Ji Sung and Lee Se-young will get to the bottom of your pain in SBS’s Doctor John

by tccolb

New character stills have been released for SBS medical drama Doctor John featuring lead actors Ji Sung (Familiar Wife) and Lee Se-young (The Crowned Clown).

The story is centered around a team of doctors specializing in pain management and anesthesiology, who are mobilized by a patient suffering from a mysterious type of pain. The drama follows the team as they struggle to pinpoint the root cause and determine a cure for the strange pain. Although set against a medical backdrop, the story at its heart is about people: how they come together, and how they interact and relate to one another.

Ji Sung plays the titular role of Doctor John Cha, who is also known by the nickname “Doctor 10 Seconds” due to his incredible skill of quickly assessing his patients within 10 seconds of seeing them. Highly confident in his own abilities, he boldly claims to his patients that, “God may have put you in pain, but I can make it better.” However, he is a man that stands by his words and is relentlessly committed to making accurate diagnoses. He’s also a professor (the youngest professor in his field), and is widely revered as one of the most promising doctors at his hospital.

Lee Se-young plays a doctor in residency, named Kang Shi-young. Born into a family of doctors, she is also the eldest daughter of one of the board members at the hospital she works at. When she first started her training as a doctor, she was known to be overly empathetic – to the point that she focused on a patient’s emotional state more than their physical ailment. Still, she was a good doctor and kind-hearted. However, one day she suddenly left the hospital. She later returns, influenced by Doctor John, but she comes back as a completely different and fearless doctor.

The newly released stills don’t reveal much about the story. But, they show both Ji Sung and Lee Se-young in character and dressed in their doctor’s coats. Ji Sung looks quietly serious as he checks his watch and stands in front of a white board. And Lee Se-young looks worried as she holds a patient’s file.

In an interview, Ji Sung revealed that he spent a lot of time reflecting in preparation for the role. He thought about how a patient might feel, thinking back to when his father had received heart surgery; and how he had felt as a son and caretaker to his father during that time. This then led him to think about his daughter, and he thought deeply about the meaning of life and happiness.

As this is Lee Se-young’s first time playing a doctor, the actress admitted that she struggled with the medical terminology. However, she’s been studying and training with medical professionals to learn about the different processes, such as how a diagnosis is made and how to prep and dress for surgery. As part of her research for the role, she’s even practiced performing treatments and procedures.

Directing for the medical drama will be a joint effort between PD Kim Young-hwan and PD Jo Soo-won (Thirty But Seventeen, Pinnochio). And writing for the drama is writer Kim Ji-woon, who previously worked with PD Jo on Alice in Cheongdam-dong.

SBS drama Doctor John is currently set to premiere July 19, taking over the Friday-Saturday timeslot after Nokdu Flower concludes its run.

Via Sports Seoul, Xports News

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