23 episodes
Synopsis
Chest surgery is the most demanding field in medicine.
Chest surgery is the most difficult and dangerous type of surgery to perform but it is regrettably shunned by the medical community.
Chest surgeons are bombarded daily with emergency calls to operate on patients. Not only are chest surgeons at a higher risk of losing a patient on the operating table but the life-saving open heart surgery they perform for hours with a team of doctors costs the same as a simple 30-minute eye-slit operation performed by a single plastic surgeon.
Since it is nearly impossible for a chest surgeon to open his own private practice, less and less medical students are applying to become chest surgeons, causing the shutdown of entire chest surgery departments at general hospitals. Even general hospitals that are affiliated with prestigious medical schools suffer shortages of new chest surgeons. Chest surgery has become a field that is avoided by young doctors looking for a less stressful career.
Because of this deteriorating situation, patients might have to go abroad in the near future if they need heart or lung surgery. But even in these difficult situations, a few young doctors are blazing new trails. Oblivious to the falling status of their profession and worsening circumstances, they swear by the Oath of Hippocrates and save precious lives. is a medical drama that will depict the lives of chest surgeons as close to reality as possible.
Their tears... Their joy... Their troubles... All of this and more will be intertwined in an engaging, heartwarming story. The courage they display will make you realize how precious a life is...
We would like to thank them for showing us that we are not alone in this world. They are the one who make a difference in our lives.
Starring
Lee Eun-seong | actor Ji-seong
A young doctor who graduated from a small town medical school. He took the high school equivalency exam and then made his way to medical school. (He was a low-achieving student in high school) He grew up in an all-boys orphanage and tries to hide this past. With a single-minded pursuit to become a doctor, he applied to the chest surgery department of a general hospital affiliated with a prestigious medical school after learning that there was a shortage of applicants. Doctor Choi Kang-guk deems him as a dunce but Eun-seong is unfazed as he tries to become a skilled doctor. Through hard work, deft hand coordination, and a heart full of compassion, he later gains the respect of Doctor Choi. He even joins a teddy bear-making club to improve his hand coordination where he ends up making several teddy bears. (He gets along with the ladies in the club) He favors a Swiss knife that he uses during surgery and sewing teddy bears. When he has free time, he improves his image recognition skills by looking over the shoulders of the experienced doctors.
Nam Hye-seok | actress Kim Min-jeong
She scored a perfect score in the KSAT and entered medical school at the top of her class. She graduated from medical school with the highest honors and even though she was the most skilled doctor among her peers, she chose to become a chest surgeon, causing another sensation. When Professor Choi Kang-guk tells her that he cannot accept her because they do not have separate sleeping quarters for female doctors, she rails again gender inequality and threatens to file a complaint to the human rights organization. With strong principles, she will declare a patient dead if they do not respond to resuscitation efforts after 30 minutes. When she diagnoses a patient as having cancer, she’ll immediately tell them they have cancer without any hesitation. Her mother is Park Joon-hee, a famous hanbok designer. Her actual father is the chairman of Hansung Textiles but since he was marred to another woman, her uncle adopted her. So in her family register, she is stated as being her mother’s niece. She has strict morals and will pass over burn victims to other doctors if they had affairs at hotels before it caught on fire.
Choi Kang-guk | actor Jo Jae-hyeon
He considers himself to be one of the best chest surgeons in the nation but laments the fact that hardly anyone applies to the chest surgery department while the few applicants they do receive are low-achievers. He is disturbed that his department is becoming stocked with doctors who graduated at the bottom of their class. In a conversation with his colleagues from the plastic surgery and ophthalmology department, his pride is bruised when he is chided for being picky about the applicants. They tell him he should actually be thankful that anyone would want to apply to the chest surgery department. After having this conversation, he deliberately rejects Lee Eun-seong, a young doctor who graduated from a small town medical school, and Nam Hye-seok, the most promising intern at the hospital who scored a perfect score on the KSAT. He will forge documents to lower the medical bills for patients who are poor and give tips on how to sneak out of the hospital without getting detected to patients who do not have any medical insurance. He is always busy with his work and medical research and thus, he hardly has any time to spend with his family. He is glad that his wife is not clamoring for a divorce.
Lee Dong-gwon | actor Lee Ji-hoon
While shooting a scene for a TV series on location at the hospital he develops an irregular heartbeat and receives an R.F surgical procedure from Nam Hye-seok. He learns that Nam Hye-seok was an old elementary school friend but he finds it awkward to be around her. He follows the doctor’s orders to rest and stays as long as he can at the hospital where he tries to rekindle his friendship with Nam Hye-seok and take it one step further. But his relationship with Nam Hye-seok hits the gossip columns and entertainment news.
Episode guide
Episode 1
Dr. Choi Kang-guk sends a heart patient to Seoul for heart surgery and resigns
himself to his experiments with animals where he perfects heart transplants
techniques by using live pigs. The new hospital director Park Jae-hyun tries
to
dissuade Hye-seok from joining the chest surgery department but Hye-seok is
determined to become a heart surgeon. While fishing at a pier, Dr. Choi gets
into a
fistfight with some rowdy, drunken men and suffers a gash on his forehead. He
is
taken to an emergency room where Eun-seong treats him.
When Dr. Choi sees the X-Ray results of one patient, he immediately recognizes
that
the patient is in serious danger and he swipes Eun-seong’s stethoscope to listen
to
the patient’s heartbeat. After administering a life-saving procedure on the
patient, Dr.
Choi reluctantly tells Eun-seong that the patient should be taken to Seoul for
major
surgery. Eun-seong finds out that Dr. Choi is one of the top heart surgeons
in
Korea. Eun-seong is surprised to hear that Dr. Choi’s emergency procedure saved
the patient’s life. Eun-seong’s resolve to become a heart surgeon is reinforced
through the chance meeting with Dr. Choi. Hospital director Park meets with
Dr. Choi
and offers him the head position of the chest surgery department.
Episode 2
After interviewing Eun-seong and Hye-seok, Dr. Choi decides not to choose either
one of them to join the chest surgery department. Eun-seong, Hye-seok and all
the
other doctors are surprised when they hear Dr. Choi’s decision. Hye-seok hounds
Dr. Choi, asking him to explain why he rejected her. Dr. Choi tells her that
she lacks
compassion towards patients and that that is her greatest weakness as a doctor.
Hye-seok feels dejected and cries. Eun-seong, who was following Hye-seok,
closes the door to the stairways where Hye-seok is crying to give her a private
moment.
Dr. Bae Dae-ro gets furious when he hears from Dr. Lee Seung-jae that Dr. Choi
decided not to hire any interns so he tells everyone that he has had enough
and will
quit. He takes two other interns with him. Dr. Choi finds something wrong with
a
patient named Kim Pil-joo. The hospital director barges into the operating room
where Dr. Choi is operating on a patient and sternly warns him to fix things
after the
interns abruptly left their stations to show their displeasure over Dr. Choi’s
decision
to reject two qualified intern candidates. Eun-seong demonstrates alone in front
of
the hospital to protest Dr. Choi’s decision while Hye-seok and her elite medical
school classmates demonstrate as a group.
Episode 3
After waiting for Hye-seok to make up her mind, Dr. Choi decides to leave with
Eun-
seong. Facing Dr. Kim Jung-gil, Hye-seok has a troubled expression on her face.
Hye-seok is overcome with mixed emotions when she hears from Dr. Kim Jung-gil
that it was the hospital director’s idea to have her join the John Hobkins Hospital
medical staff for two years. Then she remembers what Eun-seong told her and
gets
up to leave. Hye-seok goes to see Dr. Choi and asks him to give her another
chance. She promises to him that she’ll do her best as an intern at the chest
surgery department and Dr. Choi accepts her.
A curtain is newly installed in the sleeping quarters at the hospital for Hye-seok’s
sake. Seung-jae gives Eun-seong and Hye-seok used gowns to wear. Wearing
doctor gowns, Eun-seong and Hye-seok begin their career as 3rd-year interns.
Eun-seong tells Kim Pil-joo that he is glad that he survived to become his first
patient but Mr. Kim is not very happy....
Episode 4
Dr. Kim Tae-joon tells Dr. Choi that Eun-seong is not capable of handling his
duties
as an intern and requests that Eun-seong undergo a second review. When Kim
Young-hee takes a look at a CT scan of a gang member, she diagnoses the patient
as having arteriovenous fistula, which surprises Hye-seok. Eun-seong enters
an
operating room to watch an ongoing operation but Dr. Kim Tae-joon curtly orders
him
to leave because he’s not qualified as a doctor. Hye-seok is troubled that she
overlooked the patient’s condition when she was the first person who detected
it.
While shooting a scene for a TV drama, actor Dong-gwon collapses on the set
and
is taken to the hospital. He is happy to see Hye-seok when he opens his eyes.
Dr.
Choi and his fellow colleagues explain the procedure they will use to treat
Dong-
gwon and Dong-gwon blurts out that Hye-seok is his girlfriend to the surprise
of
everyone in the room. Dr. Choi Kang-guk decides to have Min Young-gyu and Kim
Jung-gil perform the operation while he will observe it.
Episode 5
Hye-seok is in a daze when she sees Dong-gwon surrounded by young fans. Eun-
seong offers coffee with milk to Hye-seok, telling her that it’s a perfect drink
to have
when you’re feeling depressed. As Min Young-gyu is about to begin the operation,
he is told that the patient’s liver is showing problems and he is ordered to
call off the
surgery. Dr. Choi tells Min Young-gyu that the patient’s life depends on his
decision
and then asks him if he can save the patient. Observing the heated exchange,
Eun-
seong and Hye-seok are touched by Dr. Choi’s passion to save a patient’s life.
Eun-seong asks Hye-seok to give a teddy bear wearing a basketball uniform to
Kim
Pil-joo on the day he will be discharged from the hospital. A friendly basketball
game between the interns of Gwanghee General Hospital and celebrities takes
place and Hye-seok finds it odd that Eun-seong is all smiles even though their
side
is losing. After finishing a photo shoot with actress Han Soo-jin at Hye-seok’s
mother’s hanbok shop, Dong-gwon decides to go to the intern admissions ceremony
where Eun-seong and Hye-seok will officially become interns.
Episode 6
Han Soo-jin slips out of the hospital to shoot a commercial but she collapse
on the
set. Dong-gwon, who was at the set with her, takes Han Soo-jin to the hospital.
After secretly mastering a new robot-assisted surgical procedure, Kim Tae-joon
asks Seol Lae-hyeon and Cho Min-ah over dinner for their support to become the
best medical team in the country. When Dr. Choi and the other doctors of the
chest
surgery department gather around to see a recent group photo of themselves in
the
alumni newsletter of Gwanghee University Medical School, Eun-seong feels left
out
and leaves the room. He comforts himself by shooting hoops in the empty gymnasium.
Eun-seong warmly hugs Soo-min on the day she will be discharged from the
hospital and gives her words of encouragement, which leaves a strong impression
on Hye-seok when she sees Eun-seong’s compassion. Hearing that Dr. Min Young-
gyu refused to operate on actress Han Soo-jin because her diseased area is very
large, Eun-seong suggests that Kim Tae-joon can perform the surgery by using
the
Da Vinci robot. Dr. Choi approves of using Da Vinci. After eating the mugwort
soup
that Eun-seong prepared for her, actress Han Soo-jin is touched and she decides
to proceed with the innovative surgery. Kim Tae-joon uses Da Vinci to successfully
cure Han Soo-jin.
Episode 7
When Dr. Choi leaves the room to tend to an emergency patient who needs surgery,
Song Ho-jae gets furious and grabs Eun-seong’s collar and begins to hit him
when
he is told to calm down. Dr. Kim Jung-gil visits Song Ho-jae and suggests that
instead of getting heart surgery, he could have a simple surgery at his internal
surgery department. Song Ho-jae promptly calls the hospital director. Song Ho-jae’s
personal aide gives Eun-seong an envelope full of money and when Hye-seok sees
this, she tries to return it. But Eun-seong accepts the money and donates it
to an
orphanage.
Dong-gwon sends a bouquet of flowers to Hye-seok but she decides to throws
it
out. Dr. Bae Dae-ro asks if he can have the bouquet, which he gives to one of
the
young interns called Mimi. Hye-seok heads to the OBY/GYN department when she
is told that a pregnant woman is hemorrhaging. Dr. Choi is also there and he
says
they need to revive the woman’s heart first. While Dr. Choi is operating on
the
patient, Eun-seong tells him that Song Ho-jae’s blood vessel collapsed. Dr.
Choi
operates on Song Ho-jae after having him moved to the chest surgery department.
Episode 8
Eun-seong carefully wraps bandages around Hye-seok’s blistered hands. Hye-
seok is thankful that Eun-seong did that for her. As they ride on a scooter
back to
Seoul, Hye-seok hugs Eun-seong tightly and leans her face on his back. Dr. Choi
bows deeply to Song Ho-jae and apologizes for putting his life at risk. Eun-seong
is
surprised that Dr. Choi would apologize to a patient over such a matter.
Knowing that Eun-seong came to give her a ride to work even though it is his
day
off, Hye-seok tries to thank him but can’t get the words out of her mouth. Suddenly
a
street sweeper collapses in the street right in front of them. Eun-seong and
Hye-
seok drink a cup of coffee inside a tent they erected next to the Han River.
Hye-seok
tells Eun-seong that she wanted to say thank you to him before the end of the
day.
Dr. Choi operates on a patient whom Kim Tae-joon rejected but then the patient’s
condition gets worse after the operation. When the hospital director hears about
this
he sternly warns Dr. Choi not to proceed with dangerous operations.
Episode 9
When the hospital director tells Dr. Choi not to operate on the janitor, he disobeys
him and heads to the operating room to save the man. So Dr. Lee Seung-jae follows
Dr. Choi and tries to dissuade him but to no avail. During an operation, Min Young-gyu
leaves the delicate valve procedure to Kim Tae-joon who has no choice but to follow
orders. Dr. Choi asks Eun-seong to have the janitor sign papers of consent for
open heart surgery and offers a special bonus if he gets it done. The janitor
finds the will to live.
While operating on the man, Dr. Choi finds it difficult to proceed so he takes
a break to use the bathroom. Eun-seong suggests that they take the man’s heart
out, operate on it, and then put it back in. Dr. Bae Dae-ro laughs in a mocking
tone. The hospital director directly calls the operating room, telling Dr. Choi
to cease the operation, but Dr. Choi proceeds with the surgery. When Dr. Choi
tells everyone that he’ll suture a vein from the patient’s leg onto to the heart,
everyone looks at Eun-seong in surprise. Dr. Lee Seung-jae and Hye-sook operate
on a rapist who suffered a knife wound and blood spurts on them. Eun-seong tells
them that he thinks the rapist has AIDS and everyone starts to worry.
Episode 10
After kissing Hye-seok on the lips, Eun-seong turns around and sees Dong-gwon
looking at him. Dong-gwon leaves after witnessing their kiss. Hye-seok tells
Eun-seong not to be bothered about Dong-gwon and holds him back but Eun-seong
catches up with Dong-gwon and tells him that what he saw wasn’t what he thinks
it is and then reveals that Hye-seok might have contracted AIDS. During an internal
conference, Kim Young-hee asks how Dr. Choi was able to successfully operate
on the janitor when Dr. Choi Chung-won failed. Dr. Choi answers that he was
able to pull it off thanks to the anesthesiologist.
The son of the janitor creates a big commotion at the hospital and demands that
Dr. Choi make his father speak again and compensate his dad’s lost wages. Dr.
Choi diagnoses an old lady who is brought to the hospital on a stretcher and
then tells Nurse Cho Bok-gil and the physicians to look after her. The old lady
begins to gasp for air and her blood pressure starts to fall. But Bok-gil quickly
spots the problem and brings her pulse back to normal. After seeing Hye-seok’s
hagg
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