So... I've finished watching Surgeon Bong Dal-hee and I'm glad I decided to watch it. Maybe I shouldn't write off 'serious' shows in future.
Anyway, I highly recommend this show, if you have the time and inclination for these things, and if you can take the many surgery scenes (or you can just not watch those scenes in their entirety).
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
One strength of some (and I stress: some) K drama serials is the characterisation. Even the secondary characters in Surgeon have distinct personalities and aren't just wallpaper or stereotypical sidekicks. Of course, good characterisation must come with good acting and on the whole the actors did bring their characters to life well.
There were these two 'Chief Doctors' (seniors of the 1st-year residents) for example. This guy 
Dr Jang (left) looked like he walked straight out of a Taiwanese serial, ha ha. Most of the time, he doesn't really get all that much to do besides acting grovelly with his Director and asking, 'What?!' whenever something 
shocking happens. Nevertheless, he is quite distinctly different from the others. This other Chief Doctor (right) is Dr Kim Hyun Bin, ha ha (wonder what Hyun Bin thinks of that). He is more colourful and you can see his different facets - sarcasm, seriousness, humour, concern for others, etc, - in the limited airtime he has.
Dr Jang (left) looked like he walked straight out of a Taiwanese serial, ha ha. Most of the time, he doesn't really get all that much to do besides acting grovelly with his Director and asking, 'What?!' whenever something 
shocking happens. Nevertheless, he is quite distinctly different from the others. This other Chief Doctor (right) is Dr Kim Hyun Bin, ha ha (wonder what Hyun Bin thinks of that). He is more colourful and you can see his different facets - sarcasm, seriousness, humour, concern for others, etc, - in the limited airtime he has. The weak link for me was the other main couple. I'm surprised the guy who acted as Dr Lee doesn't act better than he does. After all, he has starred in other 
shows such as Lovers In Prague, etc. When he was crying and telling his ex-wife 'I'm so lonely I could die', he didn't sound all that different from when he told the doctors, 'Don't panic even if the blood spurts to the ceiling.' Maybe it's because I don't understand Korean but I really couldn't detect much change in his tone of voice or facial expression in different scenes. In contrast, you can feel Lee Min-woo's (Dal-hee's peer) and Dr Ahn's alarm and dismay when they see the state of Dal-hee's heart on the ultrasound screen. And they are not even crying; they just look like they are going to cry.
shows such as Lovers In Prague, etc. When he was crying and telling his ex-wife 'I'm so lonely I could die', he didn't sound all that different from when he told the doctors, 'Don't panic even if the blood spurts to the ceiling.' Maybe it's because I don't understand Korean but I really couldn't detect much change in his tone of voice or facial expression in different scenes. In contrast, you can feel Lee Min-woo's (Dal-hee's peer) and Dr Ahn's alarm and dismay when they see the state of Dal-hee's heart on the ultrasound screen. And they are not even crying; they just look like they are going to cry.
As for the ex-wife, she was rather bland too so I've nothing to add about her except that I nearly fell off my chair when the grape man turned up, with permed hair, in a cameo as her ex-boyfriend. Ha ha... The son was cute, though...
The actress who plays Dal-hee really looks rather frail and pale. I read that 
the actress decided to perm her hair for the role to make it more realistic - something about doctors not having enough time to care for their appearances so she didn't want to look too attractive. Don't really see the logic in that. She doesn't look unattractive, what.
the actress decided to perm her hair for the role to make it more realistic - something about doctors not having enough time to care for their appearances so she didn't want to look too attractive. Don't really see the logic in that. She doesn't look unattractive, what.Anyhow, she did a decent job portraying her weak and sometimes silly but persevering and determined character. I think people like seeing characters who are ordinary and 'weak' people but have special strengths. Her strengths are her willingness to go all out to achieve her dream and her perceptiveness about other people's feelings. Hence, she has great rapport with patients, doctors and nurses. Interestingly, while the younger doctors like her and care a lot about her (e.g. Dr Park always missing her when she is away on leave, Dr Kim trying to cover up for her, etc), it is the 'older' doctors who appreciate her the most.
Dr Lee really liked her but it was just that he never really got over his ex-wife so Dal-hee was smart to cut her losses early and end the relationship before it really took off. Good thing, too, because it would have been so boring if she had ended up with him.
Dr Ahn is the best actor in the show. It's not easy carrying off this uncle-sweetie pie relationship. He also does his grumpy, bad-tempered, demanding doctor with an enormous 
chip on his shoulder (from the gigantic baggage he carried for over 20 years from his miserable childhood) but who is actually a caring and dedicated doctor role very convincingly. Despite the hairdo.
chip on his shoulder (from the gigantic baggage he carried for over 20 years from his miserable childhood) but who is actually a caring and dedicated doctor role very convincingly. Despite the hairdo.What I like about the romance in the show is that it doesn't overwhelm the hospital storyline. Dr Ahn and Dal-hee get together only almost at the end (though it was obvious that he had 
started to like her earlier on) and I think their good old wholesome love story did the trick. For once, no ex-boyfriends or -girlfriends lurking around, no disapproving parents or grandparents, no being forced into engagement or marriage, no contract to pretend to be a couple, etc. And he was cute going into what must be his first relationship, judging from how he didn't even know how to ask her out properly (he practically ordered her to go to a movie with him!), was so boring at the movie date, etc. He acted like a teeanger in love for the first time, grinning goofily and all, but not acting stupid or silly. Good job! Even with his haircut.
started to like her earlier on) and I think their good old wholesome love story did the trick. For once, no ex-boyfriends or -girlfriends lurking around, no disapproving parents or grandparents, no being forced into engagement or marriage, no contract to pretend to be a couple, etc. And he was cute going into what must be his first relationship, judging from how he didn't even know how to ask her out properly (he practically ordered her to go to a movie with him!), was so boring at the movie date, etc. He acted like a teeanger in love for the first time, grinning goofily and all, but not acting stupid or silly. Good job! Even with his haircut.My last mention will be of Dr Park. His expressions are so funny, especially in the scenes with 
Dr Ahn. The funniest were when he and Jo Ara bumped into Dal-hee and Dr Ahn in the cinema and when he hugs Dal-hee in front of Dr Ahn when she comes back from leave. The best part of his character was how they didn't just make him the clown of the show. At first, he just wants to finish his resident training and open a slimming clinic, but he develops a passion for saving lives and takes his job seriously.
Dr Ahn. The funniest were when he and Jo Ara bumped into Dal-hee and Dr Ahn in the cinema and when he hugs Dal-hee in front of Dr Ahn when she comes back from leave. The best part of his character was how they didn't just make him the clown of the show. At first, he just wants to finish his resident training and open a slimming clinic, but he develops a passion for saving lives and takes his job seriously.I like how the show portrays the message to live life to the fullest as long as your blood is flowing through your arteries and veins. It is Dal-hee's story - overcoming her physical weaknesses and dreaming to be a surgeon, Dr Ahn's story - rising to be a renowned surgeon after abandonment and years of loneliness, Dr Park's story - rising above his mother's debt problems and becoming a committed doctor, Dr Jo Ara's story - rising from her abusive childhood and family problems and striving to be a full-fledged surgeon...
Strangely, it is also the message of one chapter in Marley and Me, which I've just finished. John Grogan writes:
'In the lonely blackness, I could almost taste the finiteness of life and thus its preciousness. We take it for granted, but it is fragile, precarious, uncertain, able to cease at any instant without notice. I was reminded of what should be obvious but too often is not, that each day, each hour and minute, is worth cherishing.'
And... it is also what Fr Suyono spoke about on Sunday when discussing Matthew 24:37-44. He said that while we do need to be prepared, we should not live in the past or the future. The present is what we have and it is when we should do what we are here to do.
Ok... there must be something in this for me. The same message from 3 sources can't just be a coincidence, right? Woman, get off your butt and do something worthwhile with your life!
Anyway, I highly recommend this show, if you have the time and inclination for these things, and if you can take the many surgery scenes (or you can just not watch those scenes in their entirety).
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