KDrama to Maybe Watch: Hospital Playlist (2020-2021)

 

Hospital Playlist

Grade: B-

2 Seasons, 24 Episodes (total), 90-120 minutes each
Viewing Platform: Netflix

Five doctors who met in medical school are still friends today, all working in various departments at the large Seoul hospital, Yuljae. Introverted, soft-spoken Yang Seok-hyeong, OBGYN, is divorced and a bit of a mama's boy. The youngest of his siblings, all of whom became priests or nuns, Ahn Jeong-won is a pediatric surgeon with a sweet, kind nature, perfect for the children he treats. Nerdy yet confident Chae Song-hwa is the only girl in the group, and she is a neurosurgeon who loves camping on her days off. Then there is the aloof, seemingly cold Kim Jun-wan, the heart surgeon who secretly has a soft heart himself. Lee Ik-jun is a fun-loving, highly intelligent, mischievous yet personable guy, raising his son by himself while his wife is off working in another country, and he is one of the best liver-transplant surgeons around.  

*This is an unusual drama as it departs from the typical kdrama formula in two big ways: One, the format of the writing doesn't have a clear beginning and end. Two, there is a second season with the same cast. As a result, it is a very slow-moving drama. The medical emergencies give it some excitement, but then there came a point where it was feeling less genuine and more manipulative – like the writers were trying to force the audience to have these deeply stirring emotional experiences in order to keep them watching, not just because of the storyline (it is a hospital, so there are lots of life & death situations). It's also amusing that the group of friends started a band and the show includes covers of popular Korean songs (as well as an American rock song). Not a bad show, but not a favorite, either.*