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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.