Hur Jun (1999)

Decent enough

The drama had a weak and uninteresting start but it managed to pick itself back up after some time. Some patients' stories didn't blend well with what was going on and it passed off as an interruption. It shares a lot of similarities with Jewel in the Palace (2003) but with a less attractive cast. Not only that but it also shares the same problems Jewel in the Palace (2003) had had. You may refer to my comment there. In comparison, I would nudge this one slightly higher since it had a more raw feeling to it. The drama also had a modern remake back in 2013. There was no specific fundamental issues with the base story to prompt a remake. There were too many identical copy-pasted scenes and jokes, they don't take any creative freedom with the core story/scenes to make the remake worthwhile. Although the remake is longer but this came at the expense of its pace since the extended content was poorly utilized and made it a worse experience overall. A lot of over exaggeration/dramatization and a lot less human. I hoped the remake would have a better written ending but no, it was identical frame by frame to the original. I prefer this version over the remake for its roughness, rawness and concise cut, it makes for a better watch.

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i had high expectaion from this drama since it was made by the same team who made jewel in the palace. i was dissapointed big time. some episodes are so dragging to watch, worthy of fast forwarding. i skipped a lot of scenes, some sub plots didnt even help at all.

acting wise, all actors did great. the love story between the two main leads were not fully developed, its acceptables since its not a love story but more on the struggle of hur jun becoming a doctor.

compare to jewel in the palace (which i rewatched 3times), i dont see myself rewatching this ever.

im planning to see the 2013 version as soon as i find a link for it.

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