Dr. Romantic (Korean: 낭만닥터 김사부; RR: Nangmandakteo Gimsabu; lit. Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim) is a 2016 South Korean television drama starring Han Suk-kyu as the title character with Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin. It aired on SBS every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) for 20 episodes from November 7, 2016 to January 16, 2017.
The series was a commercial hit and recorded over 20% in ratings. It received positive reviews for its plot and Han Suk-kyu’s performance.
The second season of the drama aired on SBS from January 6, 2020 to February 25, 2020.
Synopsis
A story about Boo Yong-joo (Han Suk-kyu), a triple-board certified surgeon, who was once at the top of his field and used to work at Seoul’s top medical center, Geosan University Hospital. After a traumatic incident, he disappears and changes his name to Kim Sa-bu. He begins working at a small hospital named Doldam, located in Gangwon Province. He guides Kang Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Yoon Seo-jeong (Seo Hyun-jin) to become great doctors by teaching them to fight against power and money for the sake of patients.
Cast
Main
- Han Suk-kyu as Kim Sa-bu (Teacher Kim) / Boo Yong-joo
- His real name is Boo Yong-joo, but he uses the name Kim Sa-bu. He is the only surgeon in South Korea who achieved triple-board certified in general surgery, cardiac surgery and neurosurgery. After the death of his junior in Geosan University Hospital, he isolates himself and moves to Doldam Hospital to become the Chief Surgeon there.
- Yoo Yeon-seok as Kang Dong-joo
- Yoon Chan-young as young Kang Dong-joo
- Intelligent and armed with excellent skills, he has strong desire to succeed, but is held back due to his poor family background. He gets transferred to Doldam Hospital after a failed surgery on a VIP, which was an opportunity for him to prove his skills.
- Seo Hyun-jin as Yoon Seo-jung
- Shin Yi-joon as young Yoon Seo-jung
- She has a strong desire to be recognized more than anyone. She gets swayed by Dong-joo’s romantic confession and feels guilty after the death of her boyfriend. After the accident, she disappears from Geosan University Hospital and is rescued by Kim Sa-bu after injuring herself. She then becomes a doctor at Doldam Hospital.
Supporting
People of Doldam Hospital
- Kim Hong-pa as Yeo Woon-young
- An Internal Medicine specialist and director of Doldam Hospital. A proud doctor but lost his motivation after the death of his wife.
- Jin Kyung as Oh Myung-sim
- Head nurse. A woman with strong sense of being able to stand still against Kim Sa-bu.
- Im Won-hee as Jang Gi-tae
- Manager of Doldam Hospital.
- Byun Woo-min as Nam Do-il
- A freelance anesthesiologist and owner of a restaurant.
- Kim Min-jae as Park Eun-tak
- A nurse at Doldam Hospital. He harbors a crush on Yeon-hwa.
- Seo Eun-soo as Woo Yeon-hwa
- A staff member who likes Dong-joo. Later, she comes back as a doctor at Doldam Hospital.
People of Geosan University Hospital
- Choi Jin-ho as Do Yoon-wan
- Director of Geosan University Hospital.
- Yang Se-jong as Do In-bum
- Yoon-wan’s son. He went to the same college and was in the same class as Dong-joo. He wants to be acknowledged by his father and feels inferior to Dong-joo who has excellent skills without a good background. He also harbours a crush on Seo-jung.
- Jang Hyuk-jin as Song Hyun-cheol
- Chief of Surgery at Geosan University Hospital. He is from a poor family and has a strong desire for success.
- Joo Hyun as Chairman Shin
- Owner of Jungsun Casino and the hidden Chairman of Geosan Foundation.
- Yoon Na-moo as Jeong In-soo
Others
- Kim Jeong-yeong as Dong-joo’s mom
- Seo Young as Chairman Shin’s assistant
- Kim Ji-eun as Yoon-wan’s secretary
- Kim Bo-jung as a nurse
- Lee Kyu-ho as Mr. Goo
- Lee Chae-eun as a nurse
- Jin Ah-rin
- Lee Yong-ee as a mother of a patient (Ep. 3)
- Ri Min as a truck driver (Ep. 4)
- Lee Jin-kwon
- Ko Jin-ho
- Lee Cheol-min as Kang Seung-ho (Ep. 7-8)
- Lee Myung-haeng as a psychotherapist (Ep. 8-9)
- Shin Seung-hwan as a webtoon writer and patient at Doldam hospital (Ep. 9-10)
- Park Seung-tae as a patient (Ep. 10)
- Kim Joon-won as Inspector Choi
- Kim Dan-woo as Inspector Choi’s daughter
- Shin Yeon-suk
- Lee Kang-uk as a patient and driver who caused a six-fold collision by drunk driving
- Lee Jae-wook
- Heo Joon-seok
- Kang Eui-sik as Park Joo-hyuk, the runaway soldier
- Han Kab-soo as Park Joo-hyuk’s father
- Son Yeong-Soon as a patient’s wife
- Park Yeong-soo as the general manager of the Disease Control Center Department
- Park Doo-shik as Soo-jung’s boyfriend (Ep. 13-14)
- Lee Jin-kwon as Supporting
- Jo I-hyun as a patient
- Jeon Min-seo
- Jung Soo-hwan as a high school student
- Kim Se-joon as a paramedic transferring patients to Doldam Hospital
- Kim Min-sang as Reporter Oh Sung-jae (Ep. 16-17)
- Lee Jae-woo as Ahn woo-yeol (Ep. 16-17)
- Kim Ji-eun as President Do Yoon-wan’s secretary
- Lee Jung-sung
Special appearances
- Tae In-ho as Dr. Moon Tae-hwa, Yoon Seo-jung’s boyfriend. He died due to brain hemorrhage after a car accident. (Ep. 1, ep. 2)
- Moon Ji-in as a doctor and Yoon Seo-jung’s friend (Ep. 1)
- Hwang Chan-sung as Young Gyun (Ep. 8,11-12)
- Kim Hye-eun as Shin Hyun-jung (Ep. 14-18)
- Kim Hye-soo as Dr. Lee Young-jo (Ep. 20-21 (prequel))
Production
First script reading took place September 13, 2016 at SBS Ilsan Production Studios in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Filming started on September 23.
Original soundtrack
| Dr. Romantic OST Album | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
|
|
| Released | 2016 |
| Studio | CJ E&M Music Studios |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | Korean, English |
| Label | CJ E&M Music Samhwa Networks |
| Producer | Jun Chang-yeob |
Part 1
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Because It’s you” (그대라서) | Lee Hyun | 4:28 |
| 2. | “Because It’s you” (Inst.) | 4:28 | |
| Total length: | 8:24 | ||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Forever Love” | Haebin (Gugudan) | 3:34 |
| 2. | “Forever Love” (Inst.) | 3:34 | |
| Total length: | 7:36 | ||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “In Place” (제자리) | Young Man | 3:16 |
| 2. | “In Place” (Inst.) | 3:16 | |
| Total length: | 6:22 | ||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Walking,Walking (New ver.)” (걷고, 걷고 (New Ver.)) | Jeon In-kwon | 5:12 |
| 2. | “Walking,Walking (New ver.)” (Inst.) | 5:12 | |
| Total length: | 10:24 | ||
Part 5
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Today was better than yesterday” (오늘은 어제보다 괜찮았지) | Lee Seok-hoon | 4:28 |
| 2. | “Today was better than yesterday” (Inst.) | 4:28 | |
| Total length: | 8:46 | ||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Mellow (Drama ver.)” | Daybreak | 3:34 |
| 2. | “Mellow (Drama ver.)” (Inst.) | 3:34 | |
| Total length: | 7:38 | ||
Part 7
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Always Okay” (언제나 괜찮아) | Shin Yong-jae (4Men) | 4:10 |
| 2. | “Always Okay” (Inst.) | 4:10 | |
| Total length: | 8:20 | ||
| No. | Title | Artists | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Romantic Doctor” (Opening Title) | Various Artists | 02:03 |
| 2. | “Western Humanism” | Various Artists | 03:51 |
| 3. | “Lie” | Various Artists | 04:16 |
| 4. | “Rocking hotshot” | Various Artists | 01:49 |
| 5. | “Fresh morning” | Various Artists | 02:53 |
| 6. | “I am Not” | Various Artists | 03:18 |
| 7. | “Doctor Blues” | Various Artists | 02:51 |
| 8. | “Time of wrath” | Various Artists | 02:26 |
| 9. | “Little more cheer up” | Various Artists | 02:54 |
| 10. | “Tension Around” | Various Artists | 02:14 |
| 11. | “I miss you” | Various Artists | 03:05 |
| 12. | “Met you again” | Various Artists | 02:01 |
| 13. | “Hope of hospital” | Various Artists | 03:31 |
| 14. | “Doctor kim sa boo” (Ending Title) | Various Artists | 02:08 |
Charted songs
show
Chart Performance
Ratings
In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Ep. | Broadcast date | Title | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS | AGB Nielsen | |||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | |||
| 1 | November 7, 2016 | How to Put an Elephant in a Refrigerator (코끼리를 냉장고에 잡어넣는 법) |
9.5% (12th) | 12.1% (5th) | 9.5% (7th) | 10.5% (6th) |
| 2 | November 8, 2016 | The Last Days of Adrenaline Hypersecretion (아드레날린 과다분비의 말로) |
8.7% (14th) | 11.2% (5th) | 10.8% (6th) | 11.7% (5th) |
| 3 | November 14, 2016 | Friday of 13 People (13人의 금요일) |
12.5% (5th) | 16.1% (4th) | 12.4% (6th) | 13.2% (4th) |
| 4 | November 15, 2016 | Necessary and Sufficient Condition (필요충분조건) |
13.1% (5th) | 16.8% (3rd) | 13.8% (4th) | 14.9% (4th) |
| 5 | November 21, 2016 | Principle of Relative (상대적 원칙주의) |
15.2% (4th) | 18.2% (3rd) | 16.5% (4th) | 17.9% (2nd) |
| 6 | November 22, 2016 | Motivation (동기부여) |
17.4% (4th) | 20.6% (3rd) | 18.9% (3rd) | 20.3% (2nd) |
| 7 | November 28, 2016 | Unstable Factor (불안 요소) |
16.5% (4th) | 20.3% (1st) | 18.8% (2nd) | 20.4% (1st) |
| 8 | November 29, 2016 | The Manifestation of Humanism (효머니즘의 발로) |
19.5% (2nd) | 23.4% (1st) | 21.7% (1st) | 23.3% (1st) |
| 9 | December 5, 2016 | The Boundary of Good (선의 경계) |
18.8% (2nd) | 22.8% (1st) | 20.4% (2nd) | 22.3% (1st) |
| 10 | December 6, 2016 | Crush | 20.9% (2nd) | 24.5% (1st) | 22.8% (1st) | 24.7% (1st) |
| 11 | December 12, 2016 | Psychological Entropy (심리적 엔트로피) |
20.0% (2nd) | 24.2% (1st) | 21.6% (1st) | 23.0% (1st) |
| 12 | December 13, 2016 | The Boiling Point (비등점) |
21.6% (2nd) | 24.9% (1st) | 23.8% (1st) | 25.8% (1st) |
| 13 | December 19, 2016 | The Art of Turmoil (소동의 미학) |
19.7% (2nd) | 24.0% (1st) | 22.6% (1st) | 24.8% (1st) |
| 14 | December 20, 2016 | Paragonimiasis Effect (파라고니미아시스 효과) |
21.6% (2nd) | 26.0% (1st) | 22.9% (1st) | 24.6% (1st) |
| 15 | December 27, 2016 | The Cornered Stone Syndrome (모난돌 증후군) |
20.6% (2nd) | 24.9% (1st) | 23.7% (1st) | 25.6% (1st) |
| 16 | January 2, 2017 | Burden of Risk (위험부담) |
19.5% (3rd) | 23.0% (1st) | 22.1% (2nd) | 23.2% (1st) |
| 17 | January 3, 2017 | Moment of Truth | 21.9% (2nd) | 25.6% (1st) | 25.1% (1st) | 26.9% (1st) |
| 18 | January 9, 2017 | “Whether You Want It or Not” (원하든 원하지않든) |
23.4% (2nd) | 27.7% (1st) | 26.0% (1st) | 27.9% (1st) |
| 19 | January 10, 2017 | “Doctors and Righteous People” (의인과 의인) |
22.2% (2nd) | 25.7% (1st) | 26.7% (1st) | 28.9% (1st) |
| 20 | January 16, 2017 | The Law of Conservation of Romance (낭만 보존의 법칙) |
24.7% (2nd) | 28.4% (1st) | 27.6% (1st) | 29.0% (1st) |
| Average | 18.4% | 22.0% | 20.4% | 21.9% | ||
| Special | January 17, 2017 | Appendix, The Beginning of Everything (Appendix 그 모든 것의 시작) |
23.1% (2nd) | 27.4% (1st) | 27.0% (1st) | 28.7% (1st) |
Note: Episode 15 didn’t air as scheduled (Monday, December 26) due to SBS Gayo Daejeon.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Han Suk-kyu | Won | ||
| Seo Hyun-jin | Nominated | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Genre & Fantasy Drama | Han Suk-kyu | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Genre Drama | Yoo Yeon-seok | Won | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Genre Drama | Seo Hyun-jin | Won | |||
| Jin Kyung | Nominated | ||||
| Special Award, Actor in a Genre Drama | Im Won-hee | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple | Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin | Won | |||
| Top 10 Stars | Han Suk-kyu | Won | |||
| Seo Hyun-jin | Won | ||||
| New Star Award | Kim Min-jae | Won | |||
| Idol Academy Award – Best Kiss | Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin | Won | |||
| 2017 | Best Drama | Dr. Romantic | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Yoo In-sik | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Han Suk-kyu | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Kang Eun-kyung | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actor | Kim Min-jae | Nominated | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Han Suk-kyu | Nominated | |||
| Dr. Romantic | Won | ||||
| Best Drama Series | Nominated |