AKA: The King’s Doctor
Genre: Period, Melodrama, Medical, Romance
Episodes: 50
Broadcast period:
Cast: Cho Seung Woo, Lee Yo Won, Son Chang
Min, Yoo Sun and Lee Sang Woo.
Lee Myung Hwa
(Son Chang Min) is the son of a known vet, who becomes an herbalist after a
recommendation from a merchant. While studying to become a physician he meets
and befriends Kang Do Jun (Jeon No Min) and a soon-to-be nurse Joo In Ok (Choi
Soo Rin). The three become very close, but due to a plot by the royal queen,
their lives take a drastic turn: she wants to kill the Crown Prince. In order
to kill him she hires people to test a new way of killing: putting poison on
needles and thereby killing the victim without leaving any evidence. This
testing and the plot is noticed by a local, who in fear runs away and is saved
by Kang Do Jun. Afraid something might happen, Do Jun leaves to meet the Crown
Prince. At the same time the local man’s wife gives birth to a daughter. And
shortly after, Myung Hwan is forced to point Do Jun out as a traitor in order
to save himself.
As fate has it Do
Jun’s wife is also pregnant, and due to the marking as a traitor, Do Jun’s
child will be killed if he is a boy and put to slavery if it is a girl: unfortunately,
it happens to become a boy. The local man then decides to switch the children
and take care of the boy as his own.
Several years
later, Do Jun’s son now Baek Kwang Hyun (Ahn Do Gyu) is a boy who dreams of big
city, but the local man, now referred as father, tries to keep him safe and
make him a doctor like Kwang Hyuns real father.
But fate again
intervenes as Kwang Hyun (Cho Seung Woo) becomes a vet instead of doctor,
though his interest for treating humans seems to lie in his blood…
I started this
drama long time ago because I felt like watching a medical drama, and somehow
this popped up. Not that I am a fan of period dramas, but I thought I’d give it
a chance: and I really don’t regret it.
The drama is
quite typical in the royal/political sense, but I enjoyed the main focus being
on the medical part, as I always has the idea that they weren’t “up-to-speed”
with the medical part, but I guess I was wrong. It really wasn’t that horrible
to be a patient in the Joseon times apparently. Heck even animals had it okay –
in the veterinary sense. Or this drama may be blowing it bit out of proportion –
I will never know. BUT nonetheless, this drama has charms beyond expectations.
The lead actor is
really a charmer, and I don’t really remember him in other dramas/movies, but
till this date I remember his face and voice, and that itself is an
accomplishment if you ask me. The female actresses are not horrible, but I have
to be honest I am a bit bored with these type of female character portrayals –
pretty and demure. They really do nothing except ruin the overall idea of woman
in general.
As for the rest;
story, screen-play and everything else, I really liked it.
☆☆☆☆
/ 4 out of 5 stars
♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts
