REVIEW: Doctor Crush
REVIEW: Doctor Crush
| Title | The Doctors, Doctor Crush |
| Male Lead | Kim Rae-won |
| Female Lead | Park Shin-Hye |
| Writer | Ha Myung-hee |
| Episodes | 20 Episodes | 60 Minutes per Episode |
| Release | June 20 to August 23, 2016 |
| Genre | Medical Drama, Romance |
| Language | Korean |
| Country of Origin | South Korea |
Plot Summary
Doctor’s Crush is a romantic medical drama about Yoo Hye-Jung, a willful and stubborn girl who has no direction in life, and Hong Ji-Hong, a doctor in the guise of a high school homeroom teacher and the adopted son of Gookil Hospital chairman.
Flashback to The New Girl in School
The story starts with Yoo Hye-Jung as a high school student who is angry at the world because her mother died and her father remarried leaving her feeling alone and dejected. She keeps on getting in trouble that her father decided to leave her with her grandmother in the province. As soon as her father leaves she goes on being her delinquent self and runs into Hong Ji-Hong. He is a homeroom teacher at the new school where Hye-Jung will be studying.
At first, Hye-Jung had no direction. She is intelligent but refuses to study. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life but since her grandmother is trying very hard to care for her and set her up in the right direction, she tries to study and not get into too much trouble.
Love comes from the brain, not the heart.
Hong Ji-Hong
The Turning Point
One day on her way to school, she came across a pregnant lady with her son who suddenly fell unconscious. She rushed to help her but she didn’t really know what to do. Ji-Hong saw what happened too and quickly came to the lady’s aid. While he was trying to revive the pregnant lady and assess the situation, Hye-Jung called an ambulance and was looking after the child who was in shock because of what happened.
Hye-Jung saw the other side of Ji-Hong and saw him in a different light. She had a newfound respect for him after finding out that he was a doctor. The emergency brought the two close together and it became an inspiration to Hye-Jung in becoming a doctor.
Hye-Jung’s Choice
The closeness of the two became a topic of interest in school where Hye-Jung was a student and Ji-Hong was her teacher. It came to the point that it was a full-blown scandal and school authorities needed to step in on the matter. It all got out of control from there. Ji-Hong decided to resign from the school and go to America to further his studies in the field of medicine. Hye-Jung decided to cut-off ties with Ji-Hong because she believed that she only posed a hindrance to him and they do not really belong together.
Love stricken insanity is proof of brain cell stimulation. The lack of insanity in love is abnormal. I tried to protect myself from being insane from love. So I paid the price.
Hong Ji-Hong
Meanwhile, Mal-Soon, Hye-Jung’s grandmother, learned that she was sick and had to undergo an operation. She died because of it leaving Hye-Jung alone again but with a strong resolve to become a doctor and find out what happened to her grandmother.
Meeting Again After Thirteen Years
The story cuts to the present day thirteen years after the two leads lost touch. Hye-Jung is already a successful doctor who got recruited to join Gookil Hospital by Kim Tae-Ho who is a close friend of Ji-Hong. She has accomplished a lot despite her background and social upbringing.
People who grew up from a protective environment, trust themselves and society and that’s the basics of life. It can protect you when your life is in turmoil.
Hong Ji-Hong
Unknowingly, Ji-Hong is set to return home from the United States. His father has been requesting for him to come home and join Gookil Hospital’s team of doctors. Because of his failing health, Ji-Hong decided that it is probably time for him to return. He is now an accomplished neurosurgeon who has mastered techniques that young doctors would like to learn.
Rekindling an Old Flame
Hye-Jung and Ji-Hong meet again and rekindle their friendship that was cut short because of circumstances that were out of their control. They are both older and wiser now. Hye-Jung has grown into an intelligent feisty woman who has set her heart into becoming unapologetic for her success. She still has past baggage. Some of them she has chosen to accept. Still, there are some that she hopes to resolve for justice.
Ji-Hong has somehow gotten over a mistake he made that left him traumatized. He wants to keep his father’s legacy of keeping his profession noble. Becoming a doctor is giving your life’s work selflessly in the hopes of helping people. He has also never forgotten his feelings for Hye-Jung and hopes to get closer to her now that they are both working at Gookil Hospital as colleagues.
Binge Star Rating – 8.5 Stars
Doctor Crush Quick Review
With the right balance of drama and conflicts coupled with the lead’s good on-screen chemistry, I give Doctor Crush a 4.5-star rating. The plot and subplots are well developed. This is an enjoyable series that will entertain you for a weekend binge. It has highs and lows that are not overly drawn out that you will feel on edge but it has enough conflicts and diversity that is enough to get you hooked.
Notable Supporting Cast
This series boasts a roster of supporting cast that is a joy to watch. The medical staff at Gookil Hospital along with family and friends of the leads gave substance and meaning to the plot that you will find yourself engrossed in every episode.
Eom Hyo-Seop as Jin Myung-Hoon plays Jin Seo-Woo’s father and one of Gookil Hospital’s director 
Kim Gang-Hyun as Kang Kyung-Joon 
Jo Hyun-Sik as Ahn Joong-Dae 
Baek Sung-Hyun as Pi Young-Kook 
Jang Hyun-Sung as Kim Tae-Ho 
Kim Min-Suk as Choi Kang-Soo 
Kim Young-Ae as Kang Mal-Soon, Hye-Jung’s grandmother 
Yoo Da-In as Jo In-Joo
Lee Sung-Kyung plays Jin Seo-woo, Hye-Jung’s friend and rival. She is the typical good girl from an affluent family with a slight bitch streak who dithers between wanting to appear perfect and also wanting to do underhanded mean things to Hye-Jung. Chun Soon-Hee played by Moon Ji-In is Hye-Jung’s loyal friend who has always stuck by her side no matter what. She is a kind and pure-hearted friend who knows Hye-Jung as well as the back of her hand. Their friendship is something anybody would wish to have.
Jung Yoon-Do played by Yoon Gyun-Sang portrays a reluctant admirer. His initial encounter with Hye-Jung has left him awed by the gung-ho personality that attracted her to him. The bad boy gangster Kim Soo-Chul played by Ji Soo is Hye-Jung’s friend from high school. He had a crush on her but she has maintained their friendship platonic.
Re-watch Value
If you are a fan of either Kim Rae-won or Park Shin-Hye and you find yourself looking for their works but can’t seem to find something that tickles your fancy, then Doctor Crush is a good drama to indulge in whether you have already watched it or not. It has a timeless appeal that will make you want to watch it several years down the road when you are missing your favorite actors. I definitely keep this on my rewatch list.
Where to Watch
Watch the full drama with complete English subtitles on the Netflix website.
Images from promotional materials from SBS may be subject to copyright.
