The latest medical series Doctor X: Mafia in White has been airing to immense popularity, securing spots on trending lists both at home and on Netflix. And at the center of the spotlight is Gye Su Jeong (Kim Ji Won), whose brilliance in the operating room and uncompromising principles certainly inspire passion for medicine.
And genre fans know she isn't the first on the list of awe-inspiring K-drama doctors. From the pressure of saving lives to the personal sacrifices that come with the profession, K-drama doctors sure know how to inspire a craze for the white coats.
If Doctor X made you a medical drama fan, here are 14 more that must be on your watchlist.
1. Dr. Romantic
After a successful career at a prestigious hospital, renowned surgeon Bu Yong Ju (Han Seok Kyu) unexpectedly leaves the medical center and settles in a small town. He joins Doldam Hospital, where he goes by the name "Teacher Kim/Kim Sa Bu" and works by his own principles. There, he takes young doctors under his wing, including Yoon Seo Jung (Seo Hyun Jin) and Kang Dong Joo (Yoo Yeon Seok). While Seo Jung struggles with the trauma of a past medical mistake, Dong Joo is driven by a childhood encounter with Teacher Kim that shaped his path in medicine. Guided by their eccentric mentor, the doctors must confront their personal struggles, navigate the challenges of the medical profession, and discover what it truly means to be a doctor.
Stream Dr. Romantic on Apple TV, Netflix, WeTV, Viki, iQIYI, HBO Max, Prime Video, Roku, and Kocowa.
2. Dr. Romantic Season 2
At Doldam Hospital, Kim Sa Bu continues to challenge conventional medical practices while mentoring two new doctors. Seo Woo Jin (Ahn Hyo Seop) is a gifted surgeon struggling with financial troubles and a painful past, while Cha Eun Jae (Lee Sung Kyoung) is a high-achieving cardiothoracic fellow whose surgical anxiety interferes with her work. As they adjust to the demanding and chaotic hospital environment, both must confront their personal shortcomings and preconceived notions. Guided by Kim Sa Bu's tough yet perceptive mentorship, they face life-threatening medical cases, workplace conflicts, and challenges that push them to grow both as doctors and as individuals.
Stream Dr. Romantic Season 2 on Apple TV, Netflix, WeTV, Viki, Prime Video, and Kocowa.
3. Dr. Romantic Season 3
Kim Sa Bu (Han Suk Kyu) and team at Doldam Hospital remain dedicated to treating patients and saving lives. As the hospital gears up to expand with a state-of-the-art trauma center equipped with advanced medical facilities, an unexpected emergency unfolds before its official opening. A North Korean vessel drifts into South Korean waters, leaving several people aboard in critical condition. Doldam's medical team is dispatched to provide emergency treatment, but bringing the patients back to the hospital proves difficult. The South Korean government, meanwhile, seeks to send them back to North Korea to avoid jeopardizing a summit between the two countries. Amid the unfolding crisis, an unexpected arrival at Doldam Hospital adds another complication.
Stream Dr. Romantic Season 3 on Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, and Hulu.
4. Doctors
Hong Ji Hong (Kim Rae Won) is a big name in surgery. However, a workplace accident prompts him to leave the operating room and work as a high school biology teacher. Among his students, he takes a particular interest in Yoo Hye Jeong (Park Shin Hye), a rebellious teenager who, after having lived a difficult childhood, now lives with her grandmother. With Ji Hong's encouragement, Hye Jung gradually changes her outlook on life, pours effort into her studies, and learns to open up. Their paths diverge after her graduation, only to cross again 13 years later. By then, Ji Hong has resumed his career as a neurosurgeon, while Hye Jung has followed in his footsteps and become a surgeon herself. Saddened by the loss of her grandmother, who died as a result of medical negligence, Hye Jung is determined to make a difference. As the two find themselves working at the same hospital, they face challenging cases, workplace politics, and complicated emotions that could change the course of their lives.
Stream Doctors on Apple TV, Netflix, Viki, Prime Video, SBS World, SBS VOD, and Kocowa.
5. Hospital Playlist and Hospital Playlist Season 2
Lee Ik Jun (Jo Jung Suk), An Jeong Won (Yoo Yeon Seok), Kim Jun Wan (Jung Kyung Ho), Yang Seok Hyeong (Kim Dae Myung), and Chae Song Hwa (Jeon Mi Do) first met in medical school. Now longtime friends in their forties, they work as doctors at Yulje Medical Center. The K-drama follows them as they navigate their medical careers while sharing the joys, challenges, and struggles of life.
Lee Ik Jun is an assistant professor of general surgery specializing in liver transplants. A divorced single father, he raises his young son, Woo Joo, on his own. His outgoing nature and easygoing charm make him popular among both colleagues and patients.
An Jeong Won, the son of Yulje Medical Center's founder, is an assistant professor of pediatric surgery. Known for his kindness and compassion, he is deeply devoted to his young patients. However, witnessing their suffering takes an emotional toll on him. A devout Catholic, he secretly hopes to pursue priesthood, a decision his mother, Jung Ro Sa (Kim Hae Sook), does not support.
Kim Jun Wan is an exceptionally skilled cardiothoracic surgeon. Although his demanding standards and stern attitude make him an intimidating figure to junior doctors, he is highly respected for his surgical expertise.
Yang Seok Hyeong is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Though he may seem reserved and introverted, he is a thoughtful, considerate doctor who genuinely cares about his patients. Divorced and dealing with complicated family relationships, he remains particularly devoted to his mother.
Chae Song Hwa, the only woman in the gang, is an accomplished associate professor of neurosurgery. Admired by her colleagues and patients for her medical expertise, she is also known for her warm personality, patience, and willingness to help others.
Stream Hospital Playlist on Netflix and Hospital Playlist Season 2 on Netflix.
6. The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call
Baek Gang Hyeok (Ju Ji Hoon) is a genius trauma surgeon with extensive experience treating patients in war zones across the globe. Fiercely confident in his medical abilities and unwilling to back down when he believes he is right, he takes charge of the severe trauma team at a university hospital. However, his team presents a financial dilemma for the institution: although they save countless lives, the costly operations and treatments push the hospital further into debt.
Under Kang Hyuk's wing are Yang Jae Won (Choo Young Woo), nurse Cheon Jang Mi (Ha Young), and anesthesiology resident Park Gyeong Won (Jung Jae Kwang). Initially part of the proctology department led by Professor Han Yu Rim (Yoon Kyung Ho), Jae Won catches Kang Hyuk's attention and is recruited to join the trauma team as his first trainee. With Kang Hyuk at the helm, the previously underutilized team begins operating as a fully functional emergency unit, venturing out into the field to provide critical care and save lives.
Stream The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call on Netflix.
7. Doctor Stranger
When Park Hun (Lee Jong Suk) was still a child, he and his surgeon father were taken to North Korea to carry out a highly classified operation. Despite completing the procedure, they are prevented from returning to South Korea because of political maneuvering. Under his father's mentorship, Park Hoon becomes a skilled surgeon, and falls in love with Song Jae Hui (Jin Se Yeon), whom he hopes to escape to the South with. Although the two eventually make it across the border, they are separated along the way. Later, while working at Myungwoo University Hospital, Park Hoon encounters Han Seung Hui (Jin Se Yeon), a doctor who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jae Hui but claims not to recognize him. As he adjusts to the hospital's dynamics, Park Hoon gets caught up in personal vendettas and an elaborate revenge scheme, all while holding onto his principles as a doctor.
Stream Doctor Stranger on Netflix, Viki, iQIYI, SBS World, Prime Video, Roku, and Kocowa.
8. Doctor Slump
Yeo Jeong Woo (Park Hyung Sik) used to be a model student who consistently topped his class, which led him to graduate from the country's most prestigious medical school. Now a celebrated plastic surgeon, he enjoys a seemingly perfect life until an unexplained medical accident throws his career and future into turmoil. Just when everything begins to fall apart, he crosses paths with Nam Ha Neul (Park Shin Hye), a former academic rival he never expected to meet again.
Nam Ha Neul is an anesthesiologist renowned for her dedication to her studies in school. Having devoted herself to building her career, she has now become so consumed by work that she has little room for anything else. Eventually, she realizes that her seemingly successful life has left her unhappy and decides she needs a fresh start. Fate brings her together with Jeong Woo during one of the most difficult periods of her life.
Will the duo find happiness and life beyond work?
Stream Doctor Slump on Netflix.
9. Daily Dose of Sunshine
Jung Da Eun (Park Bo Young) is a passionate nurse who is reassigned from the internal medicine department to neuropsychiatry. Unfamiliar with this new field, she initially struggles to adjust. However, with guidance from head nurse Song Hyo Sin (Lee Jung Eun), she gradually gains confidence and grows while doing her best for the patients.
As Jung Da Eun navigates her professional life, she meets people struggling with various pains and eventually confronts her own, hidden deep within.
Stream Daily Dose of Sunshine on Netflix.
10. Resident Playbook
Hospital Playlist spinoff Resident Playbook is a drama that centers on young obstetrics and gynecology residents at Yulje Medical Center as they grow into wise doctors while navigating the ups and downs of their personal relationships and workplace struggles.
Stream Resident Playbook on Netflix.
11. Ghost Doctor
Cha Young Min (Rain) is a brilliant, highly accomplished cardiothoracic surgeon whose exceptional skills are matched by his arrogant, self-centered attitude. Ko Seung Tak (Kim Bum) is equipped with medical knowledge but lacks hands-on surgical experience and is afraid of performing operations. Their lives take an unexpected turn when a mysterious incident causes Young Min's spirit to enter Seung Tak's body, forcing the two to navigate the extraordinary circumstances together.
Stream Ghost Doctor on VIU Singapore, Netflix, Viki, iQIYI, Roku, and Tubi.
12. Doctor John
Cha Yo Han (Ji Sung) is a gifted anesthesiologist who is unlike his colleagues due to his strange behavior. Under the image of a talented doctor, he hides a pain unknown to others.
Kang Shi Young (Lee Se Young) is an intelligent and compassionate anesthesiology resident who has always strived to be at the top of her work. The duo, along with other pain management specialists, treat people suffering from acute and chronic pain, working to uncover the underlying causes of their conditions and find ways to ease their suffering.
Stream Doctor John on Apple TV, Netflix, Viki, SBS World, Prime Video, and Kocowa.
13. Doctor Cha
Cha Jung Sook (Uhm Jung Hwa) has spent the past 20 years as a devoted housewife after putting her medical career on hold during her residency. She is married to Seo In Ho (Kim Byung Chul), a chief surgeon at a university hospital known for his rigid and stern nature. After two decades away from the profession, Jung Suk decides to return to the field and begin her residency again, embarking on an unexpected new chapter in her life.
Will Cha Jung Sook manage to turn her life around by going against the conventions?
Stream Doctor Cha on Netflix.
14. Life
At Sangkook University Hospital, emergency room doctor Ye Jin Woo (Lee Dong Wook) becomes suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the hospital director's sudden death, particularly after learning about alleged financial misconduct involving government subsidies. Meanwhile, the newly appointed president, Koo Seung Hyo (Cho Seung Woo), pushes to make the hospital financially sustainable by transferring three departments, including the loss-making emergency center, to other institutions. His decision sparks fierce opposition among the medical staff, leading to a strike. As Jin Woo investigates the truth behind the director's death, Seung Hyo also begins uncovering the ethical dilemmas and hidden practices that complicate the hospital business.
Stream Life on Netflix and Viki.
Which medical K-drama is your favorite? Drop it in the comments below!
