyone fears him since then) of jail without intending to. The series is top-notch, however, it does intend to exaggerate a lot especially ML's ability to analyze and executed surgery but ML is a patient himself [CIP - can't feel pain] who tries to understand his patient's pain merely through their description or body characteristics/reaction like rashes and itchiness so it's understandable. According to researches, missing one of our senses usually intends to enhance other senses based on individual needs and environments. The ending is similar to most dramas where ML goes missing and comes back which was cliches; I really didn't enjoy it however I was the happy cause of the happy ending.Was this review helpful to you?
A Heart-Wrenching Look at Pain and Mercy
The Story: From Inmate #6238 to Professor ChaDoctor John starts in an unexpected place for a medical drama: a prison. Cha Yo-han (played by the incredible Ji Sung) is serving time for a highly controversial euthanasia case involving a terminally ill patient. While in jail, his genius for diagnosis—earning him the nickname "Doctor Ten Seconds"—cannot be suppressed. He ends up crossing paths with a residency student, Kang Si-young, and helps her save a life from behind bars. Once he is released and returns to the hospital as a professor, he continues to push the boundaries of medicine to help those suffering from mysterious, chronic pain.
The Paradox: A Doctor Who Cannot Feel Pain
The most gripping part of this drama is the irony of Cha Yo-han’s own health. He suffers from CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis), a rare condition where he cannot feel pain, heat, or cold.
The Struggle for Survival: In a world where CIPA patients rarely survive past childhood because they cannot feel when their body is injured, Yo-han lives a life of extreme discipline. He monitors his temperature and vitals constantly, knowing that his life has a "limit."
The Reckless Genius: Because he cannot feel his own pain, he is often reckless with his body to save others. Yet, he is the most empathetic doctor because he understands that pain is a "signal" from the body that something is wrong. He lives to find the cause of despair for his patients.
Medical Ethics: The Euthanasia Case
The drama dives deep into the "grey area" of medical ethics.
The Trial: We see the weight of the legal case against him. Is it murder to end a patient's suffering when medicine can no longer help? The show doesn't give a simple answer but forces us to see the perspective of the doctor who wants to be a "hope" for those in terminal agony.
The Prosecutor: The tension with the prosecutor, who stalks Yo-han even after his release, adds a thriller element to the story that keeps the stakes high.
My Personal Take
This drama is a masterclass in acting and storytelling. Ji Sung’s portrayal of a man who is "empty" of physical feeling but "full" of emotional dedication is beautiful. It makes you realize that being a doctor isn't just about prolonging life, but about understanding the quality of that life.
Doctor John is a must-watch. It is a "healing" drama in the truest sense, showing that even those with an "expiration date" can leave a legacy of hope.
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