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Doctor Slump (닥터슬럼프): Plot, Characters and Cast
Doctor Slump (닥터슬럼프, Dakteo Seulleompeu) is a romantic comedy with a medical backdrop that JTBC aired in 2024. It has 16 episodes, written by Baek Seon-woo and directed by Oh Hyun-jong. It reunited Park Hyung-sik and Park Shin-hye ten years after The Heirs. It's a story about hitting rock bottom and starting over without losing your sense of humor. Here you have the plot, the characters, the cast and their playful Saju.
- Cast
- Park Hyung-sik, Park Shin-hye, Yoon Park, Kong Seong-ha
- JTBC
- 2024 · 16 episodes
Plot (no spoilers)
In high school, Yeo Jeong-woo and Nam Ha-neul were fierce academic rivals, always fighting over the top spot. Years later, both have become the doctors everyone expected. Jeong-woo is a star plastic surgeon with a busy clinic, a polished image and a reputation to match. Then a patient dies during one of his surgeries in circumstances nobody can explain, a lawsuit follows, and in a short time he loses his clinic, his money and his good name.
Ha-neul, an anesthesiologist who lived only for studying and work, reaches her own limit at the same time. Burned out and struggling with depression, she quits her prestigious hospital job and goes home to her family without knowing what comes next. Fate has a sense of humor: the rooftop room Jeong-woo rents when he has nowhere else to go is in her family's building. Around them are Bin Dae-yeong, a plastic surgeon who never stops competing with Jeong-woo, and Lee Hong-ran, Ha-neul's loyal friend since university. The old rivals, now neighbors at their lowest point, slowly discover that they can lean on each other.
Characters and their Saju
Yeo Jeong-woo 여정우
Park Hyung-sik · Yang Wood · The Great Tree
Jeong-woo was the top student in his school and became a star plastic surgeon, admired for both his skill and the way he treats people. A mysterious death in the operating room turns his life upside down in a matter of days. Broke and living in a rooftop room, he finds he has a lot to learn about failing.
If Jeong-woo had a Saju card, it would be Yang Wood · The Great Tree: tall, straight and used to being the first thing people notice. The storm that tears off his branches can't reach his roots, and from there he grows again, a little wiser.
Nam Ha-neul 남하늘
Park Shin-hye · Yin Fire · The Candle
Ha-neul is a brilliant anesthesiologist who spent her life studying and working without ever looking up. When burnout and depression finally stop her, she leaves her hospital job and has to learn something nobody taught her: how to rest and live for herself. Her slow recovery is the heart of the series.
If Ha-neul had a Saju card, it would be Yin Fire · The Candle: a steady flame that lit the way for everyone else for years. A candle burning at both ends runs short, though; her lesson is to protect her own light so it can shine for a long time.
Bin Dae-yeong 빈대영
Yoon Park · Yin Metal · The Jewel
Dae-yeong is a plastic surgeon with a weakness for showing off and a long-running rivalry with Jeong-woo, his classmate from university. He loves to compete, but when everything falls apart, he is the one who understands his friend best. Under all the bragging there is a loyal heart.
If Dae-yeong had a Saju card, it would be Yin Metal · The Jewel: he likes to sparkle and makes sure people notice. Like any good jewel, he shows his true value under pressure, and that's exactly when his friendship shines brightest.
Lee Hong-ran 이홍란
Kong Seong-ha · Yang Earth · The Mountain
Hong-ran is Ha-neul's best friend, a fellow doctor who has been with her since university and through their years of residency. Straightforward and dependable, she is the person Ha-neul can call at any hour. In the hardest moments, her company says more than any advice.
If Hong-ran had a Saju card, it would be Yang Earth · The Mountain: solid, calm and always in the same place when you need her. Her friend can lean on her as hard as she wants; mountains don't move, but they do enjoy a visit.
And what would your Saju be? Find out free with your birth date.
Why so many people fell for it
Doctor Slump is a romantic comedy with a gentle heart: it talks about failure, burnout and second chances without ever getting heavy. The bickering between two former rivals keeps it funny, and the healing keeps it warm. It also reunited Park Hyung-sik and Park Shin-hye ten years after The Heirs. In Latin America it arrived on Netflix in 2024 as "Urgencias existenciales", and in Brazil as "Médicos em Colapso". It reached number one on Netflix's global Top 10 for non-English series.
Facts
- Written by Baek Seon-woo and directed by Oh Hyun-jong, in 16 episodes.
- Park Hyung-sik and Park Shin-hye reunited ten years after The Heirs (2013).
- It spent nine straight weeks on Netflix's global Top 10 for non-English series.
Ending (spoilers)
Show the ending
Spoiler: Ha-neul gets back on her feet and learns to live with setbacks without letting them define her. With Dae-yeong's help, Jeong-woo prepares to reopen his clinic. He proposes, she says yes, and the former rivals close the story starting over, side by side.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Doctor Slump about?
Two former high school rivals, a plastic surgeon and an anesthesiologist, hit rock bottom at the same time and end up as neighbors, helping each other start over.
Who stars in Doctor Slump?
Park Hyung-sik plays Yeo Jeong-woo and Park Shin-hye plays Nam Ha-neul. Yoon Park and Kong Seong-ha round out the main cast as Bin Dae-yeong and Lee Hong-ran.
How many episodes does Doctor Slump have?
It has 16 episodes. JTBC aired it from January to March 2024, and its best nationwide rating was 8.2%, for episode 10.
Had Park Hyung-sik and Park Shin-hye worked together before?
Yes. They both appeared in The Heirs (SBS, 2013), and Doctor Slump was their first project together in ten years.
