Your Doctor Friend is Telling You His Story
I don't think I need to explain it extensively here. Hospital Playlist is an example of a well-written show. It is more like a very calming slice of life story at the hospital. The story is very simple and not dragging (not-dragging K-Dramas are quite rare nowadays). It is seems like watching a hospital documentary, but not boring. I mean, NO! It is more like listening to your doctor friend after you asking "Hi, how is it going today?". We won't be drifted by hoping that tropes should go here and there, because it is your friend telling you his/her story. It might have a good ending, it might have a bad ending, it might not have any ending yet, or it might don't have any ending because your friend just doesn't want to talk about it anymore!This show has quite huge number of cast. And thanks to them, especially the main leads, for allowing this marvelous work to happen. The chemistry of them five is just marvelous. Most of the scenes are quite realistic, which makes me feel like I'm standing in a hospital and watching around. We can see families waiting in desperation for their relatives to pull through a surgery, the joy of parents carrying their newborn baby, doctors and nurses running in a rush to their patients and so on. Forget about all of the medical terminology that you may not understand, this show will bring you through a journey between happy and heartbreak tears.
At the end of the day, this show doesn't have any surprising or thrilling climax. You may not have any urge to watch the next episode quickly after finishing one. This show is very calm throughout all episodes, and it is better to take it slowly. Like when you are having a hectic day, going through an episode of this show may help to calm you down.
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The ensemble cast shines — each character has his own history, flaws and dreams, and the show gives them all space to breathe. Their friendship feels real; not perfect, but reliable. You believe that they’ve known each other for decades and that in the face of hard days at work, they lean on each other.
The medical cases serve more than plot mechanics — they reveal humanity. Some episodes bring hope, some bring sorrow, but none feel gratuitous. The way the series balances the humor of everyday hospital life with the emotional weight of illness is masterful.
Visually and tonally, it’s gentle: warm lighting, realistic backgrounds, scenes built around coffee breaks or shared dinners as much as operating rooms. It trusts the viewer to value the quiet moments as much as the big ones.
If there is a critique, it might be that for audiences looking for adrenaline or intense drama, this feels slower-paced. But that is also its strength. It invites you to live with the characters.
In the end, the show teaches us that healing isn’t only about medicine — it’s about connection. “Hospital Playlist” is comfort, laughter, heartache and hope packaged into a series. It’s the kind of show you finish and wish you could keep watching the same friends for years.
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I only care about ikjun
I love the premise of the show. I love their friendship. I skipped most scenes of gyeowool and jeong won (theyre boring). If it wasnt for ikjun, i might dropped this. So, you can just only watch his scenes lmao.Nothing much with romance. Just typcial friends to lovers. I dont get giddy watching them. I prefer to see their friendship more.
Overall, it's fine. Some boring scenes of you dont like medical dramas
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Easy watching, story about friends and how they help each other, low stress
Easy watching, story about friends and how they help each other, low stressLife is too short for stressful drama. Why spend all that time watching and be stressed? Don’t our lives already provide enough of that?
Summary of the series:
- Light hearted about friendship; some romance
- Likable characters and on how they go beyond to help people as doctors
- No real villains, just annoying family members to jump the gun and blasting doctors who is caring for their family
- Great chemistry on the MLs and FL, they are like Korean Doctors' version of Friends
- ending was not done succinctly, but can show all the couples together for karaoke or doing something together
By far one of my favs, its light hearted yet heart warming. At occasions it may bring some tears but not because of sadness, but for heartfelt moments.
If you are looking for gratuitous stress/drama, frequent miscommunications, abrupt ending, insipid side stories, then this is not for you.
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The first and only hospital drama I’ve watched
I am usually not a fan of medical / hospital dramas or should I say, they never sparked my interest enough. However, I have heard really good things about this drama and since the writers are from my favorite drama ever (1988) I decided to give it a try! And I didn’t regret it!!!Of course, it doesn’t even come close to the greatness of reply 1988! Still, it is a very nice and heartwarming drama. Seeing the daily lives of doctors was very interesting, and I also learned a lot of things about surgeries, sicknesses and the systems and hierarchies of hospitals and medical workers.
The best thing about this drama however are the characters! Not only the main characters but also the side characters, like the residents, interns and assistant doctors. It’s funny how relatable each character is! That’s definitely the strength of this drama!
And of course the point that makes this drama different and unique from other medical dramas is the fact that the main 5 characters who have been friends for decades, also play in a band and the music they play is just AMAZING!!!! Every track was a banger and soooo beautiful!!!
Sadly, there were some things I didn’t quite like. The main reason was the fact that they explicitly showed the surgeries!!! It was seriously too graphic for my taste!
And in general, some scenes were too sad and heartbreaking for me that it was hard to handle it.
But in general it is definitely a well-made drama!
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The five main leads were well casted!
Hospital Playlist's main leads were well-casted!!! Especially, Jo Jung-suk as Lee Ik-jun, he is hilarious, sociable, and a loving father; I would re-watch the whole drama to just have a good laugh. Aside from the comedy of the drama, the seriousness of every scene about onto the patients, residents, and professors are well-researched and skillfully written. The writer, Lee Woo-Jung, no only wrote the Reply Series but also the Prison Playbook, I knew that Hospital Playlist will be worth the watch and it is. I just found out that Writer Lee is the screenwriter of variety shows such as Youn's Kitchen, Youth Over Flowers, and many others. This drama has the feels that is truly relatable in many ways, as a student, patient, family member, etc. An incredible piece of art!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A heartwarming, feel-good drama for a chill weekend...
This drama was marked as ‘Not Interested’ by me and for ages, I ignored the signs to watch it. My dad watched it and loved it. My friends watched it and loved it. Even Netflix has recommended it multiple times since its release and I stubbornly refused to watch it.It was only after binging Dr. Romantic and Dr. Romantic 2 in a week that I finally wanted to start this drama. But no! Season 2 was airing and I would have to wait until SEPTEMBER to watch Season 2 so no, I must not start Season 1. What if I can’t wait for all of Season 2 to air once I finish the first season? (I plan to watch the rest of S2 as it airs)
So I put it off. At this point, it was difficult. Netflix showed Hospital Playlist at the top of every list they could think up. As expected, who has that much self-control when the drama you want to watch is basically being served on a platter? So obviously, I watched it.
Upon further research after watching Ep 4, I found that the writers are the same as Reply 1988! It was yet another one that I had put off for YEARS until a few weeks ago and which I love as well, but I digress. And armed with this knowledge, these Easter eggs stood out more to me, from a few seconds of the OST or even a cameo from the Reply 1988 cast. It was nice to see them. My only gripe is the timeline of Hospital Playlist (set in 2019) and Reply 1988 don’t fit particularly well (so that character cameos don’t quite make sense) but I can overlook that for fangirling’s sake.
So what do I like about this drama? Honestly, the list would go on and on. Every scene was meaningful. I could feel emotions for each character, as minor as they each are. But most of all, I love that this drama is mostly slice of life. There’s no super-evil villain out there to destroy what our MCs have built up, and the plot mostly revolves around the lives of our MCs. It’s heartwarming and fun, almost like I’m with my own group of friends that I haven’t seen in a while. I like that it’s not ridiculously fast-paced and suspenseful like other medical dramas, but more realistic, kinda like how one would expect a doctor’s job to be like at a big hospital: dealing with anxious patients, irritating colleagues that don’t pull their weight as well as night shifts, emergency calls, etc.
The finale wasn't my cup of tea, but watching this in 2021, I know there is a 2nd season that will hopefully address the things that the writers left to the audience's imagination. But it wasn't too bad, definitely cheering on a romance between a certain professor and resident!
The *main* thing I don’t like about this drama is probably the fact that the cast is MASSIVE! I felt so confused keeping track of names and faces and honestly, I even forgot the names and faces of characters if they got an outfit change. However, it’s completely understandable why there was such a big cast though. A hospital as big as Yulje would likely have even more doctors, nurses and patients in real life, so I really can’t fault this drama at all.
Other than that, the acting is spot-on, I loved how the actors really brought out their characters, and I absolutely LOVE the soundtrack! Using a song in each episode was really smart! The songs picked really fit the main events in each episode, plus, I got to expand my music taste, so no complaints there!
As for watching it again, I would definitely go through it all again. For this watch, I would argue that I’ve binged it since I finished all of it within a week. BUT, if I’m going to watch it again, I would probably wait a year or so, and then go through the episodes slowly, maybe a few episodes every weekend or something like that. It’s definitely not one that I would binge again.
If you got to the end, thank you for reading this review, and apologies for all the faff…
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A darn great drama
Alright i have rewatched this show like 20 times im not even kidding i really love this show so so so muchHonestly on my very first watch i was very very confused because the writers and director like to make things go slowly to make it more realistic that's how i intepreted it, so i was like oh alright
Then it all came together and i was like MINDBLOWN
I'm super shocked at how the writer can write all these stories out and make them all come together like wow what kind of talent!!!!!!!
I love how they don't add a cliffhanger to every episode's ending because 1 episode per week will KILL especially it ends with a cliffhanger.
BUT behold they ended the season with a cliffhanger pls i will take the episode end cliffhanger over a 1 year wait anytime i really suffered during the 1year wait Hahahah
THE OSTS ARE JUST SO DAMN GOOD i really love confession is not flashy so much its like my top 5 on spotify and this drama is just so different by making their cast sing the osts every episode, it felt like a flashback to the 1990's
Talking about flashbacks the flashbacks were sooooooooooo good
All the main couples were so perfect, but i have to give it to iksong, i totally did not expect them to be each other's love interest because ikjun was married at the start and songhwa was dating someone
Iksun and junwan were just so cuteetete
Bear couple was not very developed in this season but theyre cute still HAHA
Winter garden though, wow, i really love them so much
I love how they built the friendship like everyone has different dynamics but they just match each other so well
I have so many things to say but im afraid i mighr just spoil it all so PLEASE WATCH IT, it might be slow and confusing at the start but it all works out
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Hospital Playlist is not for those who like makjang dramas.
I found this drama during the times that I am on the verge of giving up. This might sound generic to you but when I watched this one, I never expected that it will gave me that kind of belongingness despite of the culture differences. I owe my life to this drama and to the entire casts. Thank you for saving me. I love you!!!!!!!!!!I found this drama during the times that I am on the verge of giving up. This might sound generic to you but when I watched this one, I never expected that it will gave me that kind of belongingness despite of the culture differences. I owe my life to this drama and to the entire casts. Thank you for saving me. I love you!!!!!!!!!!
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BEAUTIFUL IN ITS PORTRAYAL OF THE ORDINARY...
Though I do hate medical-related stuff, I am fascinated by the lives of doctors and residents working in a hospital and have never have watched a medical drama before though I have always been interested. Due to the rave reviews of Hospital Playlist on social media, I decided to check it out since it is on Netflix anyways.Relaxing and comforting. Just regular people living their everyday lives. And that's what makes it beautiful. I get the same feeling when I watch Terrace House. It's beautiful seeing the deep relationships that form between medical students, residents, doctors and professors all working towards the same goal, to help better the lives of others. I cannot wait to see the second season!
I can see why some people were unsure to continue watching as this drama throws you right in the middle of the character lives, so you are kinda disoriented and confused, especially when so many names of people you don't know gets dropped. However, you quickly get used to it and are exposed to something ordinarily beautiful. You feel like you are a part of these character lives.
On a side note, it's an interesting dichotomy. Doctors are highly respected in society, but they can also be treated quite poorly, being at the mercy of their patients and their families, often getting yelled at and harassed by them. Sometimes, even having to profusely apologize for unintentional oversights or being unable to save a patient. This series shows both aspects.
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Not your typical medical drama
I absolutely loved the drama. I rewatched it about 7 times I guess. This is absolutely not your typical medical drama. The drama depicts medical officers as ordinary people. Drama revolves around everyday life of 5 best friend doctors.Don't let the first episode fool you. You might think drama is clumsy. But it is not. You'll get to experience different kinds of romantic relationships as there are 5 leads here. From mature relationships to lovebird relationships.
The drama has its own fun element too. You can laugh out loud. And you can cry out loud as well. The drama will give you an emotional rollercoaster depending on which episode you are watching.
The actors and actresses are doing their job well. Of coarse there are 5 main characters. So a lot can happen during a single episode. I feel very single character(major / minor) is important to this drama. They make the drama worth watching.I love their acting and their dedication to their roles. Leading characters had to learn musical instruments for the drama. And they all play the songs themselves. They even have a band called "Mido and parasol" now.
Speaking of musical instruments, I have to mention about the OSTs. They are absolutely amazing. I love everything single one of them. This drama has the best OSTs among 25+ kdramas I have ever watched. Every episode of the drama has a band scene. So you get to listen to a lot of music. Because this is Hospital PLAYLIST. And this is my fav playlist.
I can't wait for the season 2.
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Masterfully produced drama with the odd chinks in the armour
I deliberately waited for the hype to die down before I watched this but seeing season 2 is in the pipeline I thought I'd better get a move on. By the way, when I wrote this, there is already 12 pages of reviews so I don't expect mine to stand out but seeing that I binged the show in 2.5 days, I thought I should at least leave a few words for prosperity. :)No doubt many of the reviews have highlighted the skilful story telling, the direction. the stellar cast, friendship, the feels, etc, etc. I totally agree with the bulk of the sentiments and it was an ode to the doctors, nurses and allied health professionals (standing ovation). However, I did find a few chinks in their shiny armour.
First of all, the show started very confusingly. The size of the cast and the physical setting was just too big. This drama had five central characters plus each had his/her staff and then you have administrators, other doctors (both senior and junior) and nurses in at least five departments (not counting ER). The hospital was also huge physically. You just don't feel like you know how the place worked. You were bounced from people to people, location to location. This did get better after a few episodes when you start to recognise faces and group them into cliques (this is from a non-Korean point of view).
Some reviewers have commented on this show being realistic. I am not going to argue every case but I found a lot of the time, surgeries were carried out on patients who literally had a consult the day before. That level of availability would be the envy of the whole world.
Finally, I wished the drama would deep dive into some of the issue de jour. From migrant worker health care to child abuse to injury/death by overworking (and more) were touched upon but almost all of them came and gone within a few scenes and not always with a resolution.
Otherwise, the show was designed to hit you with the feels and they definitely delivered. You would expect no less from the team that brought us so many top notch hit dramas.
BTW, it begs the question, was it a medical drama with a strong romance undertone or a rom-com set in a hospital?
Acting - fantastic.
Production value - excellent.
OST - loved it! You gotta laugh at the joke they played on the FL.
Rewatch - absolutely (maybe not every episodes)
One final thought, the last episode was extra long and I appreciated that they gave all the characters time and space to tidy up their own story arcs but while some questions were answered, more were left hanging so please bring on season 2! Ppalli ppalli!
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