KDrama to Maybe Watch: Doctor Slump (2024)

 

Doctor Slump (2024)

Grade: B-

16 episodes, 1 hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Nam Ha-neul and Yeo Jeong-woo were rivals in high school, with dreams and talent to go far in the medical field one day. However, almost 20 years later, each of them has experienced major setbacks in their careers and personal lives. Ha-neul is diagnosed with depression and suddenly quits her job at a prestigious hospital in Seoul - she has severe burnout, but the mistreatment of her professor and an older peer stealing her dissertation work is the last straw. Jeong-woo is embroiled in a medical scandal and has PTSD from it, as a patient of his dies on the operating table under mysterious circumstances, and all his friends abandon him. Will the two rivals actually find comfort in each other, all these years later? And will justice finally be served for those who have taken advantage of the two bright doctors?

*Good production value, nice music, decent plot - it's all fairly grounded in reality, though. I was hoping for a traditional Kdrama trope when the mom lies and says Ha-neul is dating Jeong-woo - but they do NOT play along with the mom's deception! With the show including characters in therapy, the conclusion is not that people will be happy, but that they'll come to accept and be strong enough to deal with life's miseries. Then there was the love interests - the male lead has a fun, cute character, but I was actually more interested in the secondary male & female characters' love story. Overall, I could have used more drama; not bad, but not a favorite. Good enough for a first watch.* 

KDrama to Miss: The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

 The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

Grade: C

16 episodes, 1 hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Do Min Ik loses his ability to recognize faces after a head injury, and he ends up having to rely on his secretary Jung Gal Hui to keep his upper management director position at work while they wait and hope his ability returns. Strangely, he can still recognize her face - but only when she wears a certain sweater & her glasses. Gal Hui accidentally ends up tricking him, pretending to be one of her former bosses, a very glamorous potential client/ally for the company. Meanwhile some important information has disappeared from Min Ik's office. Will the pair discover the other deception of how Min Ik came to be injured in the first place? What happens when Min Ik finally realizes his secretary's deception? Will they be able to uncover the plot at work before it's too late?

*I forgot to do a write-up for this kdrama, and honestly, it's pretty forgettable - I had to go online to look up plot summaries to even jog my memory about it. I don't think it was bad, just clearly not anything that made an impression on me. Wouldn't watch again.* 

KDrama to Miss: Doctor Cha (2023)

Doctor Cha (2023)

Grade: C

16 episodes, 1 hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Cha Jung Sook has successfully raised two children, choosing to stay home with them, caring for her mother-in-law, and supporting her husband's career as a doctor. Then one day she finds out she needs a liver transplant, and going through that experience helps her realize she wants more out of life now that her children are basically grown. Jung Sook goes back to school to finish her own doctor training, with her doubtful and even mocking at times husband. Along the way, she discovers her husband is having an affair - but the mistress is a powerful doctor in the hospital Jung Sook is working at. Will Jung Sook be able to finish her residency, despite the interpersonal conflict? How will her family handle her transition back into the work force? And will her pampered husband give up his affair and be the husband she deserves, or at the very least, be able to let Jung Sook go?

*Production value is fine; the destructive and conflicting nature of discovering one's spouse is cheating is very realistic, especially including the history of an unequal marriage (the wife doing everything to take care of everyone, while receiving next to nothing in return from the incredibly selfish, self-centered husband). It was almost too hard for me to watch... The ending is very unsatisfying, albeit realistic (spoiler alert) - she does get a divorce and gains all sorts of self-confidence & self-worth, but she ends up [romantically] alone. By Shakespearean standards, that makes this whole show a tragedy instead of a comedy. Wouldn't watch again.*