Doctor John (2019)

Drama about pain management, death and euthanasia

Good drama about a very hard subject : euthanasia (there are some others points but lets face it it is the real subject of the drama).
I like the medical drama genre because of all the morality questions they open.. Nothing is never white or black and it is not always to determine what is the good thing to do.
In this particular drama we follow an expert in medical diagnostics so we don't have lots of surgery images as we can have in some other drama (it is more 'easy' to watch.

For the characters, I miss a little bit of something... Relationships could have been more developped and this is the weak point here. The end of story for the main couple is disappointing : I would have agreed for a shorter time but so long.. nahhh

Special mention for the music : I came to this drama because of it.

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It's an overall good watch

Well to be honest its alright but it couldve been much more better. The lead actor was amazing but it felt like there were too many questions left unanswered besides they left a half baked romance by the end of the show, which leaves us confused as to whether we should be shippong them or no...honestly ji sung was great but their plot lacked in a few areas...this show is good but it doesnt sweep you off your feet...neither does it explain as to why exactly cha yo han chose to administer euthanesia to only that person and what were his convictions for doing so.. the show Doesnt exactly give you the satisfaction


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Okay guys i ended up rewatching this after nearly a year and i must say it made me change my mind. Sure this review contradicts itself but then the drama is definitely worth it.

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This is a great medical drama! Although the drama covers the controversial issue of euthanasia, the show goes beyond that to bring empathy and understanding for those that are suffering extreme pain related to misdiagnosis, rare diseases, traumatic events, and terminal stages of various conditions, especially from the medical personnel toward the patients and their guardians. The cast is excellent and they truly brought their characters to a believable level. This drama also have a romantic storyline with the main leads who exhibited great chemistry and rapport, but the absurd separation of three years without communication and the fast resolution without connection made no sense for two people that transcended misunderstanding and illness to beautifully fall in love. Although the last episode feels rushed and really disappointing, the medical part of the drama excels on its own. Enjoy it!

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First of all, i finished this drama months ago,but didnt have the opportunity to write a review right away. I decided to write one now coz even if months have passed, this drama still lingers on me. Ji Sung is one of my personal favorite korean actor. I saw about 90% of his dramas and all of them are on the list of my favorite drama of all time. Whatever character he plays, he can surely give it justice. He's one of the best there is in korean drama. And whoever partners with him will surely shine as well.
From the first episode of the drama until the very end, it got me really hooked. The storyline was so good that i find it rather surprising that i don't really mind so much about the love story between the two characters. But of course, they're chemistry is to die for. I love how the writer balanced the thrill of medical, love and personal issues in this drama. You'll be surprised of the twist and turns in every episode. It was very much well written.
The OST was also very romantic in the ears. It makes you want to watch it again when you hear the OST.
Truly, Ji Sung never disappoints. Highly recommended.

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Heart-Warmingly Great

Firstly can I just say that this OST is actually one of the greatest OST's in perhaps in all of existence? At work or whenever I wasn't able to watch Doctor John, I was constantly listening to this dramas' OST. Okay, now the drama itself. It started 'good', not the best, not the worst. But each episode I felt the quality get stronger and stronger, the same with the characters and storyline. Perhaps the tiniest bit predictable now that I look retrospectively, but nothing too predictable at all. This drama was really entertaining, honestly, an 1 hour episode (I was watching on Netflix, that is why episodes are 1 hour long each) honestly felt like a 20 minute long episode - which is definitely a great sign! Cast and acting were superb, and I really liked how they ended Doctor John as well.

Whether you're a big medical drama fan or not (like me), you WILL (most likely) LOVE Doctor John!

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One of the best medical drama ever made

Story: It's a masterpiece!!!! They have touched topics which have never been explored before 'EUTHANESIA' and 'CIPA'
The character CHA YO HAN that JiSung plays is a legend ... The man has got such mind-blowing perspectives abt life and death ... Every dialogue makes you learn something,makes you ponder upon your own pov and that's what I love the most abt this drama
Acting: Once again JiSung proves that he is the best actor Korea would ever have
Lee Se young did a really good job the best thing abt her character is that she isn't our 'typicall' FL rather she is damn straightforward abt her feelings bold and courageous
I loved all the supporting cast all were so good in their roles
Music: I don't think I would be over it anytime soon... This drama has some amazing achingly soothing OSTs
Rewatch Value: definitely gonna binge watch it becz I'm still not able to let go of my precious characters that I have fallen hard for.

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Amazing!

Been so long since I last watch Ji Sung and this drama is amazing! I thought it will be just like any other korean medical drama and I am pleasantly surprised with how good it is.

the casts did their job well and every episodes are amazing and filled with diseases and conditions so that you can also learn new knowledges. Dr Lee starts looking like an bnoxious guy but therought the drama you will see how kind and matured he is. I seriously think he is the key player in the Pain Department. He is clever and can also make everyone happy with just his presence. He is the kind of senior you wish to have at your workplace. He treats everyone fair without any bias. I'm not fond of Mi Rae since she seemed a little jealous at Shi Young in the first few episodes but you will see the real reason behind her attitude and she will redeem herself especially when she was with Dr Lee.

Ji Sung always acted as a peculiar characters and he is good! I'm hook in just a few second of his appearance. His character seem peculiar at first but you will understand his behavior later on. Yohan is such a great doctor even though almost all want him to fall and yet he still did what he love which is saving people. He had quite a sad childhood and that's what influence him to be a great doctor.

Those two nurses are cute! They are funny and always full with energy. The aunt is also a great character. She is always happy and positive especially when dealing with the annoying dr. Nurse Chae is really getting on my nerve and she is one twisted human. Her logic for hating Yohan is also weird. Prosecutor Son seem as an annoying person but he turned out to be a just person who always see everything with logic.

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This one asks a serious moral question and the answer may not make some people happy.

Right at the start you are already slapped with moral issues such as euthanasia and the responsibilities of medical personnel. Then to top it off you see someone who does not feel pain. Whoa! So much heavy stuff for a drama about a young aspiring doc who falls for the boss. The transitions and how they tackled the issues is ok for me, even the overzealousness of some characters. But i didn't like the FL's insistence that the ML should depend on her bec she loves him. Why force someone to love you? I don't get that. Anyways, there are plenty of medical situations which i really liked. Also plenty of side characters that are unnecessary.

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The best treatment for almost 90% of Mental and physical illnesses is understanding patient

I'm a fan of Ji Sung 🤩 and for sure i started watching this drama just because of him 😅 but just from the first episode i found out that no matter what happens i will be a fan of Lee Se Young 👻 sha was adorable . And of course the main couple was one of the best and hottest couple 🔥🔥
I like medical dramas but in my opinion this drama has different point of view to this genre . It was my first time that I learnt there is such a place in hospital , Pain Diagnosis and Treatment Center . I don't want to say that the other parts of hospital or other doctors have less important but i think the first step to treatment is knowing yout patient and diagnosis his or her pain . Most patients don't know what is their main pain also , and a lot of them need psychiatric treatment more than pharmacological treatment. I love Dr.John because of this , he tried to understand his patient . Maybe the reason that make him such a wonderful doctor was his disease but i really made happy that he found a girl who tried to understand him , because i think he needs that kind of person to keep going in his path .
At the end i recommend this drama , it does not hurt to watch it once

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Honestly pains me that I cannot force the entire world to watch this show.

Look. Okay. I should note before I start that if Ji Sung was selling tickets to an event where he just sat and read the phone book out loud, I'd probably be first in line. I am that level of biased. BUT.

THIS IS THE SHOW THAT MADE ME SUCH A FAN. Which is why I am here, writing a review, when I have never done such a thing before.

I will never shut up about this show. It made me (I cannot believe I'm saying this because it sounds so cheesy) a better person. Because it focuses on what it means to suffer, on what it means to live, and on all the ways human beings try to help each other to alleviate suffering. I found myself sobbing in the middle of the night after finishing the last episode and wondering if I could go volunteer and my local nursing home. It had that level of impact.

STORY:
This is the only weakness in my opinion, and even then I really didn't care. I deducted a point because this show was wildly unrealistic in a lot of spoilery ways--but aren't all medical dramas like that? Like we're supposed to believe that all the rarest diseases in the world just happen to show up at this one hospital? It's that kind of unrealistic. I was willing to suspend disbelief, especially because the unrealistic parts ended up contributing to the overall theme of the story and making it that much more poignant. Like I said, the setting of a pain clinic opens up an overall exploration of what it means to suffer and what it means to live.
I will say, the antagonist of the story really pissed me off to high heaven. Her motives were too petty to be really strong. But she overall had very little face time. I mostly just booed her whenever she came on screen.

ACTING:
Ugh. So good. Just...so good. Although as noted above, Ji Sung can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. The FL was also fantastic--ALTHOUGH she wore terrible extensions for the ENTIRE show and I did not understand why. But whatever. She was great, he was great. There were also a few side characters that were a lot of fun; there was great chemistry in the group of residents/fellows/interns/whatever. There are so many different stages of doctoring and I don't know them all. But the group at the pain clinic was a lot of fun and provided some lightness to an emotionally heavy drama.

OST:
Stuck in my head 24/7. The stand outs are Look At by SALTNPAPER, Way Back by Safira.K, and Star by MINSEO.

REWATCH:
Already rewatching it. It was heavy, yes, but the good kind of heavy that makes you think and feel grateful and want to give the world a hug.

Watch it. Watch it now.

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Ji sung è un dio, ma gli sceneggiatori no

Ji Sung come attore è un dio, forse il migliore che ci sia in Corea (e anche altrove). Magnifico nel viso e carismatico più da quarantenne che quando aveva trent’anni, dotato di una mimica dell’intero corpo che riesce a trasmettere l’impossibile, recita però spesso in drama estremi, che si prendono troppo sul serio e pretendono un’eccessiva sospensione dell’incredulità da parte dello spettatore. Se in Kill me, heal me le sette personalità da lui straordinariamente interpretate erano a volte terribilmente sopra le righe, il tutto era stemperato dall’essere il drama una commedia scanzonata. Ma, per esempio, in Defendant, ed ora con questo Dottor John, la musica cambia. Vogliono essere seri, drammatici, stupirci. E a volte esagerano. Per fortuna, in questo Doctor John l’estrema spettacolarizzazione dei primi episodi ha per contraltare un argomento pesantissimo, un vero macigno: l’etica dei trattamenti medici e dell’eutanasia.

Da questo punto di vista si tratta di una serie coraggiosa, che affronta problemi scomodissimi. Se e come questi argomenti siano stati affrontati nella maniera migliore, è decisione che deve necessariamente essere lasciata alla personale percezione di ognuno. Il problema di fondo di questo drama, però, è lo sviluppo della trama e, in parte, la caratterizzazione dei personaggi.

Il protagonista, Cha Yo Han, è un medico specializzato in anestesiologia e trattamento del dolore, brillantissimo diagnostico, che nasconde però di essere affetto da una malattia grave, che potrebbe causarne la morte in qualsiasi momento. Condannato per aver praticato l’eutanasia ad un paziente terminale, si è fatto tre anni di galera. Ciononostante, continua ad essere comprensivo oltre ogni limite, anche con chi lo perseguita… Il troppo è troppo.

La protagonista Kang Shi Young, specializzanda anche lei in anestesiologia, ha subito un trauma che l’ha lasciata insicura e scossa, e passa metà del tempo a piangere. Lee Se Young la interpreta benissimo, ma resta il fatto che la sua caratterizzazione sia spesso terribilmente debole e piagnucolosa. Successivamente, diventa assillante, sembra risollevarsi, ma solo per comportarsi sul finire senza un briciolo di amor proprio.

Una nutrita serie di personaggi di spalla e contorno offre ampie opportunità di situazioni sia tragiche che umoristiche.

Gli autori a tratti non hanno fatto un gran lavoro con la sceneggiatura. Diversi episodi sono strutturati un po’ come polizieschi, dove la ricerca della causa del dolore, molto interessante, diviene una caccia al colpevole, però a volte la risoluzione del problema non viene completamente mostrata. Purtroppo, specie verso la fine, diversi argomenti vengono lasciati appesi, oppure risolti con due parole a distanza di anni. C’è una cospirazione criminale che mira a fornire illegalmente un medicinale per il suicidio assistito ai richiedenti e non sappiamo se i colpevoli siano stati catturati o meno. Soprattutto, non è chiaramente spiegata la conversione sulla via di Damasco di un personaggio in precedenza invasato: viene domato dalla gentilezza del buon dottore? Mah! Vederlo sorridere dolcemente è cosa da brividi, e ci si domanda a che titolo si trovi, alla fine, in una specie di comitato etico…

Ad ogni modo, fra molti alti e pochi bassi, il drama si svolge, almeno per la mia personale percezione, in maniera molto soddisfacente. Tutto cambia, però, a pochi episodi dalla fine, quando assistiamo al solito abusato cliché della separazione. Siamo abituati a vedere la protagonista femminile fare i capricci, invece stavolta è la parte maschile a dimostrare una mancanza totale di considerazione nei confronti della sua partner. Non ci si comporta così con la ragazza che hai baciato all’aeroporto, proprio no. Il lieto fine non era così scontato, durante la visione, ma sicuramente ci si sarebbe potuti arrivare in un modo che non rovinasse così il personaggio, che risulta veramente svilito da un comportamento inaccettabile sotto ogni punto di vista.

In sunto, un ottimo drama medico, interpretato splendidamente da tutto il cast, con l’eccezione di Ji Sung che, come sempre, è fuori scala, ma con diverse pecche nella trama, un finale debole e una caratterizzazione dei personaggi non proprio perfetta. Peccato, perché avrebbe potuto essere un capolavoro. Così, è solo molto, molto buono.

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