I'm surprised that this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable K-dramas I've ever watched. I haven't had much luck with medical dramas in the past, and I've dropped way more of them than I've finished. Usually, their repetitive medical emergencies and life-or-death surgeries in which doctors miraculously save patients from the brink of disaster happening every episode again and again just bores me and strains my credulity. That was even true to a certain extent with this show, but I felt like there were fewer sensationalized medical emergencies than in most such shows. It had a little slower pace that let you get to know the patients and other characters better and become emotionally invested with them. And the medical situations seemed slightly more realistic than in most medical dramas.

Another good thing about this show is that Joo Won's acting got me interested in the character right from the beginning and involved me deeply in the story. Unfortunately, you have to put up with lots of painful scenes in the early episodes of horrible abuse and discrimination towards the Shi-on character from most of the people around him. Even several of the characters who end up redeeming themselves later in the show start out treating Shi-on terribly. Do-han was one of the worst offenders in the beginning. So much so that I almost can't forgive him even after he changes his attitude. Thankfully, all these hardships made Shi-on's triumphs later on in the show more satisfying. It was truly moving to see this good-hearted, talented guy finally get the rewards that he deserves.

Chae-won was really great too, playing one of the few characters who was on Shi-on's side from the beginning. The show did a nice job portraying their realistically sibling-like relationship, but then when their relationship suddenly shifted into the next gear, it didn't feel quite as believable. That part could have been handled a little more skillfully, but it was still satisfying to see the romance actually develop, because I wasn't sure this was going to happen.

I wish they had skipped all the tiresome and familiar hospital politics stuff, which contributed nothing to the show. I don't understand why just about every show that focuses on a workplace has to waste so much time on corrupt politics and power struggles. Does anyone enjoy watching that stuff? Fortunately, that made up a smaller part of the plot, so it didn't detract from the overall experience too much. I would have also cut out the equally cliched dad from hell stuff, which I thought was not only unpleasant to watch but unsatisfyingly resolved.

Finally, I can't help but compare this show to Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which I saw before I watched Good Doctor. Woo was more skillfully made in just about every way, and the legal cases in that show were more interesting than the medical cases in Good Doctor. Woo also clearly had a bigger budget and a more recent sensibility that made the earlier show really feel like it was 10 years older. And even though Joo Won did a great acting job, Eun-bin was even better. However, Good Doctor, despite its flaws and lower budget and more old-fashioned sensibility, was a little more emotionally involving and addictive than Woo. Woo is like an elegant sushi dinner, whereas Good Doctor is like a hearty Korean meal. So even though Woo is one of my favorite all-time K-dramas, Good Doctor is up there alongside it for me.