I decided to give this drama a shot because of ji sung who is a great actor and the synopsis sounded interesting. The first couple of episodes were really captivating and it shocked me that they discussed a subject which has always been a source of debate with no ending conclusion, but i appreciate to watch something different and the fact that makes you search and think about topics that we don't usually talk about.
The music was so good and it fits the atmosphere of the drama and the acting was great. I know everyone is talking about the FL hair style that was a mess but i didn't care and i found the cast did really a good job portraying their characters.
The story started very well with medical mystery genre and a slow developed romance that really fit this kind of story. The chemistry between the leads was good and then the euthanasia was brought up. i thought it was great to see a drama that approach this topic. The writer did a good job in the beginning but toward the middle i felt like she was lost and didn't know how to handle the story anymore and she focused more about the illness. I expected more deep conversation about pain death and the value of life and i expected the actor lee kyu hyung's character to have much more importance in the story.
Beside that "in my opinion" the story wasn't so well developed the drama was worth watching. I enjoyed every episode and the acting was soooo good never gt disappointed by ji sung and i loved the side love story of the second lead.
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The initial few episodes started off great but unfortunately it didn't keep the same pace due to it leaning much too heavy towards romance. It didn't help that the two mains had zero chemistry with one another and her character felt more like an obsessed fan, rather than an effective partner. The supporting cast had much more character development than the female lead. She was consistently clingy and didn't seem to be a very competent doctor despite the excess praises she received. Overall, I managed to finish the series by skipping through large chunks of the scenes where the two leads were alone and being awkwardly sappy. This one had potential, but for an hour long episode with 16 episodes, they could have used that time to dive much more into the lives of the rest of the team or included more cases to add more substance. Even excluding the romance aspect, it felt like the plot was put together with pieces that don't quite fit together.
Really surprised this series had such high ratings and I wonder if it's due to the fact that there are some pretty great cast members in it.
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In a nutshell - lame
After having completed watching all the episodes I've been wondering what on earth I would say is my opinion about this series. The only thing that comes to mind is "oh, goodness". Unfortunately, that is neither particularly eloquent nor descriptive. However, it is what it is. "Oh, goodness" in all the exasperating and disappointing forms of meaning.That I finished watching all the episodes is an accomplishment of sorts. The initial episodes at the prison are intriguing and the storyline is different enough to capture attention. However, as the plot progresses to the hospital setting it is where things become lame, and frequently exasperating.
Let's start with the characters: my "favourite" was the mother and chief of the anaesthesiology department. You couldn't pick a worse character, casting and combination of the two. Cast a young person to play a stiff 50-year-old with fake grey hair, expressionless and stern in a dumb way - and all you get is a big fat fail. The nurse and the prosecutor fail in their own ways as well. The female lead - well, I still can't make up my mind if the issue was the actress, the storyline or the direction because crying at everything and nothing was just lame and frequently cringe-inducing.
The male lead was good, surprisingly so for such a mediocre cast and plot. He carried the show and made going through the episodes bearable. However, the ending was quite a disappointment and in many ways far removed from the reality of how actual humans would react in the same circumstances.
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Okay to watch
I watched this because I love Ji Sung so much. He's brilliant at everything he does. And he did in this one too. Everyone was great, just too much running and too much crying.The female lead's part irritated me to say the least. Too obsessive about him to the detriment of her job. Never have i wanted a couple to never succeed. They had no chemistry and that's putting it mildly. Everything always ended in tears.
The nurse with the vendetta just disappeared into thin air. So she wanted an apology, so why not say so. The story was all over the place.
Worth watching but not a 2nd for me.
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What a waste
"Doctor John' starts with a bang and interesting first episode, however it goes downhill after the main female lead character, second year resident Dr. Kang Shi-young, falls madly in love with the male lead character, professor/attending Dr. Cha Yo-han. As a second year resident in a very demanding pain anesthesiology program, it is unlikely that she would have so much time running after (almost like stalking) her professor/attending at work or after work. I bet all residents that are doing residency wish their life is as easy as this second year resident. The scrip is not well written. Also, there are too many long "love scenes" that become too annoying and boring. I tolerated watching "Doctor John" because my significant other liked the lead female character and enjoyed the long "love scenes". I respect his preference.Was this review helpful to you?
Only Ji Sung can make me watch and enjoy16+ hours of serious surgeries and doctor-politics LOL
Only Ji Sung can make me watch and enjoy16+ hours of serious surgeries, doctor-politics, heartbreaking discussions on euthanasia and actual blood, sweat, and tears.He is as always PHENOMENAL in his role, and truly disappeared in his portrayal of the enigmatic Cha Yo Han. He was stellar, and so was the show.
I liked his relationship with the lead actress and enjoyed their interactions, he was adorable with her, and they had a fitting end together.
I LOVED the other doctors, the sister of the female lead with Lee was SO CUTE, and the other two male doctors with their adorable bromance.
The rest of the cast was great too.
The story has a lot of thoughtful moments, discussing what it means to be truly alive and what can blur the line between living/surviving so easily. It was enjoyable from beginning to the end, and for some reason didn't even feel like I had seen 16+ hours of this show, it kinda felt like a movie almost.
Highly recommended as a great medical drama.
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Smashing medical drama
This title is definitely smashing as medical drama, especially when they centre it around unpopular field - pain management and contraversial euthenasia. Such a fresh and rare aspect of the medical field.I love every single part of the medical department, but abhorrr the romance department. At first i couldnt quite like the FL, kang si young, because she was such a crybaby and damn too clingy. And then i hated ML towards the end because of how he left FL hanging without so much of a word. Didn’t even finish watching the last episode cuz it’s too cringy for my liking.
I also think the ML is a coward when it comes to romance. it is always FL who is chasing after him, and even towards the end, he wouldnt speak his mind about his feelings for the FL without some nudging by others. What a lame guy. Dont know how many times did I roll my eyes at those scenes and end up fast forwarding them. Btw if it were me, I wouldve never gotten back to ML . Somebody who makes decisions about the relationship without even considering the other party’s views, even if he thought it was for her own good, is not fit for a relationship. Guess he expects his other half to just read his mind and be understanding and just agree with whatever decision he makes about their relationship. 🙄 So yeah. Hated every part of the romance scenes, i fast forwarded most of it especially those of the side couples. I’ve had my fill cuz i was only watching for the intense medical parts and not the cheesy romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
There are a lot of things that make a drama worth watching. But the one thing that makes a drama 'unforgettable' is the appropriate use of it's theme and maintaining the moral of the story throughout. This drama picked up a very controversial topic in medicine and law and handled it really well. It gave no definite answers to Euthanasia but just like the endless debate, left no side as the bad guy and no side as the good guy. Instead of focusing on pain leading to 'death' as an abrupt end of life, this drama focused on 'living' till the very end. It gave a very memorable perspective to death and life. It may not be the best medical drama, but this drama was much more. It left valuable lessons and worth watching perspectives behind and that is as important sometimes.
The acting was quite obviously outstanding. Nothing less to be expected from Ji Sung. Doubt any other actor could have portrayed the different emotions this drama and story required. He was as usual phenomenal. The other actors were brilliant as well, especially Lee Seyoung who is most definitely a very promising actress.
The soundtrack was brilliant and fitting in every scenario. It was both melancholic and hopeful, happy and sad. Just perfect. The romance was handled very well. Not the typical romance drama types but rather a mature romance. Practical, deep and beautiful.
This drama did justice to all the tags and to it's viewers in my opinion and is definitely worth investing your time in. Also i mean, it's Ji Sung! Come on! Haha.
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Nice story that will keep you involved.
If you think medical dramas are all the same, you need to watch this one. A unique twist on doctors who manage pain with an overriding theme of euthanasia. Throw in a little romance and you have something exciting to watch. Don’t let the 32 episodes discourage you, the 30 minute episodes will fly by.The storyline concentrates on pain management and does a good job of bringing excitement to an otherwise boring topic. Each doctor in the group has their own personality making it that much more interesting. Ji Sung was amazing as Dr. John (Cha). He fit the part and made it believable.
The love interest between Dr. Cha and Dr. Kang started slowly and peaked briefly at an airport farewell. It was a nice scene with love confessions on both sides. Other than a few minutes later in the story, there was no more real romance, and there definitely wasn’t much chemistry between the two leads. I don’t know if it was the story or the actor, but Ji Sung just didn’t seem to warm up to the romance concept. Lee Se Young, on the other hand, had much better chemistry and gave you a warm feeling that she was really in love. They tried to bring them back together in the last few minutes of the drama but that never really works to anybody’s satisfaction. But this drama really wasn’t about romance, it was about pain management.
In summary it has a good storyline and a strong supporting cast. I liked this drama. The music was fantastic, some of the best I’ve ever heard.
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With such a plot deemed to be serious, I really enjoyed the bonding between everyone in the anesthesiology department, it was like a breeze of fresh air watching them all work as a team and supporting one another. Character development was also very nice to watch.
Romance aspect wise, I personally think romance in the drama is pretty different in comparison to other medical kdramas (at least from the ones I've watched), instead of seeing a lot of couple-like-moments, we got to see all couples involved grow as individuals especially the leads with its gradual development from mentor & mentees to an actual couple.
Acting was superb, all the characters executed their emotions very well and yes overall I loved this drama a lot, I honestly had this in my plan to watch list for quite some time now because I was pretty reluctant on watching it but it only took me 2 days to finish watching. So if you are looking for a medical kdrama to watch, I strongly recommend Doctor John.
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This review may contain spoilers
Freeing People From Pain One Patient At a Time!
Most people might have a hard time believing that there are even worse things than death. Living in constant pain is one of them. Some might call it “suffering,” but suffering is a subjective term. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.The irony is that death is not the opposite of life. Life has no opposite because it is eternal. People die, but they simply change form. No one is ever “lost” to us. That is a fabric of the mind and the ego. Birth is the opposite of death. Life can never be lost nor taken away because it’s who you are. You can no more lose your life than a wave can be lost from the ocean. It’s always a part of it.
Doctor John is a brilliant series that begins with a doctor who works as a janitor in prison. He’s been serving three years for committing euthanasia. However, he has no compunction about helping out a fellow prisoner who is suffering from pain. Doctor Cha Yo Han is nicknamed the “Ten Second Doctor,” because he can often diagnose a person within 10 seconds.
If Doctor Cha Yo Han has one principle in his life, it’s to never allow a person to suffer needlessly from pain, whether that be physical or mental pain. He fervently believes that his sole job as a doctor isn’t to necessarily save lives (even though it’s a big part of it) but to save people from pain.
We see that most of the doctors at the local hospital measure people in money. They also believe that a doctor who is empathetic is the weakest type of doctor. It’s sad that in today’s world, most of the medical community still views feelings as a weakness rather than as a strength. They walk around the hospital hallways as nothing more than robots. Shut down your feelings, and you’re not stronger. You’re simply half of a human being, which is a weak human being, indeed.
Kang Shi Young is a second-year resident assigned as a doctor to the prison because, according to Doctor Cha Yo Han, the previous doctor was an inept fool. Kang Shi Young is able to look past Doctor Cha Yo Han’s initial arrogance and see a man who has a gift. A gift for diagnosing patients, and a bigger gift of using his talents to help free people from pain.
We learn that Dr. Cha Yo Han was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Two people, Prosecutor Son Suk Ki and Nurse Chae Eun Jun have a piercing hatred for Doctor Cha Yo Han. Both are suffering immeasurably. A sadistic killer brutally murdered their children.
Prosecutor Son Suk Ki believes that euthanasia is a crime, and he was the lawyer who prosecuted Doctor Cha. However, after Doctor Cha is released after three years, he vows to put him back where he belongs: behind bars. He feels he was robbed of the chance to see the killer prosecuted, and he blames Doctor Cha for it.
Nurse Chae Eun Jun is an even worse case. She’s a mother so wrapped up in her own pain, that she sadistically forced the serial killer to sign a DNR, hoping that he would suffer immeasurably from his own illness and pain. However, Doctor Cha saved the killer from this fate by performing euthanasia on him, and thus robbing Chae Eun Jun of her revenge. The Chinese proverb, “When you set out for revenge, make sure to dig two graves,” came to mind. It’s sad that she lost her daughter, but it’s even more pathetic that a woman is willing to desecrate the memory of her own child in the name of revenge. When all you see is pain, you lose sight of everything else. That is even more tragic than what happened to her child.
The brilliance of Doctor Cha is like watching Dr. House. He’s a genius, but he also has a hidden secret. He suffers from CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain Anhidrosis). In short, he’s unable to feel anything. This puts him at great risk as he’s also unable to regulate his own body temperature. He daily takes and monitors his blood pressure, temperature, and other readings to make sure that nothing is wrong. As he says, “I am a ticking time bomb” as such people don’t normally live for very long. It also puts him at risk of losing his job, as his patients might view him as “less than a doctor” because he’s unable to feel pain.
Of course, Doctor Cha only cares about himself as far as his ability to help others. He is put in charge of the Pain Management Team at the hospital. Soon, after curing several patients of their pain, people from all over flock to him for help.
Kang Shi Young quickly falls in love with Doctor Cha, despite his best efforts to let her know that she has no future with him. However, her feelings are unwavering, and she soon appoints herself as his guardian, helping him to monitor his body as soon as she finds out about his disease.
I was happy to see the romance was sweet without the usual cliches, pitfalls, and games that we typically see. In many ways, the romantic story was refreshing.
It’s also interesting to note that Doctor Cha doesn’t give in to Prosecutor Son Suk Ki and Nurse Chae Eun Jun’s anger and hatred. He, instead, patiently waits until they are willing to listen, to help them realize that they are the only source of their own pain. In fact, Chae Eun Jun discovered that Doctor Cha had seen the fake DNR sheet that she had forced the killer to sign, and yet he never mentioned that at his trial. She demands an explanation. “I figured that you had suffered enough,” he tells her. That is the mark of a true, loving and caring person. And Chae Eun Jun, despite her rage, cannot help but be touched, even after trying to sabotage and destroy him.
The series is filled with touching moments as Doctor Cha refuses to be drawn into the hospital politics as well as giving in to Prosecutor Son Suk Ki’s threats. His sole purpose is helping others, and he does a masterful job. Doctor Cha reminded me of Dr. House and Dr. Patch Adams. He has House’s brilliance without the temperament and Patch Adams’s love for helping others. The world needs more doctors like Doctor Cha.
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