An eccentric, triple board-certified virtuoso surgeon leaves a top job in Seoul and ends up at a provincial hospital, where he mentors young doctors.
Seasons
4 listed
Status
Ended
Seasons
3 seasons
Episodes
52 episodes
First aired
Nov 7, 2016
Last aired
Jun 17, 2023
Episode length
60m
Network
SBS
Latest episode:S3 E16 Dreamers (Jun 17, 2023)
Dr. Romantic
20 episodes Nov 7, 2016 8.8
Bu Yong-ju was once a famous surgeon at the peak of his career at a major hospital. But he suddenly gives it all up one day to live in seclusion and work as a neighborhood doctor in a small town. He now goes by Teacher Kim and refers to himself as the “Romantic Doctor”. Meanwhile, Gang Dong-ju became a doctor to make something of himself after growing up poor, and he seeks out VIP patients to achieve the success that he desperately wants. Yun Seo-jeong is a passionate young surgeon who is haunted by a mistake from her past and tries to get over it. When Dong-ju and Seo-jeong meet the quirky Teacher Kim, their lives and careers will never be the same again.
Dr. Romantic 2
16 episodes Jan 6, 2020 8.6
Along with genius Teacher Kim, Cha Eun-jae is a second-year fellow in the cardio surgery department who enjoys studying and has confidently walked the path of an elite student for most of her life. Seo U-jin, a cynical second year fellow who doesn’t believe in happiness because of his hardships growing up, but he shows impressive levels of concentration and talent when he is performing surgery.
Dr. Romantic 3
16 episodes Apr 28, 2023 8.8
Teacher Kim used to be alone in protecting Doldam Hospital, but now he's not alone anymore. With the mindset that he'll did anything if it gives money, there is Seo U-jin who has been reborn as a doctor who truly knows how to care for patients. There is Cha Eun-jae, who no longer runs out of the operating room due to anxiety. Teacher Kim, who has dreamed of build a regional trauma center with his students and colleagues. Finally, a regional trauma center built at Doldam Hospital. A perfect trauma center with a clean exterior and state-of-the-art facilities but it couldn't open properly. The regional trauma center faces a precarious fate... Will Teacher Kim be able to establish the regional trauma center at Doldam Hospital which was his long-cherished desire?
What I keep coming back to in Dr. Romantic isn’t the romance, despite the title’s sneaky promise, and it isn’t even the surgery, though the operating-room sequences have their own nervous electricity. latestnetflix.com's take is that it’s the way the series treats competence as a moral act.
In a lot of medical dramas, brilliance is a kind of glamour — a license to strut, to dominate the room, to make everything difficult look easy. Yoo In-sik’s series, starting in 2016 and now spread across three seasons and 52 episodes, is interested in something less showy and more stubborn: what it means to keep showing up for people when no one’s watching, in a place the city has forgotten.
That provincial hospital is not just a setting. It’s the whole argument. Seoul’s prestige is left behind, almost like a bad habit, and the show keeps returning to the same quiet provocation: who gets to matter in medicine?
Han Suk-kyu’s Kim Sa-bu — eccentric, brilliant, gruff, and, yes, a little theatrical in the way only truly confident people can afford to be — arrives as a corrective to all the polished vanity around him. But what makes him compelling isn’t the fantasy of the genius outsider. It’s that the series is always testing whether his severity is actually care in disguise.
Sometimes I think it is. Sometimes I’m not so sure. That uncertainty is part of the pleasure.
The show’s central conversation, especially in Korea where medical dramas often carry a heavy institutional and moral charge, is about hierarchy: who gives orders, who absorbs the consequences, who gets to make mistakes. Yoo In-sik directs that conversation with a surprisingly light hand. He doesn’t turn the hospital into a sermon.
Instead, he gives us speed when the body is in danger and stillness when the soul is. The editing in the surgical scenes is sharp enough to create urgency without the frantic, grey-shaded chaos that some hospital dramas mistake for intensity. The camera likes the practical things — gloved hands, quick glances over masks, the tiny lag before a difficult decision lands.
That’s where the show breathes.
Han Suk-kyu is the anchor, but not because he radiates warmth. He doesn’t. He radiates pressure.
He plays Kim Sa-bu with a slightly bent posture, like a man who’s carrying several invisible arguments at once. After years of playing authority figures in Korean cinema and television, Han has a way of making intelligence feel lived-in rather than ornamental. He doesn’t perform wisdom as a glow; he performs it as a habit of attention.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports
Behind the Scenes of Dr. Romantic (2016): The Making of a Medical Drama Classic
Dr. Romantic (2016) isn’t just another medical K-drama—it’s a series that redefined the genre with its blend of gritty realism, emotional depth, and a mentor-protégé dynamic that resonated with audiences. latestnetflix.com's view is that while the show’s on-screen brilliance is undeniable, the behind-the-scenes story of its creation and casting offers a fascinating glimpse into how it became a fan favorite.
The Birth of a Legend: Kim Sa Bu’s Origin Story
At the heart of Dr. Romantic is the enigmatic Dr. Kim Sa Bu (Han Suk-kyu), a once-renowned surgeon who vanishes from the spotlight to work at a rural hospital. The character’s backstory—shrouded in mystery and trauma—was a deliberate choice by creator Yoo In-sik to subvert typical medical drama tropes. Unlike the flashy, high-stakes surgeries of urban hospitals, Dr. Romantic focused on the often-overlooked struggles of small-town medicine, where resources are scarce but the stakes are just as high .
The show’s original Korean title, Nangmandakteo Kim Sabu (낭만닥터 김사부), translates to "Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim," hinting at the central theme of mentorship. The series was pitched as a character-driven drama, with Kim Sa Bu’s unorthodox methods and moral compass guiding younger doctors through ethical dilemmas and personal crises. This approach set it apart from other medical dramas of the time, which often prioritized romance or workplace politics over medical authenticity .
Casting Han Suk-kyu: A Risk That Paid Off
Han Suk-kyu’s casting as Kim Sa Bu was a masterstroke. The veteran actor, known for his versatility in films like The President’s Last Bang and The Thieves, hadn’t headlined a TV drama in years. His return to the small screen with Dr. Romantic was met with skepticism—could a film actor carry a 20-episode series? The answer was a resounding yes. Han’s portrayal of the gruff yet compassionate surgeon earned widespread acclaim, with critics praising his ability to balance gravitas with warmth .
Interestingly, Han wasn’t the first choice for the role. Rumors (unconfirmed) suggest that other A-list actors were considered, but Yoo In-sik held out for Han, believing his acting range was essential to bringing Kim Sa Bu’s complexity to life. The gamble paid off: Han’s performance became the emotional anchor of the series, and his chemistry with co-stars Yoo Yeon-seok and Seo Hyun-jin (in Season 1) elevated the drama to new heights .
The Supporting Cast: Rising Stars and Veteran Powerhouses
While Han Suk-kyu stole the show, Dr. Romantic’s supporting cast played a crucial role in its success. The first season introduced Yoo Yeon-seok as Kang Dong-joo, a hotshot surgeon with a hidden soft side, and Seo Hyun-jin as Yoon Seo-jung, a talented but insecure doctor. Their performances added layers to the series, with Yoo’s character arc—from arrogant prodigy to humble student—becoming a fan favorite .
The later seasons (though not part of the 2016 original) introduced new faces like Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Sung-kyung, but the core dynamic of mentorship and medical ethics remained intact. Even the smaller roles, like Jin Kyung’s tough-as-nails hospital director or Im Won-hee’s comedic yet heartfelt Dr. Do In-bum, were carefully crafted to add depth to the story .
One behind-the-scenes tidbit (unverified) suggests that the cast bonded quickly during filming, with Han Suk-kyu taking on a mentorship role off-screen as well. Whether true or not, the on-screen chemistry between the actors was undeniable, contributing to the show’s authentic feel .
**The Legacy: Why Dr. Romantic Still Matters**
Dr. Romantic wasn’t an overnight sensation, but its impact was lasting. The first season aired from November 2016 to January 2017, with 20 episodes that averaged a respectable 15-20% viewership in South Korea. Critics praised its writing, performances, and refreshing take on medical dramas, which often rely on melodrama over substance .
The show’s success led to two more seasons (in 2020 and 2023), proving that audiences still craved the mix of medical realism and emotional storytelling that Dr. Romantic pioneered. Its influence can be seen in later K-dramas like Hospital Playlist, which also blends workplace drama with personal growth .
The Verdict: A Drama That Defied Expectations
Dr. Romantic (2016) succeeded where many medical dramas fail: it made medicine feel personal. By focusing on the relationships between doctors rather than just the surgeries, it created a world that felt real and relatable. Behind the scenes, a combination of bold casting, strong writing, and a commitment to authenticity turned it into a modern classic.
While the evidence doesn’t reveal every detail of its production, what’s clear is that Dr. Romantic was a labor of love—one that continues to resonate with fans years later.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as
unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
