Koreans love for medical dramas never fades and as such, another drama has premiered this summer offering a more melancholic feel and lots of drama between young Doctors striving for success and recognition.
Song Eun Jae (Ha Ji Won) is af skillful Surgeon and a contender to become the Chief of the hospital she works at located within Seoul. Struggling internally by the pressure of her mother’s and aunt’s wellbeing, she joins a crew of Doctors on a ship that provides medical services to residents living in far off islands with no major medical access.
She’s joined by Kwak Hyun (Kang Min Hyuk) the son of a famous Doctor who decides to volunteer on the ship instead of enlisting in the military – my guess is that he’s running away from his family and the expectations required of him. Kim Jae Gul (Lee Seo Wan) an Oriental Doctor who’s also a Chaebol is asked to join the team and boards the ship with his friend, Joon Young (Kim In Sik) A Dentist who completes the main cast of Doctors on board the ship.
I was quite surprised about the casting because of the age gap, I know Ha Ji Won has been blessed by the fountain of youth but I could see her chemistry with Kang Min Hyuk easily becoming stale because of awkward acting as a result of an age gap or acting-inferiority as her male co-stars have nowhere near the acting experience as she does.
However, I’ve read some positive reviews in terms of chemistry but the plot is something else entirely. It seems highly similar if not an imitation of the Japanese drama, A Clinic on the Sea which I loved and found well rounded in terms of genre and acting. The premise of both dramas is identical, the only major difference being a female as the main lead and centre of attention in this drama along with her group of boys – quite different from the Japanese ‘version’ but the substance and character struggle remain strikingly similar.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to call this series ‘one of a kind’ but it may appeal to those who love medical dramas or melodramas, and with a cast that’s appealing to the eyes why not?
Release Date: August 30, 2017 (Eng Sub available on Dramafever)
