SBS's medical drama Doctor X: Mafia in White has ranked No. 1 among programs Koreans enjoy watching the most.
According to Gallup Korea, a nationwide survey conducted from October 20 to 22 among 1,001 people aged 18 and older, asking which programs they currently enjoy watching the most, found that SBS's Friday-Saturday drama Doctor X: Mafia in White ranked first with a preference rating of 9.8%. Respondents could name up to two programs, including those available on TV and OTT platforms.
Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia is a medical drama that tells the story of Kye Su Jeong (Kim Ji Won), a genius surgeon who proves what it truly means to be a doctor solely through skill, as she "operates on" a medical system steeped in absurdities.
The drama's sixth episode drew a 19.5% rating nationwide, according to Nielsen Korea, bringing it close to the 20% mark.
Notably, Doctor X has topped the preference survey despite controversies over its adaptation and direction since its premiere. In its first week on air, the drama drew criticism from some members of the medical community, who argued that it portrayed medical professionals negatively and that certain surgical scenes were medically inaccurate.
The sixth episode portrayed the story of Oh Sang Beom (Ha Sung Kwang), who sustained a gunshot wound to the head during the May 18 Democratization Movement. In the drama, Oh Sang Beom is a character who suffers from hallucinations and auditory hallucinations and lives with headaches and pain after losing his older brother.
This led some to argue that the story introduced excessive political interpretation. Nevertheless, the drama has received praise for shedding light on the victim's injuries.
It is the seventh time an SBS drama has ranked No. 1 in Gallup Korea's monthly survey of the most-preferred programs. It ranks third among all dramas in the survey's history, following Agent Kim Reactivated, which recorded a preference rating of 18.9% this year, and My Love from the Star, which recorded 11.5% in 2014.
Meanwhile, in this month's survey, the tvN drama 100 Days of Deception, starring Kim You Jung and Park Jin Young, ranked second with a preference rating of 4.0%.
Source: Ilgan Sports
