'DOCTOR CHA' IS A K-DRAMA THAT'S GOT A LOT OF HEART-AND SOMETIMES THAT'S ALL A HIT SHOW NEEDS

I have a confession to make. After watching Extraordinary Attorney Woo last year, I felt like nothing else could compare. I went into a K-drama slump, and I would find myself listlessly watching the occasional ep at random, then dropping the shows I’d picked up somewhere along the way. I wanted a drama to grab my attention from the get-go, but I didn’t want to get too stressed, so I avoided thrillers and melodramas and went for a lot of lighthearted variety shows instead.

Fast-forward to this month. I’d been hearing about Doctor Cha from the buzz online. The impressive ratings had me curious and the drama wasn’t revenge-themed (I know it’s blasphemy, but I haven’t watched The Glory yet!), so I figured, this might be a good show to ease me back into K-dramaland. I wasn’t disappointed. Doctor Cha has a little bit of everything: heartwarming family and friendship moments, women empowerment, and all the ~kilig~ moments an ardent K-drama watcher could want.

What is Doctor Cha all about?

Cha Jeong Suk (Uhm Jung Hwa) has been a dutiful and long-suffering housewife for the past two decades. When she suddenly falls sick, she realizes life is short and it’s time to prioritize her own wants and needs for a change. She used to be an aspiring doctor with amazing grades, so she decides to go after her dream all over again and become a resident at a hospital.

As she strives to walk the path of a doctor, other issues get in her way, like her cheating husband who doesn’t want anyone to know she’s his wife; her struggles at work as an older woman with a career she started a little too late; and her ~ultra hot~ doctor colleague just being a walking green flag in general. Can she make it out the other side unscathed?

The Doctor Cha cast members

Uhm Jung Hwa as Cha Jeong Suk

The character: Even in this modern era, society still marks women as inferior when they become housewives and moms, discounting how difficult it is to be full-time homemakers. Because of this, Jeong Suk has low self-confidence, and she has to undergo quite the journey to feel strong and beautiful. She also has to deal with ungrateful children, nagging from her mother-in-law, and ageism in the workplace. It’s hard not to root for her when she’s knee-deep in problems. I love seeing her finally embrace her anger and use it as fodder to move forward in life.

The actress: Jung Hwa is an industry icon. She’s a top-notch singer and an award-winning actress with decades of experience under her belt. I’ve loved her acting in every K-drama I’ve seen her in. She just always comes across as genuine, no matter what her role is, and she has great chemistry with all of her partners (please tell me you’ve watched her with Park Seo Joon in Witch’s Romance). OG K-drama fans might remember her from a local airing of Get Karl! Oh Soo-Jung, while recent fans have probably seen her in Our Blues.

Kim Byung Chul as Seo In Ho

The character: If I could only choose one person in the drama to hate, I would choose In Ho. He’s the chief surgeon at the hospital. He’s got a doctor for a son, a talented daughter, and a faithful wife, but that doesn’t stop him from turning into a cheating husband with an inferiority complex. Without giving away any spoilers, the worst part about him is that he’s as wishy-washy as can be. He wants to keep both his wife and his mistress, but he doesn’t give his all in either relationship. The only upside is that he’s so horrible at ~almost~ everything he does that it’s funny to watch his antics.

The actor: Byung Chul is just mind-blowing at making villainous characters come to life. He’s always memorable, no matter how big or small his role is, and his dramas end up being huge hits (maybe he has the Midas touch). I mean, Descendants of the Sun and Goblin? Let’s not forget his priceless work as Cha Min Hyuk in Sky Castle. But, seriously, I can’t imagine anyone else making Seo In Ho a character I love to hate. The magic is in how Byung Chul makes it so that you can’t look away, even if you want to slap his character in the face.

Myung Se Bin as Choi Sung Hee

The character: On the surface, she seems like she’s got it all. She’s gorgeous, smart, and cool. She’s a family doctor thriving at the hospital she works in, and she’s got a daughter she can afford to send to an academy after school. But Sung Hee’s a single mom looking for affection from her old flame, Byung Chul, and she wants to hurt Jeong Suk while she’s at it. Cue lots of pettiness. As part of Team Jeong Suk, I started out really hating Sung Hee, but as the story unfolded, I realized she was also a victim in her own way, and while that doesn’t discount the mistakes she’s made, I could at least understand where she was coming from.

The actor: Se Bin is a veteran when it comes to melodramas and family dramas. She’s also been in historical dramas like Bossam: Steal the Fate and The King’s Daughter: Soo Baek Hyang. As Sung Hee, she actually has the hardest job of all because it’s easy to detest her character, but she also has to come across as someone we can relate to. I found Sung Hee’s breakdowns heart-rending to watch, which speaks to Sung Hee’s talent as an actress.

Min Woo Hyuk as Roy Kim

The character: Roy Kim just screams "male lead" as soon as he enters the picture as a doctor responding to an emergency Jeong Suk happens to witness in the bus. He warns Jeong Suk not to pretend to be a doctor but immediately becomes thoughtful when Jeong Suk confesses she’s a doctor that hasn’t practiced in 20 years. He becomes her confidante and cheerleader as she navigates her way through her career. With his handsome face and gentlemanly ways, you can’t help rooting for Roy to push In Ho out of the picture, but he respects boundaries while still showing he cares for Jeong Suk.

The actor: Where has this hot and talented actor been all our lives? Answer: In musicals. Yes, he has a great singing voice too, and he even released an album once upon a time. Woo Hyuk’s take on Roy Kim made me ~swoon~. He even had chemistry with Byung Chul.

Why you should watch Doctor Cha

While Doctor Cha is mostly set in the hospital and does deal with medical cases, I really think of it as more of a family comedy-drama, not a realistic take on doctors and medicine. There are also some makjang (exaggerated) elements here and there to keep things ~spicy~. This is pretty much Jeong Suk’s reawakening to the joys of life, and we’re just here to watch her as she goes on her journey.

The drama hits all the right notes for me. I’ve got a protagonist I can’t help but root for and a villain so easy to hate. There’s a clear ending I want for Jeong Suk: I want her to be happy, whatever form that takes. It’s only as I got to the midpoint that I started realizing nothing is ever as black-and-white as it seems, and I think it’s a testament to the strong ensemble cast that characters like Seo In Ho, Choi Sung Hee, and evil mother-in-law Kwak Ae Sim even appear remotely relatable.

I loved that I could watch the drama without having to think about things too deeply. I cheered as Jeong Suk improved her relationships with both her children and her colleagues, and I felt accomplished as she began to understand her calling as a doctor. I was frustrated with her no-good husband and giddy at Roy Kim’s every little move. At the same time, I liked being able to pick things apart afterwards, like how the drama is a commentary on the complicated role women are forced to take in society and how even when it comes to cheating in relationships, the woman always carries the bigger burden when it ~takes two to tango~.

Doctor Cha isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, but it’s got a lot of heart, and sometimes, that’s really all you need to make a compelling drama.

2023-05-30T00:03:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd