Dr. Romantic Sezonul 1 (2016)

Thought provoking, great cases, slice of life surgeons and ER doctors

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2016/2017 South Korean romantic medical television drama with 21, 60 minute episodes. Also known as Romantic Doctor and Romantic Doctor Kim. The 21st episode is a "special" episode but is such an integral part of the story I consider it part of the 1st season personally and not separate or "other".

Below I have a synopsis as I feel a lot of the synposis do not describe the dramas fully enough to get a good sense of what theya re about. In the next section I give my thoughts/review.

Synopsis: Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu) was a top doctor and a triple-board certified surgeon, who worked at one of the most prestigious hospitals in Seoul. Everything changed when his junior died and, as a result, he disappeared from his life in Seoul and assumed a new name Kim Sa-bu. In order to still work in the profession he loves yet keep his identity a secret, he works at a very small hospital in the Gangwon Province. Circumstances bring two young doctors, Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Yoo Yeon-seok) under his tutelage. In the major hospitals, money and power often determine timing and quality of patient care with the very important persons (VIP) taking priority over those with less power position or money. Sa-bu sees patients according to their medical need regardless of their social status, power, prestige or the status of their bank account. His influence unearths Seo-jeong and Dong-joo's inner desire to disregard money and power and treat just the patient.

Review: This was a great, fast paced, medical slice of life drama with lots of interesting medical cases. The acting was, for the most part, outstanding with one small exception. When they would shock the patients you typically see the paddles placed high up on the chest and the person has to lean over the unconsious person a bit because of the position of the paddles then when they shock them the unconsious person's body jumps a bit off the table from the intensity of the current. Several times, particularly when it was Dr. Kim, the paddles seemed to be placed really low and the unconsious person barely moved. It sort of took you out of the moment a bit. But very minor. I loved all of the character development. Dr. Kang went from someone that had "given in" and was sort of in pursuit of money and power to getting back to his "roots" in medicine which is patient focused regardless of whether, or not, it benefitted him. He learned that from Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim learned to trust other doctors more again from all of the students who "baby ducked" themselves to him even when he tried to portray he didn't want it. He also learned to stand his ground and fight at times rather than always just figuring karma would sort it out. Seo-jeong learned confidence in her ability as a doctor from Doctor Kim and that she had the right to love again from Dr. Kang. There were a lot of surprise mentees that came from the main hospital and also attached themselves under Doctor Kim's tutelage. I particularly liked the director's son because he was headed on a dark path and both Dr. Kim and Dr. Kang really turned him around. The love story was cute and well paced. I didn't feel like we got a good sense of why he was so in love with her from their time together at the other hospital but I think we saw enough of their interaction under Doctor Kim that their love was believable.

Spoilers ** The reason Seo-jeong was so reluctant to start anything with Dong-joo was because of the accident she was in where her boyfriend was killed after she refused his proposal. She carried guilt feeling that was the cause without knowing that he was cheating on her and had drank a lot that day. There was an episode where she returned to the main hospital and encountered her former friend her boyfriend had been cheating with and that friend mentioned she had a five year old child that looked just like the father. You saw Seo-jeong give it some hard thought but it was never clear she made that connection. And then she was just sort of all right with moving forward with Dong-joo and I felt it wasn't obvious enough why she had the change of heart when the full extent of that situation was not revealed. She also had the attempted suicide episode and there was no complete resolution to that. It made it like just "tough love" was enough to snap someone out of that. Dr. Kim was basically like you can't be a doctor with thoughts like that and she was sort of like okay I won't have PTSD and attempt suicide anymore. Didn't make sense.

I also wanted to know a lot more about Dr. Kim's former students and why the one student had surgery. And what really went wrong. Why did she allow a proxy? Were they "sneaking" the proxies. What was the story with the cassette tapes/music. Lots there I did not feel was explained and I was very curious.

They left quite a few pieces unresolved I am sure in anticipation of the future seasons. But I prefer when a season can stand alone and I can decide whether to watch future seasons or not. I haven't watched season 2 yet because I am hearing there will be a season 3 and that season 2 ends without a lot of things unresolved. I am not a fan of being dragged along like that uncertain when and if a season will come out.

Overall I liked this drama. It portrayed well the very real world struggle doctors go through between being funded and doing the right thing by their patients. The slice of emergency and surgery life also showed the difficult decisions doctors often have to make in when to let go, who to treat first, and who to rely on. Dr. Kim was a very compelling character. It is true that when you are that good - you can have a target on your back from other's greed an jealousy. I will be looking for the 3rd season to come out and then will re-engage with these very compleling characters. Highly recommend for those who like medical dramas.

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Not sure if what is said here would be considered spoilers so I have put the warning just in case.

I have watched a decent amount of medical dramas, both Japanese and Korean and most of the time, even if they are really good, they are not what I was after or expected in a medical drama.

Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim is not on of them. This drama IS what I've been looking for in a medical drama. It has the cases, it also deals with the characters themselves and is has a good ratio between the two.
It also have political power play but that feels kinda standard for dramas ^^

I'll admit the first episode did put me off a bit cause it felt like this was gonna be a romantic roller-coaster which is not what I'm after in show like this, but I'm happy I decided to continue.

The cast is amazing. They all make their characters believable, flaws and all. What I really like about the characters is that they all have flaws that makes sense. All the worries they have are understandable and they make mistakes that anyone can make even if they now what they are doing.

The human bond that the show focuses on are basically every type of bond you can think of. Family bond between patients and their families, romantic bonds, friendships and more. Everyone at Doldam Hospital are a family and we get to see how they become a family as we watch the show progress.
My favourite bond/relationship is between Master Kim and Dr Yoon Seo Jung. They have that father-daughter bond that I love to see in shows. Master Kim is strict and he doesn't give any of the doctors special treatment but you can tell that he has a soft spot for her even if he doesn't always show it. I found myself hoping for scenes with the two of them just to see that bond that they share.

My least favourite is the romance between Yoon Seo Jung and Kang Dong Joo. For several reasons. I'm not a huge fan of romance if the shows doesn't need it and this one doesn't. I did warm up to it later on thanks to the chemistry between the actors but the characters, mostly Kang Dong Joo shows some unhealthy responses to it IMO.
He kinda forces himself on her, not in a sexual way, but she's says she's not interested and he keeps pushing. He also becomes jealous and is kinda overprotective when he sees another guy show some sort of interest in her, and that happens even before they actually become an item. It is probably meant to be cute and endearing and Yoon Seo Jung doesn't seem to mind that much but if this was a real relationship that is some serious red flags if you ask me.

Best character is Master Kim's smile XD
Jokes aside, Han Seok Kyu, who plays Master Kim has a really nice smile and when Master Kim is happy I become happy cause it's so infectious. One of my favourite scenes is when Yoon Seo Jung agrees to something and Master Kim shows a big smile while bursting out a happy OKAY!! ^^

I feel like this is one of the few KDramas that has ost that isn't a song but an instrumental ost.
The one called "Hope of Hospital" is really good and when you hear it you know that everything is gonna be all right ^^

This one has a really good rewatch value since it isn't a mystery, even if you've seen it you can enjoy everything as if you're watching it for the first time.

This might be my favourite medical Drama after the Jdrama Code Blue, I recommend this one with my entire being.

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I feel that this was a good watch, it's almost similar to Chicago Med but I like this better. It really tells how it is in a hospital setting. I worked in the Emergency room as a clerk... that's why I loved this. It did have a little of a romance going on with two of the doctors. Lots of patients and I have to give kudos to all of them. I can imagine how hard it is to play someone who is injured or has died. Han Seok Kyu's character Teacher Kim / Dr. Boo Yong Joo / Kim Sa Bu was totally awesome, I love how he took this character and owned it. Yoo Yeon Seok's character Dr. Kang Dong Joo, I loved this character and he played a strong character. Handsome too. I wonder how tall he is. Seo Hyun Jin's character Dr. Yoon Seo Jung played her part very well and was glad to see a romance between Dr. Kang and Dr. Yoon. Choi Jin Ho who played Do Yoon Wa was scary... Kim Min Jae, I love seeing his dimples and pretty face. God granted his parents to create perfection for sure. I love this actor. Thank you to all the actors and actresses too many to name. I loved the head nurse who was a supporting actress and I think they got this wrong. She should've been part of the main list. I can't say I love the visuals, because I hate the sight of blood.

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Absolutely Worth A Watch

Dr. Romantic is a beautifully written drama. It has good pace and pulls viewers in. Kim Sa Bu is a beautifully written, complex character with a unique thought process and personality. He was an excellent mentor. We saw him change from a critic to ardent supporter of the doctors he mentored. Both Kang Dong Joo and Yoon Seo Jung were unique in terms of capabilities and character. They brought fresh perspective to the story and we saw how they grew as people through the story. It is medically accurate and absolutely worth a watch. The characters faced moral dilemmas and many challenges as they went through many learning experiences that shaped them as people. The staff of the hospital were also learnt and experienced many things during their time in the story.

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The drama mainly focus on a hospital that far from the city.

The story actually quite good but there's something that missing . The actors actually good at acting but the young male lead character really annoyed me from first ep until the end. Egoistic and anytime will betrayed. Kim Hye Soo was definitely the greatest actress of this drama, she only appears in the last episode, I don’t know how the producers didn’t hired her for the entire drama, she was the best thing that this drama had and o she only was in a few scenes, if you haven’t seen the special episode I recommend you to see it only for her.

The main reason I still give okay rating because the cases actually quite good.

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Long awaited review

Its been years since the drama aired! But i finally decided to write a review after watching this for the 6th time just recently. I love korean medical dramas, i cannot help to compare them each and every medical dramas that ive watched.

This series especially, has many lessons that can be learnt! And the story really keeps you going! Initially I watched this fir the cast, but after watching the series, i dont think theres anyone whos more suitable out there for these roles.

Politics is can be found almost everywhere! But at Doldam? Its a big warm family where you learn and grow. With adequate lessons to learn, romance, and of course the medical part, there is nothing more you can ask for in a drama.

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This has been a beautiful journey, which I am so glad for. Honestly I remember starting this about a year ago, but dropped it at episode 5. Then I recently saw that there's a second season coming out soon, with some of my favourite actors, so I decided to continue watching and BOY AM I GLAD I DID. Even though I was not convinced in the beginning, thus I didn't continue watching, I must say the story gets better and better. The first few eps are a bit frustrating because everyone is struggling and Master Kim seems very cold hearted, but after a while you can literally see them grow.
I love the message, the story, the struggles these characters had to face. But the best thing is that they learn and make mistakes and grow. Master Kim is an amazing teacher that lowkey seems like an asshole, but he has the warmest heart out of all. He cares but he knows his boundaries, he doesn't push his students, she leads them, he makes sure that they know it's their OWN path and their OWN choice, whatever they may choose, he can't do anything about it. Master Kim is actually a pretty common figure you often see in animes, someone with strong ideals and philosophies. But he was portrayed so well in this story. And just like the title says, he was his romantic view on life, and that's what's important. What's amazing is that he still learns from himself and his past mistakes.
I am in love with all the characters this show has shown us. The sweet romance between Dr. Yoon and Kang Dong Ju, the struggles of Do In Beom as the son of President Do.
I don't know much about the medical field, so I can't say how accurate the medical terms and procedures were, but I can say that they have beautiful ideals as doctors. The dilemma of being a doctor is something I can image very well. And they showcased that beautifully with Kang Dong Ju's growth.
All in all, I am in love. And holy shit, kudos to the actors they were all beyond amazing! Seo Hyun Jin, as always an amazing and underrated actress that never disappoints. Han Seok Kyu, even though it's the first show I saw him in as the lead I must say, what did I expect from a senior actor_ Nothing less! Yoo Yeon Seok was also very good and was the perfect choice for Kang Dong Ju, and boi his shoulders. Thanks to this drama I fell in love with Yang Se Jong, y'all should definitely check out his Thirty but Seventeen drama, it's amazing and he is super soft and cute there!
To be completely honest I am excited and scared for the second season. I want to watch more of Master kim, but I fear that it won't live up to the first season. Anyway we will see!
If you are still hesitating, than I will tell you right now, to go and watch it!

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Best Doctor DRAMA

This is one of my fav doctor drama together with Hospital playlist. I finished this drama in 2 days that i watched till 6am.
Storyline:
It is doctor dramas so ofcourse many surgerys and sad stories.....but this drama just make it interesting and make me keeps watching. The villian was pathetic but still i enjoy watching bc he kept losing and losing.
Acting/characters
I totally love Teacher kim character....he totally the star of the drama. I even forgot he is acting and not the real doctor....I like his facial expressions and acting. It feel so natural and real.
At first i though i was going to hate the female lead bc she little bit annoyed me in 1st ep BUT i actually love her....she is so adorable too. I love how she is a talented doctor and did her best to heal her patients.
The male lead Kang Dong Joo has great character development and it is quite nice to watch how much he improved and become to love the Hospital tho he hated at first.
My fav character and a crush is probably Do In Bum....He started as bad character but you could totally see how he changed to became a better doctor despite his father bad influence. He is totally a eye candy and I think i fell in love....
Overall I don't have anything to complain about the acting bc everyone did so good that I might just believe they are real doctors....and not actors acting as doctors.

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Incredible drama that could have used more depth

My love for Yoo Yeon Seok has led me to binge-watch this drama during a really long ride to Missouri, and I was in love from the very first episode. Though I usually always rave about songs with lyrics in kdramas, the instrumentals in this drama impressed me so much and deserve a big shoutout. Despite the wonderful cast of characters and the comforting atmosphere this drama created, I felt like the drama didn’t go enough in depth about some major plot points. When Seo Jung’s PTSD was revealed in the earlier episodes, I was very excited for the possibility that she would be trying to battle her intrusive thoughts for the rest of the drama before coming to terms with her boyfriend’s death. Instead, the issue just disappeared completely as if it never even existed. It was simply used as a plot device at some point in the drama to create tension and potentially get her fired from the hospital. Additionally, I wanted to see Dong Joo develop a relationship with Kim Sa Bu. It feels like not much happened in the way of bonding between any characters, and even the romance felt very incomplete. I was very confused by the ending because I still had so many questions about what would happen next. I simply don’t have the heart to rate this drama any lower because the suspense and the overall atmosphere was absolutely off the charts, but I could have definitely used a lot more character development.

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One of the best Medical K-Drama

**My Review of "Dr. Romantic" (10/10)**

I recently finished watching "Dr. Romantic," and I have to say, it deserves a perfect 10/10 rating. Here's why this K-drama stands out for me:

**Character Development:**
The characters in "Dr. Romantic" are incredibly well-developed. Each one has a unique personality and backstory that makes their growth throughout the series compelling and relatable. I found myself deeply invested in their journeys, cheering for their successes and empathizing with their struggles.

**Realistic Medical Cases:**
The show's portrayal of medical cases is impressively realistic. The detailed depiction of medical procedures, ethical dilemmas, and the hospital environment adds a layer of authenticity that I really appreciated. It felt like I was getting an inside look at the real-life challenges faced by medical professionals.

**Performance:**
Han Suk-kyu's performance as Teacher Kim is nothing short of spectacular. His nuanced portrayal brings depth to the character, making him both inspiring and relatable. The supporting cast, including Yoo Yeon-seok, Seo Hyun-jin, Ahn Hyo-seop, and Lee Sung-kyung, also delivered outstanding performances that added to the overall excellence of the show.

**Emotional Depth:**
"Dr. Romantic" is not just a medical drama; it explores themes of redemption, compassion, and the complexities of human emotions. The show balances intense medical emergencies with touching personal stories, creating a rollercoaster of emotions that kept me engaged from start to finish.

**Cinematography and Direction:**
The series is beautifully shot, with excellent direction that keeps viewers engaged. The use of lighting, camera angles, and settings enhances the storytelling and adds to the overall appeal of the show. The visual quality is top-notch and complements the narrative perfectly.

**Minor Criticisms:**
While I absolutely loved the series, there are a few minor points I noticed:
- At times, the drama can be overly melodramatic, with heightened emotions and conflicts that might feel exaggerated to some viewers.
- Certain subplots, especially in the second season, felt dragged out, which can be a bit frustrating.
- Some plot developments are predictable, following typical K-drama tropes.

**Conclusion:**
Overall, "Dr. Romantic" is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys medical dramas and character-driven stories. Its blend of medical realism, emotional depth, and strong performances make it a standout series. Despite a few minor flaws, the show's ability to touch hearts and inspire viewers makes it a memorable and impactful drama. Whether you're new to K-dramas or a long-time fan, "Dr. Romantic" offers a compelling narrative that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

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