Overview of Good Doctor

The young soul Park Si-on is a brilliant surgeon but has the emotional development of a child. As someone with the autistic social disorder Savant syndrome, Park Si-on is neither welcomed nor tolerated by his co-workers in the paediatric department. Faced with colleagues and patients who don’t understand his condition, he relies on his dedication and atypical abilities to succeed.

Profile

• Drama: Good Doctor
• Directors: Ki Min-soo, Kim Jin-woo
• Writer: Park Jae-beom
• Network: KBS2
• Episodes: 20
• Release Date: August 5 – October 8, 2013
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

• Joo Won as Park Si-on
  • Choi Ro-woon as young Si-on
• Moon Chae-won as Cha Yoon-seo
• Joo Sang-wook as Kim Do-han
• Kim Min-seo as Yoo Chae-kyung

Supporting

• Chun Ho-jin as Choi Woo-seok, director
• Kwak Do-won as Kang Hyun-tae, deputy director
• Na Young-hee as Lee Yeo-won
• Jo Hee-bong as Go Choong-man, head of the Pediatric Surgery department
• Lee Ki-yeol as Lee Hyuk-pil, managing director of the foundation
• Jung Man-sik as Kim Jae-joon, head of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery department
• Kim Young-kwang as Han Jin-wook
• Yoon Park as Woo Il-kyu, a second-year resident
• Ko Chang-seok as Jo Jung-mi, senior nurse
• Jin Kyung as Nam Joo-yeon, head nurse
• Kim Hyun-soo as Na In-hae
• Uhm Hyun-kyung as Na In-young
• Ahn Sung-hoon as Lee Woo-ram
• Yoo Je-gun as Park Ho-suk
• Yoon Yoo-sun as Oh Kyung-joo, Si-on’s mother
• Jung Ho-keun as Park Choon-sung, Si-on’s father
• Seo Hyun-chul as Byung-soo
• Jeon Jun-hyeok as Park Si-deok, Si-on’s older brother
• Moon Hee-kyung as Mrs. Jang, Soo-jin’s mother-in-law
• Kim Sun-hwa as Eun-ok’s aunt

Synopsis

Park Si-on (Joo Won) is a young man with savant syndrome and a developmental disability. When Park Si-on was a child, he was quite different from other children due to having Savant Syndrome. Si-on’s mental age is that of a 10-year-old child. He grew up in an abusive home. His mother, Oh Kyung-joo (Yoon Yoo-sun), is beaten and tormented verbally by her drunken husband, Park Choon-sung (Jung Ho-keun).

Other children did not want to hang around him. He was always alone, but he did have his older brother and a pet rabbit with him. His older brother, Park Si-deok (Jeon Jun-hyeok), always took care of Si-on. Meanwhile, Si-on’s father was violent and abusive. One day, he even killed Si-on’s pet rabbit.

Tragic Incident Happened During Park Si-on’s Childhood

One day, Park Si-deok makes a deal with the neighbourhood kids. Si-deok and Si-on will enter a closed mine and bring out a bolt from there. In return, the kids will play with Si-on. When they both enter the mine, the mine collapses. Doctor Choi Woo-seok (Cheon Ho-Jin) goes inside the mine as part of the rescue. He finds the brothers and tries to get them out. Only Si-on makes it out alive.

The rescuing doctor ends up adopting Si-on when his parents disappear after the tragedy. Since that time, Si-on regularly visits Doctor Choi Woo-seok at the government-run clinic where he works. He spends his time there reading medical books. Doctor Choi Woo-seok quickly realises that Si-on has a special ability with genius-level memory and keen spatial skills. Park Si-on’s dream is to become a paediatric surgeon, and he had promised his brother before his death that he would become a doctor.

Si-on to Become a Paediatric Surgeon

After years of nurturing and caring, Si-on comes out of his shell and learns how to deal with people more effectively. The trouble is that no hospital wants to hire him because he is mentally unfit. All of them notice only his puzzling behaviour and autistic mannerisms, not his potential.

Years later, his adoptive father became a chairman at Sungwon University Hospital and put forward his adopted son’s name as worthy of consideration to be an intern on staff. Si-on travels to Seoul for the first time for training as a medical resident. As he arrives at Seoul Station, a child is seriously injured by a piece of glass that falls from the ceiling. Though Si-on has never practised medicine before, he can administer first aid with the knowledge he gained from reading all those medical books.

Si-on gets on the ambulance that takes the injured child and his mother to the hospital. Soon, he realises that the ambulance is going to Sungwon University Hospital, where he was supposed to receive resident training. He is relieved because he was already late for his interview.

Meanwhile, Choi Woo-seok is now the chief director at Sungwon University Hospital. The other directors are not happy with Si-on, as he does not appear on time. Woo-seok attempts to convince the other directors to admit Si-on for training. Si-on is standing outside of the surgery room where the injured child is receiving surgery.

In the emergency room, the best paediatric surgeon, Kim Do-han (Joo Sang-wook), and his team perform the surgery. After the surgery is a success, Si-on goes to the meeting room, but only Doctor Choi Woo-seok is there. Woo-seok takes him to a restaurant, as Si-on looks distraught from not being accepted as a resident at the hospital. While having lunch together, the TV at the restaurant shows footage of Si-on performing first aid at the train station.

After hearing about the contract, Doctor Kim Do-han becomes furious because he admires Woo-seok as his father and role model. Do-han doesn’t want Choi Woo-seok to lose his job because of Si-on. Doctor Choi Woo-seok, though, asks Do-han to mentor Si-on.

Si-on goes to an apartment complex for hospital doctors, where his stay is allotted. As he sits explores the apartment, the door opens, and a woman enters. The woman who crashes on the bed is Cha Yoon-seo (Moon Chae-won), a resident in paediatric surgery. She is completely drunk, and she enters the wrong apartment. Si-on stands right next to the bed, watching Yoon-seo sleep.

Ending Explained

Si-on is humble, and he takes all the valuable lessons from the top surgeon in the paediatric department, Kim Do-han. Do-han gradually grows to be fond of Si-on because he reminds him of his own younger brother, who was autistic and died in a traffic accident.

Kim Do-han is engaged to the lovely Yoo Chae-kyung (Kim Min-seo), who is on the planning board of the hospital. Yoo Chae-kyung and Kim Do-han’s relationship is often strained because he spends the majority of his time at his job rather than with her.

Si-on continues to grow in many ways during the difficult times at the hospital. One day, his father re-enters his life, bringing their troubles to his doorstep. Despite everything, Si-on falls for the sweet and nurturing paediatric surgeon, Cha Yoon-seo. Yoon-seo at first cannot decipher him at all, but she slowly grows to trust him as a friend and then finally accepts him as a romantic partner. Cha Yoon-seo is aware of the risks of being together, but she decides she will continue to love him anyway, despite all the obstacles.

Theme

‘Good Doctor’ is a very heartwarming drama that highlights a man’s journey to achieve his dream despite his unique mannerisms, common with autism and Savant syndrome. He has a lot to overcome between his disability, hostility from those around him, and a lot of childhood trauma involving his brother and parents.

The story touches upon some complex issues that come up in a man’s journey towards beating the odds and achieving his dream with the support of those around him. The drama never feels heavy; instead, it tugs at the heart with some humour to complement the story. ‘Good Doctor’ portrays the slow, natural progression of Park Si-on and Cha Yoon-seo’s relationship. The series also has a more episodic feel, with lots of hospital politics involved.

It’s a great drama in the medical genre, with likeable characters that you root for and emotionally engaging stories of patients.

Awards

• 26th Grimae Awards – 2013
  Best Drama
• Korea Drama Awards – 2013
  Best Writer, Park Jae-beom
• KBS Drama Awards – 2013
  Top Excellence Award, Actor
  Actor of the Year, Joo Won
  Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama, Joo Sang-wook
  Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama, Moon Chae-won
  Best Couple Award, Joo Won and Moon Chae-won
  Netizen Award, Actor, Joo Won
  Popularity Award, Actress, Moon Chae-won
  
• Korea Producers & Directors’ (PD) Awards – 2014
  Best Drama
  Best Performer, Joo Won
  
• Baeksang Arts Awards – 2014
  Best Drama
  
• Banff World Media Festival – 2014
  Best Serial Drama
• Korea Broadcasting Awards – 2014
  Best Drama
  

Interesting Facts about Good Doctor

1. The first script reading took place on June 9, 2013, at the KBS Annex Building in Yeouido, Seoul. The script reading lasted more than 3 hours.
2. Lead actor Joo Won released the OST single ‘Love Medicine’ for the drama series on October 1, 2013.
3. The early Korean title was “Green Mes,” which translates literally to “Green Scalpel.” Later KBS2 staff changed it to ‘Good Doctor’ due to some people’s unfamiliarity with the word “Mes”.
4. ‘Good Doctor’ took over the KBS2 Mon & Tue 21:55 time slot previously occupied by K-drama ‘Don’t Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus’ and followed by K-drama ‘Marry Him If You Dare’ in October 2013.

FAQs

1. Who is the writer and director of ‘Good Doctor’?
   The drama is penned by Park Jae-beom and directed by Ki Min-soo and Kim Jin-woo.
   
2. What is the genre of ‘Good Doctor’?
   The drama falls into the comedy, medical drama, and romance genres. 
   
3. How many episodes are in ‘Good Doctor’?
   The drama has concluded a successful 20-episode run.
4. Is the K-drama ‘Good Doctor’ worth watching?
   ‘Good Doctors’ is a most touching and endearing story with outstanding performances from the protagonists. The heartwarming medical drama highlights one man’s road to achieving his dream. It is a positive and perfect K-drama for days when you need a pick-me-up.
5. What is the Instagram ID of Joo Won?
   zu.won_moon.jun.won is the Instagram ID of Joo Won.
6. What is the Instagram ID of Moon Chae-won?
   moonchaewon_official is the Instagram ID of Moon Chae-won.