I enjoyed this on my first watch and was quite satisfied, but I watched it again recently now that it's on Netflix in the U.S., and it held up really well under a rewatch. It's such an enjoyable drama!
Rain and Kim Bum absolutely steal the show. I also always enjoy veteran actor Sung Dong Il, and the FLs are sweet, too.
Seung Tak (Kim Bum) has to be one of the most endearing MLs ever (he's just SO CUTE), as he is just brimming with compassion, tenderness, selflessness, resilience and pluckiness. When he gets squashed he just bounces back and comes back for more because of his natural love and compassion for those experiencing hardship. He reminded me of a puppy. Dogs never hold grudges, and neither does Seung Tak. He just loves to bring joy to the people around him, and delights in helping them. I can't tell you how many times he rushes to a patient's side who wakes up from surgery or a coma (a big part of the plot) with a huge grin of expectant excitement for them to be "back." He always welcomes them with, "Hi!" (in English) and the adds, "Welcome back to the real world!" (And Kim Bum is perfect for Seung Tak because he has the most adorable smile of all time; I remember it even from BOFs 😭).
Dr. Cha's arc is also a pleasure to watch and Rain plays him with aplomb (though he does shout a lot 😅).
The MLs' friendship is what makes this a must see. I couldn't bring myself to like any other ghost dramas besides this one, even the famously fantastic ones, so if you're like me and don't usually jive with that genre, never fear, Ghost Doctor is very light on the after-life and ghost elements. They don't look ghost-y one bit (nothing like the ghosts in Hotel De Luna, and more like Missing: The Other Side).
For any religious folks wary of the "possession" element, don't be. These ghosts feel like guardian angels and/or characters that live life like normal humans in a dimension the real world just can't see, and it feels completely not-spiritual (kind of like magic in Harry Potter, how it's a part of the way the natural world works in that fantasy universe, and doesn't operate like spiritual "magic" in the real world). This "posession" is more like the stuff of folk tales, where fairies make mischief with humans.
If you like the trope of mentorship than you'll probably also like this, as it reminded me at times of Dr. Romantic, but goofier with a more flawed mentor. :)
It's a decent show and I really liked the performance of all the cast. I think it's the second drama, I've seen…
There were definitely some slower parts, but I actually thought the pacing was pretty decent considering how simple the plot was. Rain and Kim Bum hands down stole the show. My only complaint was that they didn't have more time to develop Dr. Cha mentoring Seung Tak in his surgical skills. But I still was happy with how they ended everything. Episode 16 was so cozy.
Oh, I didn't notice the director was the same! Yes, now that makes sense. Also, both are TvN, so I'm sure that helps with crossover stuff, though the music directors are different. Both dramas have the best of the best in terms of music directors/composers, though (Nam Hye Seung and Park Sejun). 😊
And it looks like our wire-tapper/North Korean eavesdropper from CLOY will be falling for our crazy aunt Beom Ja. 🤞
I thought it was kind of heartbreaking the way she asked Hyun Woo where he must have met his mistress. She's so used to her husbands cheating on her with other women, that she couldn't fathom another reason why he'd want a divorce. Her husbands probably just wanted her money. 🥺
Now, she IS kind of nuts and a wild hair, but apparently she didn't fall for guys who were of enough quality stuff to see past the crazy to find the gem underneath. Poor thing!
just the sudden twist and him bringing her family in that white van to live in the countryside I died lmao I need…
Never seen anything like this twist in a Kdrama. So curious to see how it pans out! (And to all those who say this is a makjang, a makjang would never pull THIS kind of plot twist on the audience (of sending the Queens family to the country 😂); I still think this genre is more like satirical makjang writing).
The screenwriter's using so many tropes and cliches but then somehow still does things we've never seen with them before.
Like Hyun Woo, for instance; he is the most ML of MLs in the way he's portrayed. He's smart, cares for the FL more than himself and willing to to go to Hell and back for her, handsome and we know he is/will be good at fighting (he's checking all the boxes for ML cliches of a "perfect man"), and yet he feels like a fresh take on an ML at the same time because he's clearly not perfect while still being perfect. 😅 This way we can root for him but be interested in his arc because he still has so much room for growth (as a person and in his relationship with Hae In). He's not a character we've seen in Kdrama before, but at the same time, he is.
Got to hand it to Park Ji Eun; she knows how to set trends in Kdrama writing!
I'm surprised by the low number of watchers for this on MDL, considering how much I've heard people rave about this sageuk for years as one of the best sageuks of all time (alongside Moon Lovers, of course, which I don't ever think I can bring myself to watch). Curious! I wish it was on Viki so I could finally try it for myself (I don't do unofficial streaming sites). 😔
I haven't caught up yet to the most recent episodes, but from what I'm seeing people say about him, it sounds like he's playing a similar character to his role in Vincenzo? Annoying and problematic, but ultimately pretty sympathetic once you know more of his story. Now that I think about it, The actor for Soo Cheol, like Soo Kim.Hyun, tends to pick strong dramas with good scripts.
Rain and Kim Bum absolutely steal the show. I also always enjoy veteran actor Sung Dong Il, and the FLs are sweet, too.
Seung Tak (Kim Bum) has to be one of the most endearing MLs ever (he's just SO CUTE), as he is just brimming with compassion, tenderness, selflessness, resilience and pluckiness. When he gets squashed he just bounces back and comes back for more because of his natural love and compassion for those experiencing hardship. He reminded me of a puppy. Dogs never hold grudges, and neither does Seung Tak. He just loves to bring joy to the people around him, and delights in helping them. I can't tell you how many times he rushes to a patient's side who wakes up from surgery or a coma (a big part of the plot) with a huge grin of expectant excitement for them to be "back." He always welcomes them with, "Hi!" (in English) and the adds, "Welcome back to the real world!" (And Kim Bum is perfect for Seung Tak because he has the most adorable smile of all time; I remember it even from BOFs 😭).
Dr. Cha's arc is also a pleasure to watch and Rain plays him with aplomb (though he does shout a lot 😅).
The MLs' friendship is what makes this a must see. I couldn't bring myself to like any other ghost dramas besides this one, even the famously fantastic ones, so if you're like me and don't usually jive with that genre, never fear, Ghost Doctor is very light on the after-life and ghost elements. They don't look ghost-y one bit (nothing like the ghosts in Hotel De Luna, and more like Missing: The Other Side).
For any religious folks wary of the "possession" element, don't be. These ghosts feel like guardian angels and/or characters that live life like normal humans in a dimension the real world just can't see, and it feels completely not-spiritual (kind of like magic in Harry Potter, how it's a part of the way the natural world works in that fantasy universe, and doesn't operate like spiritual "magic" in the real world). This "posession" is more like the stuff of folk tales, where fairies make mischief with humans.
If you like the trope of mentorship than you'll probably also like this, as it reminded me at times of Dr. Romantic, but goofier with a more flawed mentor. :)
There are actually a lot of crossovers in this with, and references to, CLOY, Vincenzo and IOTNBO.
I thought it was kind of heartbreaking the way she asked Hyun Woo where he must have met his mistress. She's so used to her husbands cheating on her with other women, that she couldn't fathom another reason why he'd want a divorce. Her husbands probably just wanted her money. 🥺
Now, she IS kind of nuts and a wild hair, but apparently she didn't fall for guys who were of enough quality stuff to see past the crazy to find the gem underneath. Poor thing!
The screenwriter's using so many tropes and cliches but then somehow still does things we've never seen with them before.
Like Hyun Woo, for instance; he is the most ML of MLs in the way he's portrayed. He's smart, cares for the FL more than himself and willing to to go to Hell and back for her, handsome and we know he is/will be good at fighting (he's checking all the boxes for ML cliches of a "perfect man"), and yet he feels like a fresh take on an ML at the same time because he's clearly not perfect while still being perfect. 😅 This way we can root for him but be interested in his arc because he still has so much room for growth (as a person and in his relationship with Hae In). He's not a character we've seen in Kdrama before, but at the same time, he is.
Got to hand it to Park Ji Eun; she knows how to set trends in Kdrama writing!
Just more evidence that Grandpa Hong's in denial about a lot of things...