Surgeon Bong Dal Hee (2007)

The first time I tried watching this I was really new to dramas. I didn’t know anyone in the cast and at that time I was in that “I only watch good looking actors” mentality. After watching one episode I dropped because I thought the main actor (Lee Bum Soo) was weird looking and the main actress was too plain. Its been a while since then and in that time I have become fond of Lee Bum Soo after watching Giant & Salaryman (must watches!) and decided I would watch his past dramas, giving this one a second go…

Story- Your typical medical drama. Every episode there are cases and different patients. Half way in I got tired of seeing every patient consultation and all the surgeries. They show all the surgeries for all the patients so it got to be too repetitive for me and therefore I fast-forwarded through those parts. What I enjoyed most is the interactions between the hospital staff and more of their personal story arcs. To me, that was worth watching it to the end. The main romance wasn’t the best because the main actress didn’t have any chemistry with LBS. She actually didn’t have any chemistry with the other main guy either. So the love triangle was a fail for me. The ending was nice.

Acting/Cast- I loved the main guys. They are actors I usually follow so I was happy to see them both. The main actress did a fantastic job in 49 Days but here she kind of held back I think in this one. It also didn’t help that her character annoyed me at times. I loved the other 3 residents. Their love triangle was fun to watch. The other supporting cast did a great job.

Music- I didn’t like the music at all and it really was distracting. A few songs fit, but most of the music was random and not needed.

Rewatch- the episodes fly by fast and it was never boring so it is rewatchable but it’s not something I need to see again.

Overall Surgeon Bong Dal Hee isn’t a drama that needs to be watched unless you’re a fan of anyone in the show but if you do end up watching , its not a bad drama to waste some hours.

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Not one I would re-watch, let's just put that out there. As far as the stories, not sure I was enamored with either relationship. I truly did not care whether the leads or seconds got together. Truthfully, I felt there was no way for the second couple to remain together but alas, this is a drama. What did we expect. As far as the ending, it was truly ambiguous so who knows what happens. I guess it's left up to our imagination. Again, I feel Lee Bum Soo's chemistry with his lead is always off. Except for History of a Salaryman and somewhat Giant, not feeling the relationship and it had nothing to do with his character.

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Two couples, one of them - I admit it - was brilliant, he 'Mr. Darcy' stiff and tetchy, she kinda Bridget Jones, clumsy with big heart. He's cold but truly in love with her, she's torn apart between two attractive doctors.
And the second couple - she's always crying, hoping for forgiveness and crying more. He's always thinking and drinking and obviously not forgiving - whole drama.
All the time the same treatment: injections, resuscitation, intubation, injections, resuscitation, intubation, injections... And ost is exactly like the treatment of the pacients, all the time the same music.
It's partly interesting and partly not.
Decide on your own if you're gonna watch it.

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Nice medical story, awkward romance

I love medical dramas. Throw in some romance, and you have the best of both worlds. I don’t think I’ve watched a medical drama where more people died. There are a lot of operating room scenes and a lot of drama and suspense to go with them. The basic storyline was good, but I’m not sure the scripting did it justice. Romantic relationships are challenging to sell on screen. Romance takes character dedication from beginning to end.

The acting was good for the most part. The characters were well developed but whether you’ll like the characters is subjective. Lee Yo Won did a good job portraying Dr. Bong Dal Hee, a quirky first-year resident. Lee Bum Soo (better known for his movies) also did a decent job portraying Dr. Ahn. He was rude, assertive, arrogant, overbearing, and rarely said anything in a normal voice. Was he scripted that way? The other characters, leading and supporting, were all well done.

There were three romantic relationships with side distractions going on throughout the entire drama. In addition, Dr. Bong and Dr. Kim had a short relationship, if you can call it that. She kissed him once on the cheek, and they had a couple of hugs, but they officially broke up, which felt as strange as their short dating venture. Their relationship seemed to be there only for D. Ahn to watch from the shadows.

The relationship between Dr. Park and Dr. Jo was cute and fit well into one of the side stories of the drama. They were both first-year residents and friends of Dr. Bong.

The secondary couple, Dr. Kim and Dr. Oh overcame a disastrous divorce to find love again. Again, it felt natural, and I could feel the chemistry between the two. Their romantic relationship, on-screen chemistry, and emotional bonding were nice to watch.

The main couple, Dr. Bong and Dr. Ahn, is where it all fell short. Dr. Ahn had very little romantic chemistry. His approach to Dr. Bong was awkward, strange, and frankly creepy at times. Whether it was the character or the actor, I’m not sure. He was so aggressive and robotic, and I couldn’t see him in a romantic setting. Trying to match him with Dr. Bong was a far stretch and came across as awkward. The romance between the two was jammed into the last two episodes. Their idea of romance was to stand on the roof and smile at each other. She was only marginally better in the romance department, but at least she was believable. The story didn’t support their romance. Dr. Ahn lurked in the shadows and watched Dr. Bong interact with another man. Was that supposed to be romantic interest? In their first kiss, Dr. Bong didn’t move a muscle as he kissed her. Is that supposed to be on-screen chemistry? Since this was the main couple, it pulled the quality of the drama down.

As I’ve said, I love medical dramas, so I enjoyed the medical stories. However, I like to see romance unfold, and I was disappointed in that part of this drama.

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I think this drama was great. My first time watching this was on Arirang. K drama was not that popular yet but this drama caught my attention. I even rewatch rerun after few years. I learned a lot of medical knowledge, though if we compare it with any 2020 drama, the overall style of SBDL is a little behind with the camera quality, background sound, editing, captions, but still I've watched this drama the third time now and it's not bad. I particularly like how they tackle moral dilemma. One bag of blood is left. Would you save the kid (victim) first or the perpetrator who arrives first? It makes me think. Being a doctor is really not easy and this drama helped me understund how doctors spend their day.
P.S. I think Emergency Couple writer copied a few of the show's plot, a lot of scenes overlaps.

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Luta pela Vida e Carreira no Bloco Cirúrgico

Surgeon Bong Dal Hee é um drama médico que segue a vida de Bong Dal-hee, uma jovem residente cirúrgica que sonha em se tornar uma excelente cirurgiã, apesar de sua condição cardíaca, que ameaça sua carreira e vida. O dorama oferece uma visão intensa do dia a dia em um hospital, com foco não apenas nos desafios médicos, mas também nos dilemas pessoais e emocionais enfrentados por Dal-hee e seus colegas médicos. O drama equilibra habilmente casos médicos com os desenvolvimentos dos personagens e seus relacionamentos.

Com uma narrativa envolvente e casos médicos que mantêm o ritmo tenso, Surgeon Bong Dal Hee se destaca entre os dramas médicos por seu foco em personagens fortes e resilientes. Bong Dal-hee é uma protagonista inspiradora, cuja determinação em superar seus próprios limites toca o coração dos espectadores. A série também destaca as pressões e sacrifícios que vêm com a vida no mundo da medicina.

Para aqueles que adoram dramas médicos com personagens profundos e uma trama emocionalmente carregada, Surgeon Bong Dal Hee é uma escolha imperdível.

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I remember that the first time I watched this drama a few years ago, when I was also new to kdrama, I thought it was way too long so I skipped many parts just looking for the romance bits. Therefore, I decided to rewatched it again last week, this time properly.

Story - I think the concept is quite interesting, the struggles of a young doctor in possibly the most demanding period of her life. However, one thing I didn’t like much, in the beginning Bong Dal Hee is the newest there and of course the most inefficient but, because it fits the plot, she quickly finds herself undertaking procedures and surgeries none of the other interns who have been there for months before her had yet the opportunity to perform. Later on, because of her plead and special place in Ahn Jong Geun’s heart, she even gets to participate in most if not all of his surgeries. Even when she runs away from the hospital without further notice (for the second time!) Ahn Jong Geun is still saving her spot and not letting any other intern join him in the operation room. As a result, after a few months she’s shown as an innate doctor while the skills of the other interns don’t seem to have developed much.
Personality-wise, I think Bong Dal Hee is actually difficult to deal with. She’s generally portrayed as humble and agreeable even when being wronged by other doctors, but she never showed much consideration towards others and would quickly withdraw into her own world when things didn’t go well. I didn’t like her personality in the epilogue either, like a know it all.
The side story with the other couple already begun with a big issue into which we increasingly get more information on throughout the drama. Communication between the couple is scarce and inefficient, so the issue is dragged and only solved practically at the end of the drama. I’m even okay with that, but I ended up disliking the wife doctor who was made too proud, unreasonable and selfish of a person. I mean, this person who loved her husband so much and was raising a child with him couldn’t get over her pride to ask him for forgiveness? Couldn’t reveal the name of the biological father and felt betrayed when he asked?... she embarrassed him in front of his uncle and the whole hospital and the man had to literally be about to die for her to just get out of her pedestal and open up to him. I felt no empathy towards her at all.
It’s no wonder the ex-husband felt drawn to Bong Dal Hee. Inadvertently, she was the only one there for him.
Even Ahn Jong Geun would always hear the female doctor out and not say a word, but kept on pressuring the other doctor to sort things out as if everything were his fault.
The background story of the Ahn Jong Geun was also good.
Many details here and there were left unclear, at least to me (e.g. why exactly was he abandoned after all?) and I thought many scenes could have been better explored (quality over quantity), but overall I still feel the story was okay.

Cast - I’ve read some reviews of people complaining about how old the male lead looks and the age gap between the couple. I actually think they look as what they ought to look - she in her late twenties and he in his late thirties, possibly early forties. I know the drama itself claims Ahn Jong Geun to be like 32 years-old (the other male lead 35 yo) but I find that unacceptable. At least in my country medical school takes many years to finish, they’re too young to be as experienced as they’re and be considered top surgeons in Korea’s biggest hospital. That’s what the story claims, but yeah.
I also think that the drama could have its name changed to Surgeon Ahn Jong Geun, because the man simply stole every single scene he was in (the drama would probably be more interesting from his POV as well. Oops). Even though his lines were usually short, sweet and, at times, sufficiently awkward, the short man with big eyes and small glasses had great charisma and facial expressions. Definitely no lack of emotion there.
The biggest flop in the cast is really the main character... appearance-wise she looks okay. She’s not exactly gorgeous, but it’s not because of her stunning beauty that she finds herself in a love triangle anyway. Even her very unathletic way of running (sorry) could be due to the fact that she could never exercise much even as a child. However, her poker face at most times doesn’t fit the character and doesn’t make her look any smarter. As other people also mentioned, there’s no chemistry between the leads and I think it’s her fault. You don’t really feel she loves him anymore than she did before, or more than she did the other doctor. She’s just there. I can even understand what they were going for - a lot of emotion expressed with very few words - but the matter of fact is that it doesn’t seem to work with this actress, her face isn’t very expressive.
Jeez, also can’t forget how awkward that last peck was... what would otherwise be a warm scene. But that I think it’s the director’s fault.

Music - nothing worth of mentioning.

Rewatch Value - I actually think it’s worth rewatching, if not only for the medical stuff and Surgeon Ahn Jong Geun. The case of the boy with cancer was particularly sad, so I will probably skip that one next time.

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