Resident Playbook

Synopsis

Set at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center, the series follows the hospital lives and turbulent friendships of young obstetrics and gynaecology residents who proudly enter the unpopular department in an era of low birth rates.

Cast and characters

Main

Go Youn-jung as Oh Yi-young

A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident.

Shin Si-ah as Pyo Nam-kyung

A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident.

Kang You-seok as Um Jae-il

A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident and former K-pop idol.

Han Ye-ji as Kim Sa-bi

A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident.

Jung Joon-won as Ku Do-won

A fourth-year and chief resident of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Supporting

Lee Bong-ryun as Seo Jeong-min

A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Lee Chang-hoon as Ryu Jae-hwi

A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Son Ji-yoon as Kong Gi-seon

A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Lee Hyun-kyun as Jo Jun-mo

A professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Seo Yi-seo as Park Joon-seok

Fourth-year resident in emergency medicine.

Lee Do-hye as Ki Eun-mi

Third-year resident in obstetrics and gynaecology. A former resident at the Main Branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Hong Na-hyun as Cha Da-hye

Second-year resident in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Kim Hye-in as Myung Eun-won

Second-year fellow in obstetrics and gynaecology. A former resident at the Main Branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Yoo Hyun-jong as Park Moo-kang

Second-year resident in pediatrics.

Kim Yi-joon as Ham Dong-ho

Third-year resident in anesthesiology.

Special appearances

Ra Mi-ran as a doctor, massage therapist, and bank teller (Ep. 1).

Ahn Eun-jin as Chu Min-ha (Eps. 2 and 12)

A fellow doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Songdo branch of Yulje Medical Centre. She got promoted to professor and transferred to the Jongno branch.

Ha Yoon-kyung as Heo Sun-bin (Ep. 3)

A fellow doctor in neurosurgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Moon Tae-yoo as Yong Seok-min (Ep. 3)

A professor in neurosurgery at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Jung Kyung-ho as Kim Jun-wan (Ep. 4)

A professor of cardiothoracic surgery from the main branch of Yulje Medical Centre, who became chief of the department.

Jung Moon-sung as Do Jae-hak (Ep. 4 (voice only); Ep. 11)

A fellow doctor in cardiothoracic surgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Yoo Yeon-seok as Ahn Jeong-won/Andrea (Ep. 5)

A professor of pediatric surgery at the main branch and the son of the founder of the hospital.

Bae Hyun-sung as Jang Hong-do (Ep. 6)

A resident doctor at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Centre.

Production

Development

In 2023, director Shin Won-ho had reportedly started working on a new project, a spin-off to Hospital Playlist (2020–2021) and contacted several actors and held auditions in secret. Later, Shin's new work was denied to be neither prequel nor spin-off of Hospital Playlist as contrast from a media report.

The series was another collaboration of Shin and writer Lee Woo-jung, who produced the Reply series and Hospital Playlist series, directed by Lee Min-soo, as well as written by Kim Song-hee, an assistant writer of Reply 1988 and Hospital Playlist. Eggiscoming managed the production.

Casting

On July 5, 2023, Go Youn-jung was reportedly cast as the female lead of Resident Playbook. She was confirmed to appear for the series two months later.

On September 20, 2023, Shin Si-ah was cast as the other female lead and confirmed it a day later. On September 22, Kang You-seok was reportedly cast as the male lead of the series and confirmed it three days later. Jung Joon-won was also cast as another male lead and confirmed his appearance three days later.

Go, Shin, Kang, Jung, along with Han Ye-ji completed the main cast line-up of the series.

Filming

In May 2023, it was reported that principal photography would begin in the second half of 2023. After two months, the filming was scheduled to start in October of that year.

Postponement

In February 2024, many doctors, residents, and interns had resigned and suspended their studies to protest a South Korean government proposal to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 every year from 2025, setting the quota to 5,058. Due to this medical strike, the series suffered from it. tvN announced that depending on the situation the broadcast date could be delayed. In March 2024, it was reported that the series was postponed to the second half of 2024, with exact date yet to be determined. In September 2024, as the series has been delayed several times it was decided to be cancelled this year until further notice.

Original soundtrack

The Resident Playbook original soundtrack produced by Ma Joo-hee was released on May 19, 2025, by Studio MaumC, Egg Is Coming and Stone Music Entertainment.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Release

As of July 2023, Resident Playbook was scheduled to air in March 2024. In January 2024, tvN announced Resident Playbook as part of its 2024 drama line-up. The next month, tvN confirmed the series' broadcast for the first half that year. It was originally scheduled to air in May after Queen of Tears, but was postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing medical strike in South Korea. It was also supposed to stream on Netflix.

The series ultimately premiered on tvN on April 12, 2025, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST).