Title: 닥터 이방인 | Dakteo Yibangin | Doctor Foreigner | Doctor Stranger
Genre: Medical | Melodrama | Romance | Action | Political
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Network: SBS
Broadcast Period: May 5 to July 8, 2014

Synopsis:

Park Hoon is the son of one of the prominent Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon in South Korea, Dr. Park Cheol. During the period when North and South Korea were in brink of a war, Dr. Park Cheol was tapped to do a heart bypass to the President of North Korea. The success of this surgery will be the key whether the war will be a reality or not. The surgery was a success but Dr. Park Cheol with his son was betrayed to return back to South Korea. Park Hoon ended growing up in North Korea and became the best Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon like his father, however, when the love of his life, Dr. Han Seung Hee’s was placed into danger, he didn’t have a choice but plan to defect. Things didn’t go as he planned and he and Han Seung Hee got separated. In spite of the hardships and time, Park Hoon never gave up the hope of seeing her again. By twist of fate, they saw each other again but the challenges are surmountable and it will now be a matter of life and death for the both of them.

Characters:

• Lee Jong Suk as Park Hoon
• Goo Seung Hyun as Child Park Hoon
• Jin Se Yun as Song Jae Hee | Han Seung Hee
• Seo Ji Hee as Child Song Jae Hee
• Park Hae Jin as Han Jae Joon | Lee Sung Hoon
• Kim Ji Hoon as Child Han Jae Joon
• Kang So Ra as Oh Soo Hyun
• Shin Soo Yun as child Oh Soo Hyun
• Jun Gook Hwan as Oh Joon Gyu
• Choi Jung Woo as Moon Hyung Wook
• Nam Myung Ryul as Choi Byung Chul
• Kim Sang Ho as Yang Jung Han
• Hwang Dong Joo as Geum Bong Hyun
• Kang Tae Hwan as Oh Sang Jin
• Lee Jae Won as Kim Chi Gyu
• Uhm Soo Jung as Min Soo Ji
• Han Eun Sun as Eun Min Se
• Lee Ah Ri as Jo Mi Ran
• Jung Hye In as Yeo Sun Hee
• Chun Ho Jin as Jang Suk Joo
• Jung In Ki as Kim Tae Sool
• Yoon Bo Ra as Lee Chang Yi
• Kim Yong Gun as Hong Chan Sung
• Hwang Bum Shik as Mr. Lim
• Kim Ji Young as Jung Min
• Sung Byung Sook as Lee Chang Yi’s Mother
• Won Jong Rye as Oh Sang Jin’s Mother
• Kim Sang Joong as Park Cheol
• Lee Il Hwa as Park Hoon’s Mother
• Park Hee Bon as Dr. Song Jae Hee
• David Noh as Dr. Yan
• Gil Hae Yun as Kim Eun Hee
• Lee Seung Hyung as Presidential Chief of Staff
• Zhang Liang as Sean Zhang
• Kim Ji Hoon as Jae Chul on Episode 11-12
• Kim Ji Eun as Oh Joon Gyu’s Secretary
• Kim Bo Mi as Kim Ah Young
• Lee Kyu Sub
• Kim Myung Jin
• Son Jong Hak
• Kim Ah Young

My Review:

Lately, most of the korean dramas I tried to watch don’t strike much my attention. I get bored and impatient. Liking a korean drama is a matter of taste, most who do reviews base their ratings on so many things and more focus on the technical and logical aspect of things. Mine? Well, there’s still got to be some logic but it is purely base on how entertained and captured I am with the k-drama. Thus, Doctor Stranger, was one of those that entertains but you got to leave your brains that provides you certain logic outside the door. However, on the entertainment value in itself it’s spot-on.

So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?

(1) I like that it made me think whether the Park Hoon will end up with Han Seung Hee or not.

(2) Lee Jong Suk as an actor brought his A-game on this k-drama even if sometimes the scenes are unrealistic, he made a believer out of me. And, that takes a lot especially since I do have a medical background.

(3) I like the fast pace of the story and the cliff hangers that made it exciting even if some times they are ludicrous, I still got entertained and not bored, so, for me, that was enough.

(4) I always enjoyed watching Park Hae Jin. He is such a great actor. He projects his roles wiith subtlety when he portrays a character. He is one of those actors that can be the lead or the villain in the story and still love him anyway.

What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?

I have mixed feelings about this k-drama. As a whole, it totally entertained me and there’s not a boring moment. However, I wish they polished some of the story lines and its execution, so, one doesn’t have to totally leave reasoning and logic out the door. It would have been better if it was infused with more believable scenarios.

Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes, for entertainment value only.

My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 4/5 Stars

OST:
01. A Good Day Like This – Jun Hye Won
02. A Strange Road – Sung Yoo Jin
03. As If Tomorrow Won’t Come – G.O of MBLAQ
04. Stranger – Bobby Kim
05. You and I – Bang Min Ah of Girl’s Day
06. Because of You – Park Jung Ah
07. Going to Meet You Now – Lee Ki Chan
08. I Am a Stranger – Kim Jang Woo
09. Promise – Kim Jang Woo
10. Team Strangers – Kim Jang Woo
11. New Life – Kim Jang Woo
12. Escape – Kim Jang Woo
13. The Meaning of Tears – Kim Jang Woo
14. Dangerous Guys – Kim Jang Woo
15. Memory – Kim Jang Woo
16. Right Way – Kim Jang Woo
17. G.R.B. – Kim Jang Woo