Resident Playbook

Resident Playbook. Resident. Singular. No heart and lacks the camaraderie that made HP successful

I'm a fan of Hospital Playlist 1 & 2, and what the original excelled in—besides the fantastic chemistry among the cast—was showing that the doctors had lives outside of work. The characters had external interests (priesthood, camping, eating out together, and of course, singing in a band). It also explored their relationships with parents, siblings, and children. All of these qualities made Hospital Playlist charming.

In Resident Playbook, we don't see any of that. We see 90% of the residents' lives in the hospital. They're constantly tired, complaining, lacking in personality, and bad at their jobs.

Maybe the title Resident Playbook is intentional—Resident, singular—as in it's only Oh I-yeong's playbook (Go Youn-jung's character) that will be the focus and not the other residents. At first, I understood her reluctance to return to her career and why she wasn't as proactive as the rest of her cohort. But later, her bored attitude and sloppy mistakes became grating at best and unprofessional at worst.

Normally, when rookie doctors are portrayed as bored, aloof, or cold, there’s a reason to excuse their behavior—namely, that they're such phenomenal doctors that their skill alone compensates for their attitude. Oh I-yeong is not a phenomenal doctor. She's barely even a good one. It’s just that the writers made the rest of the cast so utterly incompetent that Oh I-yeong emerges as “better” by comparison.

What seemed out of character was how she displayed more energy trying to get her in-law/supervisor's attention than in caring for patients. This isn’t a female lead you want to root for. The romance is unnecessary, and—speaking personally—I found neither the FL nor ML attractive or charismatic enough to be invested in their romantic lives.

As for the other residents: Pyo Nam-gyeong (Shin Shi-ah) always seemed flustered around patients and spent nearly half the series texting her ex-boyfriend, as if she had no self-worth. I expected more from Kim Sa-bi (Han Ye-ji), especially since they gave her the Choi Song-hwa look (bob cut and circular glasses), but most of her screen time was spent being petulant and clinging to her high school/college glory years.

Even the supporting cast (other doctors and upper-level residents) lacked charm and constantly seemed tired of their jobs or annoyed when the inexperienced doctors asked questions. This is such a departure from Hospital Playlist where even the residents there weren't flat, 1D characters

The two characters I did like were the senior female doctor, Seo Jeong-min, and the male resident, Um Jae-il, because they both have traits that feel true to the Hospital Playlist universe—genuinely caring for their patients. Jeong-min is fair and direct. Jae-il can be a bit too enthusiastic, but he puts his heart into his work.

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comforting.

this drama is so comforting. It’s just what I hoped for. Shin PD really never fails. every drama made by him is always good.

i really liked how the characters grew. Yiyoung used to always want to quit, but now she enjoys being a resident. Namkyung learned a lot from her patients. Jaeil studied hard to become more helpful. And Sabi now feels more like a real, normal person.

Resident Playbook is not just about doctors, but about their personal growth and daily lives. It shows their struggles, their small victories, and their friendships in a very warm and quiet way. watching them made me feel comforted and calm.

it’s a slow and gentle drama, but that’s what makes it special. it reminds you that it’s okay to grow slowly, to feel tired sometimes, and to find happiness in small things.

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Don't expect too much and you're gonna enjoy it!

First of all, it's not the best show on Earth, not even the best medical drama, and it's not really accurate either, BUT it's a LOT of fun, and feelgood drama with well-written stories, and characters.

I think the biggest problem with the show is the main couple, I don't think there's any chemistry between the leads. The show could've been better without the romance plot. The fact that in the finale, all of them got a love interest was a bit much. Sabi and Jaeil were easily the best "couple" on the show. Their dance scene was one of the funniest part of the show.

The banter between the characters and the way SOME senior doctors taught their juniors were fun and interesting. I'm glad the so called "villain" of the story got her well-deserved ending, but I'd loved it if FL go on rampage because of her.

The 4 residents were likable and had a great dynamic, but I feel like the writers didn't do much with the plot. We could say YET, because I have a feeling we might get a 2nd season. It's more like a week-to-week drama with new cases, so don't expect some massive main plot. To be honest, it doesn't need anything like that.

My other problem with the show is that when real problems occurred, like deaths, I don't think the characters had much time to deal with it, they basically forget about what happened in the same episode. It would've been better if we actually see them struggling a bit with PTSD or something.


Overall, it's a fun show, and if they're planning a 2nd season, I'm up for it, but only because the characters are great. Especially the 4 main lead.

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enjoyable, but not that great

The Good
⌲ It's decently well researched.
⌲ While this is no Hospital Playlist, in the world of Doctor Romantics, this is still very far above average in the medical kdrama genre.
⌲ The lead actors did great.
⌲ The cool episodic patient related plots
⌲ The supporting actors were also up there.

The Average
⌲ The drama feels quite boring at times.
⌲ The romance (it's alright, but not nearly as interesting as the prospective couples we've had in HP, let alone what's the norm in a decent romance drama)
⌲ The semi-villains of the show
⌲ While I enjoyed the HP cameos, most of the appearances felt rather forced.

The Bad
⌲ The lottery thing is egregious.
⌲ FL survived med school & everything to finally become a resident & all she talks and thinks about is quitting.
⌲ To add to the previous point, the whole plot about the debt is a bit insane too..
⌲ The rubber mannequin surgeries were quite immersion breaking.

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Romance Drama In Hospital Cosplay

I was looking forward to a slice-of-life medical drama about the hardships of residency, but all I got was an awkward romance.

This felt like a classic bait and switch/false advertising. It's not even classified as a Romance genre. Don't get me wrong, I like a good romance, but this one was so abrupt and misplaced, and dare I say even inappropriate. Not even the charms of Go Youn Jung could salvage it.

Like other reviews, I found it strange that the residents themselves received so little focus, while the FL and ML took up the predominant amount of screen time trying to force a romance that no one asked for, with hospital stuff in between romantic breaths. Not to mention that the medical knowledge is extremely lacking... like can't even get into medical school, no less residency, level of incompetency.

Besides the leads, I thought the acting was solid and the characters were likeable, but were not given much time or opportunity to explore them. The ML and FL had a decent mentor-mentee relationship, but throwing in a romance made it weird. Not only is the ML her direct superior, but also related to her in another way, which made it even weirder. Not to mention the age gap (both in real life as actors and in the drama as well), I kept thinking the ML looks 40 while she looks 20. Go Youn Jung literally just played a student in Moving.

I did enjoy the brief moments of camaraderie that we did get. Some of the interpersonal dynamics between residents, nurses, doctors, and patients were nice but underdeveloped. There is a pretty decent subplot on IVF that I found heartbreaking and also genuine.

But unfortunately, there just weren't enough of those genuine slice-of-life moments, and there was far too much forced romance for my liking.

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I expect it to be good and it didn't disappoint.
It's a drama talked about the journey, not a relationship or a friendships or even a business ship.
I personally liked this drama a lot. It obviously remind me of hospital playlist and liked the appearance of its cast.
I enjoyed it from the first ep to the last. I liked to see their friendship be stronger day over day.
I went emotional every time a baby was born. The last episode i cried several times because of how much i got attached to them.
It's just a really good life series.
I liked every character of the doctors even if they are a bit lame. The acting was good, no one pissed me off.
There are nothing i don't like about this series. I fel in love with it

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Resident Playbook: Nostalgic and Heavily Dependent on Former Series

I have a tendency to watch some of the most formative dramas during my exam season.

Last year, I had two weeks filled with exams, and to keep myself from getting stressed, I decided to start a little K Drama called My Liberation Notes. It had a few quotes I saw online, and some beautiful characters, so I thought what harm would it do to start the show and just watch an episode a day?

Five days, sixteen episodes, and three crucial exams later, I had finished the whole series, and my life forever changed. My Liberation Notes, and it's anthem of "Something Good Will happen today" continues to echo on my lockscreen and everything I o. Son Sukku and Kim Jiwon continue to live on in my heart.

Obviously, I didn't expect Resident Playbook to have the same effect. But somehow it did.

All the actors were enthralling, and absolutely played their part perfectly: the bored Yiyoung, the bright Jaeil, the stubborn Sabi, and the romantic that is Namkyung. All of the characters were lovely, and their actors were even better. The fact that this is Han Yeji's (Sabi's) acting debut is insane, and I hope to see her blossom in other dramas as well.

I also want to give a shoutout to the actor that is Kang Youseok. I thought he looked familiar in the show, but kind of brushed it off as he may have looked like a character from When Life Gives You Tangerines. Then after a bit of a deep dive, I realized that he was in WLGYT, but a few years before that he was on a little show called Light on Me, where he played the main character. I, of course, genuinely DIED when I found that out because, WHAT??!! HE WAS SHINWOO FROM LIGHT ON ME??!! CLUMSY, INTROVERTED SHINWOO??!! And I think that shows how good of an actor he is, so props to him.

I apologize that was a bit off topic with the rant, but ANYWAYS.

So yes, of course the acting was phenomenal as expected, but the story?? well....

I didn't love the story. I didn't really like Yiyoung's motivations at all. I know it was important to the development of the character, but it jsut felt a bit odd. Despite the actor's best efforts, all the characters felt a bit two-dimensional. I am going to be honest, I don't think there are any character's that I am going to necessarily remember or anything. I think this is going to just become a show I watched. And I think that's okay.

I think the one thign that kept me going through this show were the CAMEOS, which I was so excited for. I really liked how Junwan's cameo was so him: I absolutley loved it. And Andrea's cameo?? Guys, I sobbed my eyes out it wasn't even funny. The depiction of grief was so honest and real that my heart genuinely hurt. Ikjun and Songhwa's cameo was amazing of course, and seeing them on screen in the same manner as usual, but just a bit more intimate made me so happy. Lastly, the fact that I got to see Seokhyung and Chu Min Ha on the same screen again??!! Words cannot describe how ecstatic I was.

So ya, overall, I believe the cameos really did carry. However, there was something also special about the year that this show was set in.

2023 was genuinely one of the most interesting years of my life. I was going through the worst heartbreak, was living one of the best memories, and was battling my inner demons if you will every day. I thought I wasn't really going to make it out the same way I did. I was in such a hole all year, and was miserable to everyone around me all year. However, when 2024 was about to come, I swore to myself that I was going to make it the best year ever, and that I wasn't going to let everything from 2023 follow me into 2024.

And it didn't.

So there was a bit of a sentimental thing going on with the year that this was set, which is why I may have liked it as much as I did. And if you are maybe looking for a piece of home, and a piece of yourself, maybe you can find it in this drama.

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"언젠가는 슬기로울 전공의 생활" (The Intelligent Life of Medical Residents) arrives with the weight of expectation of being a worthy successor to "Hospital Playlist". If it can balance the drama inherent in the medical routine with moments of camaraderie, humor and the in-depth exploration of the psyche of its young protagonists, it has everything to captivate the audience again. It is a must-see series for fans of medical dramas, high-quality South Korean productions and for anyone looking for a story that celebrates resilience, passion and the complexity of life in the hospital. Prepare to laugh, cry and root for these future great doctors.

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