The Doctors (South Korean TV Series) - Wikipedia

2016 South Korean television series

The Doctors
Promotional poster
Also known as	Doctor Crush
Hangul	닥터스
Lit.	Doctors
RR	Dakteoseu
MR	Takt'ŏsŭ
Genre	Medical Drama Romance
Written by	Ha Myung-hee
Directed by	Oh Chung-hwan
Starring	Kim Rae-won Park Shin-hye Yoon Kyun-sang Lee Sung-kyung
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Han Jung-hwan Kim Hee-yeol
Producer	Kim Jung-mi
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Pan Entertainment
Budget	₩5.1 billion[1]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	June 20 (2016-06-20) –August 23, 2016 (2016-08-23)
Related
Kalp Atışı [tr] (2017–2018)

The Doctors[2] (Korean: 닥터스) is a 2016 South Korean medical drama starring Kim Rae-won and Park Shin-hye. It aired on SBS TV from June 20 to August 23, 2016, every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) for 20 episodes.[3][4][5][6][7]

The drama was a hit and averaged 18.40% in audience ratings.[8][9] In particular, Park's character as a troubled teenager turned charismatic doctor was very popular among the audiences for her action scenes and straightforward lines.[10][11]

Synopsis

[edit]

Yoo Hye-jung (Park Shin-hye) was a headstrong girl in high school with a prickly, gangster personality. Due to her many childhood scars, Hye-jung keeps her heart closed towards other people. However, she changes after meeting her mentor Hong Ji-hong (Kim Rae-won), who plays a key role in transforming her life from a "hopeless" delinquent to a compassionate doctor. They part ways due to a report of their close relationship, which was reported by a fellow student but subsequently meet again after 13 years, when Yoo Hye-jung had become a successful doctor.[5]

Cast

[edit]

Main

[edit]

• Kim Rae-won as Hong Ji-hong
  • Gil Jung-woo as child Hong Ji-hong
  • Lomon as teen Hong Ji-hong

Hong Ji-hong, whose birth name was Lee Ji-hong before his adoption, is a hard working man who lost his parents at a young age in a car accident. He was adopted later on in his life, graduated from a prestigious medical school and started out as a doctor. However, a medical accident while he was working as a surgeon made him step back and he restarts his career as a biology teacher. He cares for teenagers, especially his students since he had a rough life as a teenager. This makes him interested in the life of rebellious Yoo Hye-jung when she decides to turn over a new leaf and actually work hard in school. It is after being separated from her that he realizes she is the one he has fallen in love with. When he and Yoo Hye-jung cross paths 13 years later, he who is now a neurosurgeon confesses his feelings for her.

• Park Shin-hye as Yoo Hye-jung
  • Kal So-won as child Yoo Hye-jung

Yoo Hye-jung is a successful neurosurgeon. She was a delinquent in high school, known for her wayward personality. Having gone through a tough childhood, she found it hard to trust anyone. The only person she trusted and loved is her grandmother, who never failed to support her. However, her thoughts about others changed after meeting teacher Hong Ji-hong, who helped her find her goal in life.

• Yoon Kyun-sang as Jung Yoon-do

Jung Yoon-do is a neurosurgeon as well as a visiting staff who is from a wealthy family. He is not good with rough situations in society. However, he knows how to handle his work with strictness. He finds himself attracted to Yoo Hye-jung, who is very different from him.

• Lee Sung-kyung as Jin Seo-woo[12]

Jin Seo-woo is a neurosurgeon and also friends-turned-enemies with Yoo Hye-jung. She liked Hong Ji-Hong, but seeing the growing relationship between Hong Ji-hong and Yoo Hye-jung, she causes trouble for them. This in turn caused them to part ways. Forgetting about Hong, she starts liking Jung Yoon-do but again feels inferior to Hye Jung due to Yoon-do's attraction towards Hye-jung. Eventually, she reconciled with Hye-jung and restored their friendship. Additionally, in the end, she fell for Young-gook and became his girlfriend.

Supporting

[edit]

People around Hong Ji-hong

[edit]

• Lee Ho-jae as Hong Doo-sik – Ji-hong's adoptive father and Gookil Hospital's chairman.
• Yoo Da-in as Jo In-joo – General Surgery's specialist.

People around Yoo Hye-jung

[edit]

• Kim Young-ae as Kang Mal-soon (cameo) – Hye-jung's grandmother.
• Jung Hae-kyun as Yoo Min-ho – Hye-jung and Yoo-na's biological father.
• Park Ji-a as Lee Ga-jin – Hye-jung's stepmother and Yoo-na's mother.
• Han Bo-bae as Yoo Yoo-na – Hye-jung's younger half-sister.
• Ji Soo as Kim Soo-cheol (Guest: Ep. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7–8) – Hye-jung's friend.[13]
• Moon Ji-in as Cheon Soon-hee – Hye-jung's best friend and Seo-woo's friend.

People around Jin Seo-woo

[edit]

• Jeon Gook-hwan [ko] as Jin Sung-jong – Seo-woo's grandfather and Gookil Hospital's vice president.
• Um Hyo-sup as Jin Myung-hoon – Seo-woo's father and Gookil Hospital's director.
• Yoon Hae-young as Yoon Ji-young – Seo-woo's mother.

People of Gookil Hospital

[edit]

• Jang Hyun-sung as Kim Tae-ho – Gookil Hospital's deputy director and Head of Neurosurgery
• Kim Kang-hyun [ko] as Kang Kyung-joon – Neurosurgery's 4th year resident doctor.
• Baek Sung-hyun as Pi Young-gook – Neurosurgery's 3rd year resident doctor and Seo-woo's friend who had a long-time crush on her.
• Jo Hyun-sik as Ahn Joong-dae – Neurosurgery's 2nd year resident doctor.
• Kim Min-seok as Choi Kang-soo – Neurosurgery's 1st year resident doctor.[14]
• Jung Jin [ko] as Baek Ho-min – Head of General Surgery and Hospital's public relations chief.
• Lee Seon-ho as Jung Pa-ran – General Surgery's teacher, Ji-hong's friend and Yoon-do's uncle.
• Choi Sung-jae as Hwangbo Tae-yang – General Surgery's 1st year resident doctor.
• Pyo Ye-jin as Hyun Soo-jin – 5th year nurse.
• Ji Yi-soo as Yoo Byul – 2nd year nurse.

Extended

[edit]

• Park Young-soo [ko] as Namyang Girls' High School's teacher
• Nam Moon-cheol [ko] as Cheon Soon-hee's father, Namyang Girls' High School's director
• Kim Dae-sung [ko] as club DJ
• Gong Da-im [ko] as Choi Mi-ra
• Kim Min-cheol [ko] as Kim Soo-cheol's friend
• Lee Jin-kwon as Kim Soo-cheol's friend
• Lee Bom-so-ri as So-ri
• Son Jang-woo as pregnant patient's son
• Jeon Ji-an [ko] as patient passenger on airplane
• Im Ji-kyu as gunman
• Jin Seon-kyu as Kim Chi-hyun
• Go Woo-rim [ko] as Nam Hae
• Choi Jeong-hoo as Nam Dal
• Jung Dong-gyu [ko] as parliamentarian Na Min-soo
• Yeo Hoe-hyun as Choi Young-soo (Kang soo's younger brother) (Episodes 17–18)
• Hong Seung-beom [ko] as lawyer

Special appearances

[edit]

• Lee Ki-woo as Gong Byung-doo – gang boss (Episodes 1, 3–6, 9)
• Lee Jun-hyeok as boss's subordinate
• Jung Kyung-soon [ko] as Oh Young-mi
• Lim Ji-yeon as Lee Soo-jeong – youngest gold medalist in archery (Episode 7–8)
• Han Hye-jin as Jo Soo-ji (Episodes 11–12)
• Jo Dal-hwan [ko] as Ahn Sung-soo – Jo Soo-ji's stalker/assailant (Episodes 11–12)
• Namkoong Min as Nam Ba-ram – Nam Hae and Nam Dal's father (Episodes 13–15)[15]
• Lee Sang-yeob as Kim Woo-jin – Lee Hee-young's fiancé (Episodes 15, 16, 18, 20)

Production

[edit]

The Doctors was based on the screenplay by Ha Myung-hee which is one of the winners in Broadcasting Content Promotion Foundation (BCPF)'s 3rd Find the Desert's Shooting Star Screenplay Competition, held in 2010.[16] Then titled as Female Thug Hye-jung (여깡패 혜정; Yeokkangpae Hyejeong), the series was in talks to air on KBS 2TV's Monday-Tuesday prime time slot in 2015 following the end of Healer, however, it did not push through.[17] HB Entertainment [ko] (My Love from the Star, You're All Surrounded) was supposed to produce the drama, while PD Mo Wan-il [ko] (Smile Again, Dream High 2) was in talks to direct.

First script reading took place on April 28, 2016, at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.[18][unreliable source?][19]

The series reunited Park Shin-hye and Baek Sung-hyun, who previously played the younger versions of Han Jung-suh and Cha Song-joo, respectively, in the 2003 hit drama, Stairway to Heaven.[20] It also reunited Park Shin-hye and Yoon Kyun-sang who previously worked together in the 2014 hit drama, Pinocchio.

In the United States, the drama was aired in the Los Angeles DMA free, over-the-air on Asian American-oriented TV channel, LA 18 KSCI-TV (channel 18) with English subtitles, Monday through Tuesday at 9:00pm, from July 18 to September 20, 2016.[21]

Original soundtrack

[edit]

Doctors OST
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	August 1, 2016
Genre	Soundtrack, Pop
Language	Korean, English
Label	Pan Entertainment, RIAK

Track listings

[edit]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"No Way"	Park Yong-in & Kwon Soon-il (Urban Zakapa)	3:44
2.	"Sunflower"	Younha ft. Kassy	3:30
3.	"That Love (그 애)"	Jungyup (Brown Eyed Soul)	3:42
4.	"You're Pretty (넌 예뻐)"	Jungho (2MUCH)	3:11
5.	"Sun Shower (여우비)"	Se O (Jelly Cookie)	4:40
6.	"No Way (Inst.)"		3:44
7.	"Sunflower (Inst.)"		3:30
8.	"That Love (그 애) (Inst.)"		3:42
9.	"You're Pretty (넌 예뻐) (Inst.)"		3:43
10.	"Sun Shower (여우비) (Inst.)"		4:40
11.	"School"	Various Artist	2:34
12.	"From Me to You"	Various Artist	2:55
13.	"Beautiful Lies"	Various Artist	2:09
14.	"Chromatic Surgery"	Various Artist	4:08
15.	"Doctor's Memory"	Various Artist	1:52
16.	"Healing Heart"	Various Artist	2:20
17.	"Into the Time"	Various Artist	2:20
18.	"Table Death"	Various Artist	2:06
19.	"Pitter-Patter"	Various Artist	1:36
20.	"Awake Surgery"	Various Artist	2:48
21.	"Hurt and Heart"	Various Artist	2:10
22.	"Sad Gold Spoon"	Various Artist	2:48
23.	"Good-bye My Fellow"	Various Artist	3:00
24.	"Code Blue"	Various Artist	2:45
25.	"Doctors in Love"	Various Artist	1:45

Charted songs

[edit] Chart performance

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales [22]	Remarks
		Gaon[23]
"No Way" (Park Yong In, Kwon Soon Il (Urban Zakapa))	2016	24	KOR (DL): 212,642+	Part 1
"Sunflower" (Younha ft. Kassy)		72	KOR (DL): 159,597+	Part 2
"It's Love" (Jung Yup (Brown Eyed Soul))		36	KOR (DL): 179,405+	Part 3

Ratings

[edit]

Ep.	Broadcast date	Average audience share
		TNmS[24]		AGB Nielsen[25]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide	Seoul
1	June 20, 2016	11.4% (4th)	15.1% (4th)	12.9% (4th)	14.7% (4th)
2	June 21, 2016	12.4% (4th)	16.9% (3rd)	14.2% (4th)	16.2% (4th)
3	June 27, 2016	12.8% (4th)	16.5% (3rd)	14.4% (3rd)	16.9% (3rd)
4	June 28, 2016	14.6% (3rd)	17.8% (2nd)	15.6% (3rd)	18.0% (2nd)
5	July 4, 2016	16.1% (3rd)	20.7% (1st)	18.4% (3rd)	20.2% (3rd)
6	July 5, 2016	16.8% (3rd)	20.8% (1st)	19.7% (3rd)	21.6% (2nd)
7	July 11, 2016	18.4% (3rd)	22.3% (1st)	18.8% (3rd)	21.3% (2nd)
8	July 12, 2016	17.8% (3rd)	20.3% (2nd)	19.2% (2nd)	21.1% (2nd)
9	July 18, 2016	16.8% (3rd)	20.0% (2nd)	19.4% (3rd)	21.5% (2nd)
10	July 19, 2016	17.2% (4th)	19.9% (2nd)	19.3% (2nd)	22.6% (2nd)
11	July 25, 2016	17.2% (3rd)	20.2% (1st)	19.2% (3rd)	21.9% (2nd)
12	July 26, 2016	18.2% (3rd)	20.9% (1st)	18.7% (3rd)	21.7% (2nd)
13	August 1, 2016	17.6% (4th)	20.6% (1st)	18.5% (3rd)	20.8% (1st)
14	August 2, 2016	17.2% (3rd)	21.2% (1st)	19.6% (2nd)	21.8% (1st)
15	August 8, 2016	20.0% (3rd)	23.3% (1st)	21.3% (2nd)	23.1% (1st)
16	August 9, 2016	18.4% (2nd)	21.4% (1st)	20.6% (2nd)	22.4% (1st)
17	August 15, 2016	20.6% (2nd)	23.8% (1st)	20.8% (2nd)	22.8% (1st)
18	August 22, 2016[a]	16.2% (4th)	19.7% (2nd)	17.8% (4th)	19.6% (4th)
19		16.1% (5th)	19.5% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)	22.0% (2nd)
20	August 23, 2016	17.9% (3rd)	21.2% (1st)	20.2% (2nd)	22.0% (1st)
Average		16.69%	20.11%	18.41%	20.61%
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2016	5th APAN Star Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
			Park Shin-hye	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Park Shin-hye	Nominated
		Best New Actor	Yoon Kyun-sang	Won
		Best Couple Award	Kim Rae-won and Park Shin-hye	Nominated
	9th Korea Drama Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Best Drama	The Doctors	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor	Jang Hyun-sung	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress	Park Shin-hye	Nominated
	1st Asia Artist Awards	Best Artist Award, Actor	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Best Artist Award, Actress	Park Shin-hye	Won
	24th SBS Drama Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)		Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Genre & Fantasy Drama	Kim Rae-won	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Genre & Fantasy Drama	Park Shin-hye	Won
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Genre Drama	Yoon Kyun-sang	Nominated
		Special Award, Actor in a Genre Drama	Jang Hyun-sung	Nominated
		Special Award, Actress in a Genre Drama	Lee Sung-kyung	Nominated
			Moon Ji-in	Nominated
		Top 10 Stars Award	Park Shin-hye	Won
		New Star Award	Kim Min-seok	Won
			Moon Ji-in	Won
		Best Couple Award	Kim Rae-won and Park Shin-hye	Nominated
		Idol Academy Award – Best Kiss		Nominated
2017	53rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Actress	Park Shin-hye	Nominated	[27][28]
		Best New Actor	Kim Min-seok	Won
	Seoul International Drama Awards	Outstanding Korean Drama	The Doctors	Won	[29]

Remake

[edit]

In 2017, Kalp Atışı ("Heart beat") an adaptation of the series, was made by the Turkish network Show TV. It aired for 1 season.

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Episode 18 wasn't aired on August 16, 2016 due to the broadcast of 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The episode was aired on August 22, 2016 instead.[26]

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Pan Entertainment signs contract worth 5.1 bln won. Reuters". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
2. ^ "Official English title on SBS Drama's YouTube channel". SBS via YouTube. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
3. ^ Ahn, Sung-mi (March 29, 2016). "Park Shin-hye, Kim Rae-won to star in new drama". Kpop Herald. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
4. ^ Bahk, Eun-ji (April 1, 2016). "Park Shin-hye, Kim Rae-won star in new drama "Doctors"". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
5. ^ a b Lee, Woo-in (March 31, 2016). 김래원♥박신혜, '닥터스' 출연 확정 "사제 러브스토리 기대"[공식]. TV Report (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
6. ^ "'Doctors': the next 'Descendants of Sun'?". The Korea Times. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
7. ^ 정주원 (June 15, 2016). "Even veteran actors are rookies in TV series 'Doctors'". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
8. ^ "'Doctors' beats rival dramas in viewership". Kpop Herald. July 13, 2016. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
9. ^ Shim, Sun-Ah (August 23, 2016). "'Doctors' tops weekly TV popularity chart again". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
10. ^ "Park Sin-hye's 'girl-crush' character a big drawcard". The Korea Times. July 17, 2016. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
11. ^ "Drama characters heighten 'girl crush' syndrome". Kpop Herald. July 29, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
12. ^ "Lee Sung-kyung to be Park Shin-hye's rival in 'Doctors'". Kpop Herald. April 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
13. ^ "Actor Kim Ji-soo cast as Park Shin-hye's first love". Kpop Herald. April 6, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
14. ^ "Kim Min-suk to join Park Shin-hye in 'Doctors'". Kpop Herald. May 19, 2016. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
15. ^ "Actor Nam Koong-min makes cameo in 'Doctors'". Kpop Herald. August 2, 2016. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
16. ^ 제3회 드라마극본공모전 시상식 성료. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
17. ^ "하명희 작가, KBS '여깡패 혜정'으로 복귀". September 28, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
18. ^ Foxy. "Kim Rae Won, Park Shin Hye, Kim Min Seok & more during 1st script reading for 'Doctors'". Kpopnewz. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
19. ^ "SBS' 'Doctors' starring Kim Rae Won, Park Shin Hye holds first script reading; Plot and main character info revealed". yibada.com. May 18, 2016. Archived from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
20. ^ "Park Shin Hye has a Stairway to Heaven reunion with actor Baek Sung Hyun". DramaFever. July 1, 2016.[permanent dead link]
21. ^ "Doctors - LA18 Mon/Tues Korean Drama". la18.tv (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
22. ^ "Gaon Download Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
23. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
24. ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
25. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
26. ^ "The SBS broadcasting schedule on August 16, 2016". SBS (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
27. ^ Han, In-goo (April 7, 2017). 공유·박보검·남궁민·한석규…백상예술대상 男TV연기상 4파전. Star Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
28. ^ Kim, So-yeon (May 4, 2017). "'Guardian,' 'The Handmaiden' win big at Baeksang Awards". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
29. ^ Lee, Seung-gil (September 7, 2017). "[SDA2017] '구르미', 한류드라마 최우수상…우수상은 'W'·'닥터스'". MyDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2017.

External links

[edit]

• Official website (in Korean)
• The Doctors at HanCinema
• The Doctors at IMDb

v t e Works by Pan Entertainment
2000s	Winter Sonata Summer Scent Forbidden Love My Rosy Life The Secret Lovers Unstoppable Marriage I Am Sam Don't Cry My Love Women in the Sun
2010s	Brilliant Legacy Oh! My Lady Home Sweet Home Pure Pumpkin Flower The Duo Moon Embracing the Sun Man from the Equator Bridal Mask My Lover, Madame Butterfly A Hundred Year Legacy Passionate Love Golden Cross Gap-dong Mama 4 Legendary Witches Kill Me, Heal Me Heard It Through the Grapevine The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop The Doctors Marriage Contract Whisper Unknown Woman Fight for My Way Hospital Ship Temperature of Love My Contracted Husband, Mr. Oh Left-Handed Wife Liver or Die When the Camellia Blooms Never Twice
2020s	Record of Youth Revolutionary Sisters Racket Boys The Second Husband Gaus Electronics The Secret Romantic Guesthouse The Killing Vote Twinkling Watermelon The Whirlwind DNA Lover When Life Gives You Tangerines