Doctor Crush (Hangul: 닥터스; RR: Dakteoseu; lit. Doctors) is a 2016 South Korean medical drama starring Kim Rae-won and Park Shin-hye. It aired every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) on SBS from June 20 to August 23, 2016 for 20 episodes.
The drama was a hit and averaged 18.40% in audience ratings.
Synopis
Yoo Hye-jung (Park Shin-hye) was a headstrong girl in high school with a prickly, gangster personality. Due to her many childhood scars, Hye-jung keeps her heart closed towards other people. However, she changes after meeting her mentor Hong Ji-hong (Kim Rae-won), who plays a key role in transforming her life from a "hopeless" delinquent to a compassionate doctor. They part ways subsequently but meet again after 13 years, when Yoo Hye-jung becomes a doctor.
Principal
Kim Rae-won as Hong Ji-hong
Gil Jung-woo as child Hong Ji-hong
Park Solomon as teen Hong Ji-hong
Hong Ji-hong is a hard working man who lost his parents at a young age in a car accident. He was adopted later on in his life, graduated from a prestigious medical school and started out as a doctor. However, a medical accident while he was working as a surgeon made him step back and he restarts his career as a biology teacher. He cares for teenagers, especially his students since he had a rough life as a teenager. This makes him interested in the life of rebellious Yoo Hye-jung when she decides to turn a new leaf and actually work hard in school. It is after being separated from her that he realizes she is the one he has fallen in love with. When he and Yoo Hye-jung cross paths 13 years later, he who is now a neurosurgeon confesses his feelings for her.
Park Shin-hye as Yoo Hye-jung
Kal So-won as child Yoo Hye-jung
Yoo Hye-jung is a successful neurosurgeon. She was a delinquent in high school, known for her wayward personality. Having gone through a tough childhood, she found it hard to trust anyone. The only person she trusted and loved is her grandmother, who never failed to support her. However, her thoughts about others changed after meeting teacher Hong Ji-hong, who helped her find her goal in life.
Yoon Kyun-sang as Jung Yoon-do
Jung Yoon-do is a neurosurgoen as well as a visiting staff who is from a wealthy family. He is not good with rough situations in society. However, he knows how to handle his work with strictness. He finds himself attracted to Yoo Hye-jung, who is very different from him.
Lee Sung-kyoung as Jin Seo-woo
Jin Seo-Woo is a neurosurgeon and also friends-turned-enemies with Yoo Hye-jung. She liked Hong Ji-Hong, but seeing the growing relationship between Hong Ji-hong and Yoo Hye-jung, she causes trouble for them. This in turn caused them to part ways. Forgetting about Hong, she starts liking Jung Yoon-Do but again feels inferior to Hye Jung due to Yoon Do's attraction towards Hye Jung. Finally, she and her faithful companion Pi Young-gook develop mutual feelings for each other.
People around Hong Ji-hong
Lee Ho-jae as Hong Doo-sik – Ji-hong's adoptive father and Gookil Hospital's chairman
Yoo Da-in as Jo In-joo – General Surgery's specialist
People around Yoo Hye-jung
Kim Young-ae as Kang Mal-soon (cameo) – Hye-jung's grandmother
Jung Hae-gyun as Yoo Min-ho – Hye-jung and Yoo-na's natural father
Park Ji-a as Lee Ga-jin – Hye-jung's stepmother and Yoo-na's mother
Han Bo-bae as Yoo Yoo-na – Hye-jung's younger half-sister
Ji Soo as Kim Soo-cheol (Guest: Ep. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7-8) – Hye-jung's friend
Moon Ji-in as Cheon Soon-hee – Hye-jung's best friend
People around Jin Seo-woo
Jeon Gook-hwan as Jin Sung-jong – Seo-woo's grandfather and Gookil Hospital's vice president
Um Hyo-sup as Jin Myung-hoon – Seo-woo's father and Gookil Hospital's director
Yoon Hae-young as Yoon Ji-young – Seo-woo's mother
People of Gookil Hospital
Jang Hyun-sung as Kim Tae-ho – Gookil Hospital's deputy director and Head of Neurosurgery
Kim Kang-hyun as Kang Kyung-joon – Neurosurgery's 4th year resident doctor
Baek Sung-hyun as Pi Young-gook – Neurosurgery's 3rd year resident doctor and Seo-woo's friend
Jo Hyun-sik as Ahn Joong-dae – Neurosurgery's 2nd year resident doctor
Kim Min-seok as Choi Kang-soo – Neurosurgery's 1st year resident doctor
Jung Jin as Baek Ho-min – Head of General Surgery and Hospital's public relations chief
Lee Seon-ho as Jung Pa-ran – General Surgery's teacher, Ji-hong's friend and Yoon-do's uncle
Choi Sung-jae as Hwangbo Tae-yang – General Surgery's 1st resident doctor
N/A as Lee Jeong-hee – veteran nurse
Pyo Ye-jin as Hyun Soo-jin – 5th year nurse
Ji Yi-soo as Yoo Byul – 2nd year nurse
Extended cast
Park Young-soo as Namyang Girls' High School's teacher
Nam Moon-cheol
Kim Dae-sung as club DJ
Gong Da-im as Choi Mi-ra
Kim Min-cheol as Kim Soo-cheol's friend
Lee Jin-kwon as Kim Soo-cheol's friend
Son Jang-woo as pregnant patient's son
Jeon Ji-an as patient passenger on airplane
Im Ji-kyu as gunman
Jin Seon-gyu as Kim Chi-hyun
Go Woo-rim as Nam-hae
Choi Jeong-hoo as Nam-dal
Jung Dong-gyu as Na Min-soo – medical staff
Yeo Hoe-hyun as Choi Young-soo (Kang-soon's younger brother) (Episodes 17-18)
Hong Seung-beom as lawyer
Guest appearances
Lee Ki-woo as Gong Byung-doo – gang boss (Episodes 1,3-6)
Lee Jun-hyeok as boss's subordinate
Jung Kyung-soon as Oh Young-mi
Lim Ji-yeon as Lee Soo-jeong – youngest gold medalist in archery (Episode 7-8)
Han Hye-jin as Jo Soo-ji (Episodes 11-12)
Jo Dal-hwan as Ahn Sung-soo – Soo-ji's stalker/assailant (Episodes 11-12)
Namkoong Min as Nam Ba-ram (Episodes 13-15)
Lee Sang-yeob as Kim Woo-jin – Lee Hee-young's fiance (Episodes 15,16,18,20)
Soundtrack
Title: 닥터스 OST / Doctors OST
Artist: Various Artists
Language: Korean, English
Release Date: August 1, 2016
Number of Tracks: 25
Publisher: RIAK ((사)한국음반산업협회)
Agency: Pan Entertainment (팬엔터테인먼트)
Ratings
In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
Note: Episode 18 wasn't aired on Tuesday August 16 due to the broadcast of 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This episode was aired on Monday August 22, 2016.
Production
First script reading took place on April 28, 2016 at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
The series reunited Park Shin-hye and Baek Sung-hyun, who previously played the younger versions of Han Jung-suh and Cha Song-joo, respectively, in the 2003 hit drama, Stairway to Heaven.
International broadcast
The series aired in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia through Sony's Pay-TV channel ONE TV Asia on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 20:10 (SST|MYT|WITA), 19:10 (WIB) within 24 hours of its first telecast in South Korea. It is also available for streaming in Singapore on Viu with English subtitles.
In Thailand, it aired on Channel 8 (in the network RS Promotion), on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 starting July 4, 2016.
In the United States, the drama airs in the Los Angeles DMA free, over-the-air on Asian American-oriented TV channel, LA 18 KSCI-TV (channel 18) with English subtitles, Mon-Tues 9:00 PM, from July 18 to September 20, 2016.
In Vietnam, the drama airs on HTV2 at 21:00 (ICT) every Mondays to Fridays starting December 15, 2016.
