Healer (2014)

The “ Healing” Approach To A Drama...

Healer revolves around Jeong- Hu ( Ji Chang- Wook), a courier who goes under the mysterious alias “ Healer”. Carrying out numerous errands for his clients with the help of “ Hacker Ahjumma” ( Kim Mi Kyung), Jeong- Hu is determined to be able to put together enough money to leave Korea and spend the rest of his days in luxury on his own island, away from the problems of civilisation. His dreams to leave the country seem to be put on hold, however, when he attracts famous news anchor Kim Moon Ho ( Yoo Ji Tae) to use his services in order to protect aspiring journalist Chae Young Shin ( Park Min Young). Going undercover as an unnoticeable intern, Jeong- Hu finds himself torn between his mission and his personal feelings when he realises a connection between Young Shin and what happened to his biological parents nearly twenty years ago.

It can’t be denied that the Healer takes on so many action tropes it’s untrue . From Bourne Identity violence to the Clark Kent setup seen later in the drama as well as some downright strange plot moments, Healer may seem a waste of time, however, what the show certainly doesn’t lose out upon is a well- written plot , a developed male lead and female characters who felt flawed and most importantly human. This is undeniably all thanks to Chang Wook’s portrayal of Jeong- Hu’s contrasting personas throughout the show ; a fairly mind blowing moment of acting in regards to watching Chang Wook going from a stuttering intern to a confident and brazen fighter several minutes into a scene, away from the preying eyes of Young Shin. As a character, I’ll be honest in saying that there was a lot more which could have been fleshed- out with Jeong Hu, not least dropping a gradual build - up to his past from almost episode one rather than rushing this crucial storyline in a matter of a few episodes instead. On the other hand, one of the most impressive features of Jeong- Hu was undeniably crossing the “ moral grey hero” threshold for drama leads; typically sugarcoated by writers to be the heroic moral citizen, rather than beating up corrupt figures( even after they have begged for mercy) , going against the police ( let’s not forget even breaking into a police headquarters as well) numerous times and the shocking scene in the
last episode as well. This really helped to solidify Jeong- Hu as not merely a plot device, but flawed and more importantly, an individual who makes mistakes and possesses a conscience.

Of course, Park Min Young easily matches Chang Wook within her portrayal of Young Shin. Min Young plays the role with a level of comical brilliance as well as heartache, something not entirely to any Korean drama, but certainly refreshing within her character’s mould. In regards to Young Shin as a character, it’s easy to say that Young Shin is the perfect archetype of the “ fleshed- out” female lead, quick to speak her mind and having grown up in an environment of ex- convicts, more than “street- smart ‘’ especially as she grows to becoming accustomed to Jeong- Hu. Whilst the show undeniably relies upon the classical tropes of Korean dramas within the traumas and romantic setups between Shin and Jeong Hu, the one thing which I must give the show credit for with Young Shin, is that she isn’t overly blinded by love to deny her individuality and sense of duty as a journalist, something which I’d certainly hope Korean dramas will do more within portrayals of female characters in more recent portrayals of women in similar shows with strong female leads, such as Hotel Del Luna and Its Okay, Not To Ne Okay.

Last but not least, it cannot be forgotten the comical brilliance of Mi Kyung as “ Ajumma” within her talks to Jeong Hu and her surprisingly touching moments when we begin to learn more about her past as well. On that side note, the one character who you actually grow to adore a lot more than you originally intended to do so, was undeniably Moon Ho. Ji Tae was brilliant in his portrayal as a seemingly minor and somewhat creepy news anchor; one of Young Shin’s crushes ( besides Healer) and who shares an intriguing link to the pasts of Jeong Hu and Young Shin.

It came to my fears at first when Moon Ho was introduced properly in the series when he began working with Young Shin, that the scriptwriters would write him off as either a second Male lead or destroy his characterisation in seconds flat , but, his surprising redemption within his fraternal relationship with Jeong Hu, added to some brilliantly light- hearted and touching moments in the show, something which I valued a lot within bringing out the other characters’ humanity as we saw vulnerable moments between the leftover members of the original gang as well as Jeong- Hu. Overall, the show is trapped in cliches which aren’t entirely new to Korean dramas , but, it easily surpasses these faults through strong characterisation and moments as well to add The extent of the individual humanity to these characters.

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I loved this drama from the very first episode and each episode continued to get better and better as it went on. One of the best dramas of the end of 2014-early 2015 - It will stay in my heart for a long long time <3 I highly recommend everyone to watch this - unless you have a different perspective on dramas then I do lol - I just wish the end was a little longer b/c I feel as if I missed some things or they didn't explain everything I wanted to be explained/revealed...the ending was a tad rushed but still really good.

The entire cast was daebak! We've got Healer/Bong Soo/Jeong Hoo who works as a night currier who takes on any job that pays well as long as it's not killing someone - a man who is tender, and can fight for his woman now that's what I'd call a HERO <3 This song by Bonnie Tyler fit's JCW's character to a T & PYM's need for him {*Where have all the good men gone..where's the street-wise hercules to fight the rising odds. Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?...I need a hero! I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night. He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight. I need a hero!...Someone just beyond my reach is someone reaching back for me...It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet! I need a hero!...I swear there is someone somewhere watching me...I can feel his approach...I need a hero!*} Chae Yeong Shin is one of my favorite female leads in dramaland so far! I loved her attitude and personality - it was awesome! She was strong, brave, funny & down to earth - The best character that Park Min Young has played so far! She was a small time reporter who had big dreams & when she meets Healer her life takes a path she never expected^^ ~It's a beautiful feeling~ <3 Kim Moon Ho a big time honest reporter and my second favorite male character on this drama <3 I'll be "stalking" him from now on^^ He is someone who really is at odds with his older brother & is determined to bring the truth to light. and then there is the ever so precious Ahjuma <3 I loved her to pieces! She was so frumpy, grumpy, silly and professional all at the same time - she's a character I won't ever forget <3 I even loved it when she'd occasionally throw a small temper fit in her room keke^^ & her random singing was goofy :P Everyone else did great in the roles they portrayed too ;) Myung Hee, Moon Sik & Yeong Jae 'Teacher' (I'd laugh whenever he'd smile while dissing someone) & Chae Yeong Shin's dad & the ahjussi that worked at the café were hilarious! :P

Music/OST: PERFECT - I was SO SO SO happy when I heard Michael Learns to Rock (MLTR) as the OST!!! I absolutely adore their music <3 Favorite song by them of course is 'Eternal Love' <3 Then the song by Ben 'You' & Ji Chang Wook's song 'I Will Protect You' <3 <those were my top 3 favorites but I also enjoyed Tei's song 'What My Eyes Say' - The OST is just so good on this drama!

Re-watch Value: No joke, I will be re-watching this drama VERY soon! ~oh my love, I'm all yours~ <3

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one of the best korean drama i've ever watch...i dont know why the rating wasn't that high in korea...i do stop after 4 series, but when i start to watch again, i just cant stop anymore!

the plot was perfect, action and comedy combine from the 1st until the end...some other dramas tend to loose their comedy side halfway but this...i can stilll laugh even when things suppose to be serious. i hesitate to watch it at first because theres 20 series, 1 hour each, Oh My God....but...at the end i feel like why theres ONLY 20? i think the ending a little bit to rush but the storyline still strong and smooth though. they capture all the conflict (politics, dirty money, etc) really really well, i can feel the reality in it.

cast : all of them have a strong presence...my favorite is ahjumma of course, the rest still great. i really love ji chang wook who jumping around at night...even the supporting cast made a strong impression for the drama.

music : i dont usually give credits to music, yah because korean is like an alien words for me but...this drama made a very wise decision when they use Michael Learn To Rock "eternal love" as one of their soundtrack, because me, as a stranger to korean words, i can read English and i can feel the drama more when i understand the words in the song. this kind of dramas is worth watch worldwide, and one of their strong point is the soundtrack. and, the most important thing is they put the right song in the right scene.

i will watch this again at some point....but considering theres 20 series to watch...maybe later.

i hope this will encourage you all to watch this gem.

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Healer is really an unexpectedly amazing drama, because I really didn't expect it to be as nice as I imagined it to be initially! It's a drama that don't draws your attention just by watching first or second episode, but you will get hooked eventually as you continue watching.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DRAMA: HOLY MOLY CAN I JUST SPAZZ ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACKS FIRST?! The OSTs are super duper perfect - they just fit into those scenes whenever they are played! I got myself grooving along the songs especially Eternal Love. And I have got to say this song really has got the power that makes me feel like crying whenever it is played. (":
Okay, moving on, yes the casts. Even those villains are really great because they make us hate them so much especially that annoying Secretary Oh HAHAHA! And I'd really want to compliment Ji Chang Wook for his acting skills! I admit that it is really my first time watching his drama and one word - DAEBAK! His facial expressions really tells it all how he feels - especially the scene when he wanted to cry but had to hold it in. )': The actress played as Choi Myung Hee is another one I would like to praise. She just somehow attracts my attention because of how she could actually portray the character very well, making me want to love her yet pity her at the same time! Hope to see her in future dramas! (:
And yup, the story plot is what that makes this drama receiving so many likes! EVERY SINGLE EPISODE IS JUST FULL OF EXCITEMENT, TENSION... YEAH JUST 20 STRONG AMAZING EPISODES. Really expected a few episodes to be draggy like some dramas, but it really didn't happen.
WHAT I DISLIKE ABOUT THE DRAMA: Hmmm... I would have to say that the ending was really a rushed one though. They didn't show what happen to Ahjumma and MyungHee and other small characters which was slightly disappointing.
Overall, really worth watching drama. And please don't compare with City Hunter because it is definitely and way different! Honestly, this drama attracts my attention more than watching City Hunter. OKAY I AM HAVING WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS NOW ):

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I think most of the readers here must have known that this drama gained positive reviews from most viewers. But here I would like to give my opinion again about this drama. great plot from the beginning that hooked me even from the earlier episodes, great acting by the actors and actresses, great OST (especially michael learns to rock, OMG they are the one behind the great OST 'eternal love'), no cliches, no typical korean drama scenes, no typical k-drama characters, no typical k-drama dialogues, no typical love triangle that might ruin a drama, smart character and plot development, great chemistry from all the characters, unique characters, and great ending. this drama never disappoints me. eventhough there might be flaws, I didn't pay attention to them at all because they were not visible to me as the good sides of the drama have covered them. great drama. ji chang wook, he's my no.1 crush now! ^^ don't hesitate to watch this drama. once you are hooked by it, there's no way to end.

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This is the only drama so far that got 10 points from me in every aspect.

Oh boy, it was SO.FREAKING.GOOD.

The story was good. It had deeper aspects and good development.
The background story was emotional and dramatic and had thriller aspects going.
The characters were all very individual and somewhat outside of the box, which was great.
Even the supporting roles were diamonds by themselves.
The cast was outstanding. It was like they really, really, really WERE these characters, it fitted them
perfectly.
The love story was exactly the right amount of, well, love story.
The music was amazing, too.

I do not have a single critical aspect on this show, and that has never happened before or after.

It is entertaining, thrilling, romantic, funny, has action and is believable.

You are simply insane if you miss on this.

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This show was anticlimactic for me. And it was surprising and disappointing because I had a vague idea of how passionate people were about it.

To start things off, while there is a resemblance to City Hunter in the beginning the two shows are not similar. Healer is not a revenge drama. I don't consider it thriller and I struggle to call it action for reasons I will get into later. If I have to choose a genre other than drama, it felt like a Mystery-Comedy-Romance-Drama.

I found the story and plot to be pretty strong. There were no glaring plot holes that I remember and situations were handled realistically (I'm not including the tech and action scenes in this). Unfortunately, that realism might have been one of the issue. Every plot point closed without a huge climax. I want to my heart rate to speed up. I want to feel real anxiety for these characters. I want a sense of catharsis when situations are cleared up. But I never got that. Healer only managed to wring emotion from me twice and both were in the form of tears. The action scenes suffered from a similar problem. They were too sanitized. Too clean. Again, even if I know things will likely be all right for our hero, I want to worry. A show that can't do that doesn't work for me. The last big issue was the lack of comeuppance for some characters. For me, this also fit into the shows realism, but it really sucked to watch as a viewer. It all sort just ended. That's it. Move along.

As for what I did like, the characters were well written and well acted. There was never angst for the sake of angst, something I especially appreciated when it came to the romance. I thought the flashbacks fit nicely. And I enjoyed the general tone. It was funny too. Though often in a quiet way.

I want to give a special shout out to Ji Chang Wook as 'Healer'/Bong Soo/Jung Hoo who was my favorite part of the show. He did a great job switching between characters and I'll be looking out for him while hoping he works on his dramatic scenes. Park Min Young as Yoeng Shin never bothered me, but she's obviously improved a lot since City Hunter and Sungkyunkwan Scandal and it's nice to see. Kim Mi Kyung as Min Ja/Ajumma was also a pleasure to watch and my second favorite. The casting for present and past Yeong Jae and Moon Shik were also great.

I think the overarching themes in this drama are shown in these two lines:

But those people are like zombies. So we have to fight. If we just stay put, we might get bitten and turned into zombies too. - Yoeng Shin to Moon Shik

Media exist to diagnose the pain of this society and cure it. - Moon Shik reading the concept or mission behind Healer magazine

The power of the media and living life honestly and to the fullest. For everything Healer was and wasn't, it did consistently stay true to these messages. And while it didn't completely work for me, it clearly did for others. It's your choice.

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The problem with me was I had too much expectation that it didn't met but if you ask about the cast well its a different story.

If I were to describe the whole story, its just enough to fill the empty cup not daebbak neither bad but its more than fair...XD out of dramas I've seen its definitely in my top 15 I guess. Yup its watchable but it didn't make me addictive and super excited over it. My meter feels over this drama is straight and sometimes it goes up and down, when it comes to my meter of fangirling well it's overflowing because of JCW!! he literally heals me! :) kekkeke. What I love about this drama is the romance, its one of the best and the asset of this drama! I really really, do liked it!! Believe me you'll enjoy the romance as much as i do!! Add as well the chemistry between the main leads and of course..... asdfghjkkl!!! JI CHANG WOOK >_< *flips universe*
ummmm while watching it it somewhat gives me the city hunter feels.

I'll definitely re-watched the romance part and the cute, awesome scenes of JCW! XD kekke
ost is good!
acting skills? no doubt! impressive!! thumbs up!
I'll recommend if you're into JCW in short hot guys. lol.


well we do have a different taste and I'm one of the few people who is not in the group of fans club that thinks its a masterpiece and thinks its the best drama of all time and yes I'm against all the odds....XD lol. but don't get me wrong I LIKE THIS DRAMA AND I DO APPRECIATE IT!! :)

planning to watch this drama? GO AHEAD! it's not a waste of time this drama will make you smile, laugh and all giddy... ;) if by chance you finished it I wanna know which side are you :) kekekek

advice? If you were to watch a drama don't set a standard :))^^v

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There's already been many reviews for this drama, but I still need to tell myself how awesome it was.

The story is unusual and the main cast acting is beyond awesome. Honestly, while I watch a drama, I always had some trouble with the acting of one actor or how dumb he is. But this time, I haven't felt like that at all! The main actresses (Park Min Yong) is not dumb and is strong (finally a drama with a strong female lead ah ah!) and the main actor (Ji Chang Wook aka Healer) had become one of my favorite Korean actors because of how talented he was on Healer.

I really liked this drama because it kills out some (if it's not all) of the main cliche in Drama (especially Korean ones). There is not "Triangle Love", the main couple actually COMMUNICATE with each other so there is no misunderstanding (and we all know how frustrating it is in drama when they're not) and finally there is "kiss scene" (a lot of good ones).

As for the music, it is one of the best OST of 2014-2015. Always on point with the scene, some of them have a lot of feels and some of them are perfect for the action.

Don't hesitate to watch it! If you search for something refreshing with action, romance, comedy and thrill feels you got one of the best K-Drama I've seen.

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I am new to K dramas and my previous 3 dramas got me entertained enough to continue looking for more. My first K drama was DotS, then followed by Signal. It was hard seeking for my next drama after the spectacular masterpiece Signal ended. I settled for Healer, opting for something with a better balance of both romance and action. Needless to say, Healer has big shoes to fill after I've rated my previous watch, Signal a perfect 10.

Healer is the pseudo of a mysterious individual (Ji Chang Wook) who provide his services for everything from espionage, surveillance to cyber hacking to the highest bidder. The only exception being contract killings. Healer lived his life in solitary in the dark. Having been abandoned by his mother and mentor, he led a lonely meaningless existence motivated solely by financial gains, until he took on a surveillance assignment to get close to a reporter. (Park Min Young) Healer assumed a different identity as a bumbling co-worker to get close to Park. Against himself, Healer started to develop feelings for Park and things get complicated when he realized Park's childhood past is intricately linked to his own. Healer then seeks answers to his own past while deliberating if he should be open about his feelings and true identity to Park.

Do I like Healer?

Yes, absolutely.

Not in a way I rate the solidly scripted thriller, Signal though. I love Healer because of its vibes. Not many dramas can put a smile on my face and give me butterflies in my stomach whenever the 2 leads interact. The chemistry between Park Min Young and Ji Chang Wook are amazing.

The action/fight sequences are welll done by JCW and I really appreciate how the script writers reward their viewers rooting for the romance between the leads to be adequately compensated. Nothing is more frustrating than romantic dramas that do not wholly quench the thirst of their viewers after waiting for the leads to overcome their barriers. None of that in Healer. I guarantee viewers won't feel shortchanged after the long wait in anticipation when those 2 leads would acknowledge their love for one another.

I truly enjoy Healer and I am now a fan of Ji Chang Wook.

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Why are you reading this? Go watch this drama!

Story (10.0): An amazing storyline! Didn't have me hooked from the get go, but it did soon enough. I have a problem where I can love a drama and still lose interest in continuing, or I see some negative comment on the next episode and I'm like meh I'll watch this later, let's go find a new drama. Or I even have to read recaps to get through a drama... Healer was nothing like that. Seriously. There was one point when secrets are being revealed that I saw a comment on the next episode saying how distrusting Ji Ahn was of her friends... Let me tell you, that almost had me wait for a whole minute to watch the next episode! But in the end I completely disagreed with the negative comment anyway. What I love about Ji Ahn was that she trusted her friends even when things didn't look good and evidence pointed the wrong way. She had her weaknesses but she was also a strong female character. And Jung Hoo can DEFINITELY hold his own. Plenty of squeal worthy fighting and pseudo-parkour to please anyone. Sometimes when I watch dramas even if I enjoy some melodrama, there is a point where miscommunication and the like can get extremely annoying and cause me to drop the drama. There were one or two points where I felt something coming in this storyline along those lines, but I was surprised both times by the resolutions that just made me love the characters more. If anyone has any qualms about the 20 episodes vs. 16, there was not even a single sign of dragging to make this drama the full 20 episodes. In fact, at the end I was hoping for a little more time to cool off and see the characters in their finally peaceful lives!

Acting/Cast (10.0): I loved all the characters in this drama and they were all played by very good actors/actresses! If I have any complaint here, it's that I couldn't stop seeing the nervous Emperor Huizong whenever Ji Chang Wook was playing Park Bong Soo... I even half expected the dramatic deathly hand drop at one scene where Oh Ji Ahn is holding his head in her lap... :D Of course this doesn't detract at all because Ji Chang Wook is such a good actor anyway. Even the children actors were amazing and small boy Jung Hoo had me crying when he was eating that potato... Ahh, the feels. The best part was that Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young are really good together as a couple; definitely not the best, I have at least two other couples that surpassed this one, but it is probably a top 5, maybe 3, of my favorite drama couples. (Even if my mind keeps throwing Empress Ki in the mix).

Music (8.5): Pretty good music, but it took me a few episodes to really feel it... Don't get me wrong, the music fits with the drama, but it didn't quite resonate with me from the start. However, the lyrics to that one ending song are really good even if I didn't originally appreciate the style of the song. Rewatch Value (10.0): I don't rewatch many things unless I really really really enjoy them, and this is definitely a drama I could see myself rewatching very soon! In fact I may just force some family members to sit down and watch it with me....

Overall (10.0): My first 10.0. Yes, no drama is completely perfect, but I was logically able to reason away any flaws I saw and I really wanted to give my first real 10 to a drama, so yeah I rounded this up. And if you think I'm being hesitant, Healer definitely earned every single one of these stars. There are some dramas I've rated slightly lower which I might be more inclined to rewatch because they personally resonated more with me even though I was able to find more flaws, but this is currently in my top 3 dramas, if not inhabiting first place.

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