Good Doctor (South Korean TV series)

Promotional poster

Hangul 굿 닥터

Genre Medical drama

Romance

Comedy

Created by Park Jae-beom

Directed by Ki Min-soo

Kim Jin-woo

 Joo Won
Starring
 Moon Chae-won

 Joo Sang-wook

 Kim Min-seo

Composer Choi Cheol-ho

Country of origin South Korea

Original language Korean

 No. of episodes 20

Production

Executive producers Kim Sung-geun

Lee Jang-soo

Yoo Hong-gu

Producers Lee Jae-hoon

Park Woo-ram

Cinematography Kim Jae-hwan

Kim Yong-soo

Editor Kim Mi-kyung

Production company Logos Film

Original release

Network KBS2

Release August 5 –

October 8, 2013

Related

The Good Doctor (US)

Good Doctor (Japan)

Mucize Doktor (Turkey)

Life After Death (Hong Kong)

Yun Zindagi Ki Raah Mein (India)

Good Doctor (Korean: 굿 닥터; RR: Gut Dakteo) is a 2013 South Korean medical
drama television series starring Joo Won, Moon Chae-won, Joo Sang-wook, Kim Min-
seo, Chun Ho-jin, Kwak Do-won, and Ko Chang-seok. It aired on KBS2 from August 5
to October 8, 2013, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.[1] The
early working title was Green Scalpel (Korean: 그린 메스; RR: Geurin Meseu; lit.
"Green Mes"[2]).[3][4]
Synopsis[edit]
Park Si-on (Joo Won) is a savant on the autism spectrum who was sent to a specialized
care center as a child, where he was discovered to have a genius-level memory and
keen spatial skills. He eventually enters the field of pediatric surgery as a resident,
where he is given six months to prove himself capable. However, due to his atypical
mental and emotional condition, Si-on faces conflict from his peers and patients, who
view him as childlike and unreliable. Most critical is the hotheaded surgeon Kim Do-han
(Joo Sang-wook). Do-han was requested by the young surgeon's mentor, Choi Woo-
seok (Chun Ho-jin), who is also a director of the hospital, to guide him but is unwilling to
do so, as he labels him a soulless robot of a doctor who can only rely heavily on his
photographic memory instead of feeling what the patient needs. Despite help from
understanding and fair colleagues like Cha Yoon-seo (Moon Chae-won) and Han Jin-
wook (Kim Young-kwang), the hospital is a fierce and competitive world, and the
challenges Si-on faces become only greater when he falls in love with Yoon-seo, a
fellow doctor at the hospital.
Cast[edit]
Main[edit]
 Joo Won as Park Si-on[5][6][7]
o Choi Ro-woon as young Si-on
 Moon Chae-won as Cha Yoon-seo[8][9][10]
 Joo Sang-wook as Kim Do-han[11][12][13]
 Kim Min-seo as Yoo Chae-kyung
Supporting[edit]
Sungwon University Hospital officials[edit]

 Chun Ho-jin as Choi Woo-seok, director

 Kwak Do-won as Kang Hyun-tae, deputy director
 Na Young-hee as Lee Yeo-won
 Jo Hee-bong as Go Choong-man, head of the Pediatric Surgery department
 Lee Ki-yeol as Lee Hyuk-pil, managing director of the foundation
 Jung Man-sik as Kim Jae-joon, head of the Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery
department
Department of Pediatric Surgery[edit]

 Kim Young-kwang as Han Jin-wook[14]

A warm and friendly fourth-year resident, who first approaches Park Shi-on when
he is shunned by the others.

 Yoon Park as Woo Il-kyu, second-year resident

 Yoon Bong-gil as Hong Gil-nam, second-year resident
 Wang Ji-won as Kim Sun-joo, intern
Nursing division[edit]

 Ko Chang-seok as Jo Jung-mi, senior nurse

 Jin Kyung as Nam Joo-yeon, head nurse
 Lee Ah-rin as Ga-kyung
 Ha Kyu-won as Hye-jin
Children's ward[edit]
  Kim Hyun-soo as Na In-hae
 Uhm Hyun-kyung as Na In-young
 Ahn Sung-hoon as Lee Woo-ram
 Yoo Je-gun as Park Ho-suk
 Lee Jang-kyung as Kim Ye-eun
 Oh Eun-chan as Cha Dong-jin
 Yoo Hae-jung as Eun-ok
 Jung Yoon-seok as Kyu-hyun
Others[edit]

 Yoon Yoo-sun as Oh Kyung-joo, Shi-on's mother

 Jung Ho-keun as Park Choon-sung, Shi-on's father
 Seo Hyun-chul as Byung-soo
 Jeon Jun-hyeok as Park Si-deok, Shi-on's older brother
o Ryu Deok-hwan as adult Si-deok (cameo, ep 10)
 Ban Min-jung as Kyu-hyun's mother
 Kim Chang-wan as Chairman Jung
Special appearances[edit]
 Kwak Ji-min as Lee Soo-jin (guest appearance, ep 10–12)[15]
 Moon Hee-kyung as Mrs. Jang, Soo-jin's mother-in-law
 Kim Sun-hwa as Eun-ok's aunt
 Seo Kang-joon as one of the punks who want to beat up Shi-on (ep 12)
 In Gyo-jin as Soo-jin's husband (cameo, ep 12)
 Yoo Jae-myung as the killer (ep 15)
 Kim Young-hee as staff of the family restaurant (ep 17)
 Gong Jung-hwan as Professor of Neurosurgery Department (ep 17)
 Park Ki-woong as Woong-ki (cameo, ep 20)[16][17]
Ratings[edit]
Good Doctor made a strong debut on the TV ratings chart.[18] It maintained the
number one spot in its timeslot for most of its run, with an average viewership rating
of 18.0% (AGB Nielsen) and 17.4% (TNmS).

Average audience share

Ep. Original broadcast date Nielsen Korea[19] TNmS Ratings[20]

Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul

1 August 5, 2013 10.9% 11.6% 10.5% 10.3%

2 August 6, 2013 14.0% 15.1% 13.6% 14.6%

3 August 12, 2013 15.3% 16.2% 13.8% 14.6%

4 August 13, 2013 15.8% 15.8% 15.9% 16.9%

5 August 19, 2013 18.0% 18.5% 16.5% 17.6%

6 August 20, 2013 19.0% 20.0% 18.4% 20.4%

7 August 26, 2013 17.4% 18.2% 17.2% 18.1%

8 August 27, 2013 18.4% 18.5% 17.5% 19.0%

9 September 2, 2013 17.4% 17.4% 17.0% 18.3%

10 September 3, 2013 18.4% 18.3% 18.5% 20.5%

11 September 9, 2013 18.3% 18.7% 18.3% 20.2%

12 September 10, 2013 19.4% 19.4% 20.0% 22.2%

13 September 16, 2013 17.9% 18.4% 17.5% 19.3%

14 September 17, 2013 18.6% 19.3% 18.9% 20.3%

15 September 23, 2013 19.6% 20.3% 18.5% 20.2%

16 September 24, 2013 21.5% 22.8% 20.9% 22.7%

17 September 30, 2013 20.3% 21.1% 18.0% 20.5%

18 October 1, 2013 20.6% 21.5% 19.0% 21.4%

19 October 7, 2013 19.0% 20.0% 17.6% 20.1%

20 October 8, 2013 19.2% 19.5% 19.5% 22.4%

Average 18.0% 18.5% 17.4% 18.9%

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Recipient Result

2013 26th Grimae Awards Won

Best Drama Good Doctor
Nominated

Joo Won Nominated

Top Excellence Award,
Actor
Joo Sang-wook Nominated
Korea Drama Awards

Top Excellence Award,

Moon Chae-won Nominated
Actress

Best Writer Park Jae-bum Won

APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Joo Won Nominated

Actor
Year Award Category Recipient Result

Excellence Award, Actor Joo Sang-wook Nominated

Excellence Award, Actress Moon Chae-won Nominated

KBS Drama Awards[21] Top Excellence Award,

Won
Actor
Joo Won

Actor of the Year (selected Won

by directors)

Top Excellence Award,

Moon Chae-won Nominated
Actress

Joo Sang-wook Won

Excellence Award, Actor in
a Mid-length Drama
Joo Won Nominated

Excellence Award, Actress

Moon Chae-won Won
in a Mid-length Drama

Jo Hee-bong Nominated
Best Supporting Actor
Ko Chang-seok Nominated

Jin Kyung Nominated

Best Supporting Actress
Kim Min-seo Nominated

Best New Actor Kim Young-kwang Nominated

Year Award Category Recipient Result

Best Young Actor Jung Yun-seok Nominated

Best Young Actress Kim Hyun-soo Nominated

Joo Won and Moon

Best Couple Award Won
Chae-won

Netizen Award, Actor Joo Won Won

Popularity Award, Actress Moon Chae-won Won

Best Drama Good Doctor Won

Korea Producers &
Directors' (PD) Awards[22]
Best Performer Joo Won Won

Best Drama Good Doctor Won

Baeksang Arts Awards[23] Best Director Ki Min-soo Nominated

2014 Best Actor Joo Won Nominated

Banff World Media

Best Serial Drama Won
Festival[24]

Korea Broadcasting
Best Drama Good Doctor Won
Awards[25]

Seoul International
Best Mini-series Runner-up
Drama Awards[26]
In November 2013, the Korea Association of the Welfare Institutes for the Disabled
gave the series a plaque of recognition for creating awareness about autism and
how socially challenged individuals can contribute to society.[27] In December
2013, Good Doctor also received an award from the Disability Awareness Campaign
Headquarters and was designated as a "Good Program" by the Korea
Communications Standards Commission.[28][29]
International adaptations[edit]
American[edit]
Main article: The Good Doctor (American TV series)
An American remake of the same name, produced by Daniel Dae Kim, debuted in
late September 2017 on ABC. The story of a surgeon with autism is set in San Jose,
California, airing during fall of 2017.[30][31][32]
Japanese[edit]
Main article: Good Doctor (Japanese TV series)
A Japanese remake of the same name starred Kento Yamazaki, Juri Ueno,
and Naohito Fujiki aired from July 12 to September 13, 2018, on Fuji TV.
Turkish[edit]
A Turkish remake called Mucize Doktor produced by Asena Bülbüloğlu debuted on
September 12, 2019, on Fox Turkey.
Hong Kong[edit]
Dr. Koo Hei-sun is a character inspired by Park Si-on in Life After Death, produced
by Kwan Shu-ming and Kwan Man-sum. It debuted on June 8, 2020, on TVB.