Dr. Romantic

Synopsis

Season 1

A story about Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu), a triple-board certified surgeon, who was once at the top of his field and used to work at Seoul's top medical center, Geosan University Hospital. After a traumatic incident, he disappears and changes his name to Kim Sa-bu. He begins working at a small hospital named Doldam, located in Gangwon Province. He guides Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Seo Hyun-jin), both who were transferred from Geosan University Hospital 5 years apart, to become great doctors by teaching them to fight against power and money for the sake of patients.

Season 2

Three years following the events of the first season, Kim Sa-bu visits Geosan University Hospital to recruit a general surgeon. He finds Seo Woo-jin (Ahn Hyo-seop), a doctor with a troubled past who is ostracized by his fellow doctors and offers him the job. In the meantime, Cha Eun-jae (Lee Sung-kyung) is suspended after making another mistake in the operation room and has no other choice but to follow the two doctors to Doldam Hospital. A doctor named Park Min-gook (Kim Joo-hun) saw this but was traumatized after seeing Kim Sa-bu again. They both got into a bus accident and saw Sa-bu risking his life helping an injured lady. He became the new director of Doldam only for him to be betrayed by his own team from Geosan. So, he ended up supporting Doldam and thus stayed there permanently. In the end of the series the Doldam Hospital Foundation has been formed separate from the Geosan Hospital Foundation with Boo Yong-joo as a chairman of the foundation.

Season 3

Three years following the events of the second season, the Doldam Hospital Regional Trauma Center, Kim Sa-bu's long-held dream, is set to be opened. With the opening of the Regional Trauma Center, the scale of incidents and accidents that Doldam Hospital has to deal with also increases. The events will also feature Kang Dong-joo's (Yoo Yeon-seok) return as Chief of Trauma Department, as well as the rivalry between Kim Sa-bu and Dr. Cha Jin-nam, who happens to be Cha Eun-jae's estranged father.

Cast

Main

Han Suk-kyu as Kim Sa-bu (Teacher Kim) / Boo Yong-joo

His real name is Boo Yong-joo, but he uses the name Kim Sa-bu. He is the only surgeon in South Korea who achieved triple-board certification in general surgery, cardiac surgery and neurosurgery. After the death of his protege at Geosan University Hospital, he isolates himself and decides never to retake any protege. He later moved to Doldam Hospital to become the Chief Surgeon there. In season two, Doldam Hospital is in need of a general surgeon, he visits Geosan University Hospital in Seoul to recruit one and quickly became interested in Seo Woo-jin and Cha Eun-jae. After learning about their skills and struggles with other doctors, he decides to recruit them. He strives hard to make the Doldam Hospital a centre for trauma patients, which he considers "a collective dream of Doldam Staff", where treatment is given to patients in dire need regardless of their class, nationality and status. In the end of season 2, he became the chairman of the newly formed Doldam Hospital Foundation.

Yoo Yeon-seok as Kang Dong-joo

Yoon Chan-young as young Kang Dong-joo

A GS (General Surgery) specialist. Intelligent and armed with excellent skills, his desire to succeed is driven due to an incident that happened to him in his childhood in which his father died at the hands of neglectful doctors. He later went on to become a skilled surgeon but his opportunities were held back due to his poor family background and lack of contacts. He gets transferred to Doldam Hospital after a failed surgery on a VIP, which later proved to be an opportunity for him to exhibit his skills.

Seo Hyun-jin as Yoon Seo-jung

Shin Yi-joon as young Yoon Seo-jung

Initially, she wants to become a doctor due to her strong desire to be recognized and appreciated by President Do who is more like a father figure to her and took up her responsibility as her guardian. When Kang Dong Joo admits his feelings to her, she gets momentarily swayed and remembers his confession continuously during a car drive with her fiancé which leads to a car accident in which she survives and her fiancé dies she feels guilty and furthermore disappears from Geosan University Hospital. Yoon Seo-Jung is injured while trekking; she is rescued and treated by Kim Sa-bu whom she treats and respects as her teacher and mentor. Although she is saved and recovers, she suffers from PTSD due to the past accident and stays in Doldam Hospital for good. But then later on she decides to continue being a doctor at Doldam Hospital. Originally ER certified, she later strives hard to get certified in CS too after once observing Teacher Kim operating on a patient and from then dreams of a single opportunity to enter his OR and assist him, which she considers a very rare opportunity for a doctor.

Supporting

People of Doldam Hospital

Kim Hong-pa as Yeo Woon-young

An internal medicine specialist and director of Doldam Hospital. A proud doctor who lost his motivation after the death of his wife. In Season 2, he was dismissed by Do Yoon-wan as the director of Doldam Hospital.

Jin Kyung as Oh Myung-sim

Head nurse. A woman with strong will, who is able to stand up to Kim Sa-bu. She seems strict, but has a warm heart and cares about her patients.

Im Won-hee as Jang Gi-tae

Manager of Doldam Hospital. He is known to be an opportunist and always want the best for the hospital, trying to find ways to promote it in any way he can.

Byun Woo-min as Nam Do-il

A freelance anesthesiologist. He usually runs a restaurant, but due to his average cooking skills, his only customers are usually Doldam doctors.

Kim Min-jae as Park Eun-tak

A nurse, now nurse practitioner at Doldam Hospital. He harbors a crush on Yoon Ah-reum. He first met Teacher Kim after being admitted as a patient. It was a life-changing encounter as he then decided to go to nursing school and eventually started working at Doldam Hospital himself.

Seo Eun-soo as Woo Yeon-hwa

A staff member who likes Dong-joo. Later, she comes back as a doctor at Doldam Hospital.

Lee Gyu-ho as Mr. Gu

An orderly who also serves as guard when there are agitated patients or people at the hospital.

Production

Season 1

First script reading took place September 13, 2016, at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, South Korea. Filming started on September 23.

Season 2

The first script reading took place in September 2019 at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, South Korea.

Han Suk-kyu, Kim Hong-pa, Jin Kyung, Im Won-hee, Byun Woo-min, Kim Min-jae, Choi Jin-ho, Jang Hyuk-jin, Yang Se-jong, Lee Gyu-ho and Yoon Na-moo reprised their roles from the first season.

Season 3

In September 2021, it was reported that production for Season 3 would begin in late 2021, but filming had to be postponed due to the actor's schedule and the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. Season 3 is scheduled to be filmed with the goal of broadcasting in the first half of 2023.

Han Suk-kyu, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Sung-kyung, Byun Woo-min, Jung Ji-an, Im Won-hee, Jin Kyung, So Joo-yeon, Yoon Na-moo, Kim Min-jae, Shin Dong-wook, Yoon Bo-ra, Lee Shin-young and Lee Hong-nae has confirmed the casting for season 3.

Original soundtrack