Last week we talked about “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” and its great summer vibes. We also promised to talk about a more cozy, fall vibe drama this week.
Look no further than 슬기로운 의사생활 (“Hospital Playlist”), another amazing Korean drama. The story follows five friends through their daily work life in a hospital in Seoul. They are all doctors with different special fields who became friends when they studied medicine. When the series begins, they are in their 40s, and all act as teachers in their hospital. Lee Ik-jun (general surgery), Ahn Jeong-won (pediatric surgery), Kim Jun-wan (cardiothoracic surgery), Yang Seok-hyeong (obstetrics and gynecology) and Chae Song-hwa (neurosurgery) aren’t only best friends, they also formed a band during their student days, and each episode features one of their covers. The five actors portraying the characters all play their instruments and sing themselves.
Even though the series is a medical drama, everything that’s going on is dealt with in easy-to- understand terms, and the series is much more about the five friends and their lives as teachers. All of the supporting characters are well-rounded, too.
The series doesn’t shy away from hard topics, but every bad situation is dealt with with a lot of heart and humanity. As the main characters all work as teachers in their specific fields, we also see their subordinates grow a lot from season one to the end of season two, thanks to the guidance and knowledge they receive from their teachers.
The series was praised for its amazing soundtrack, featuring mainly 90s Korean classics. If you want to listen to the songs from the show, there is a great playlist on Spotify here.
Overall, this series feels like a warm hug. It’s the perfect show to watch during cold, rainy evenings. It’s definitely not one of those “go, go, go, action, life-or-death” medical dramas, but that’s precisely the charm of this series. You want to keep coming back to Yulje Medical Center to follow the five friends, their work, and their lives.
