Dr. Champ
Starring Kim So Yeon, Jung Gyu Woon, Uhm Tae Woong, Cha Ye Ryun
Kim Yeon Woo (Kim So Yeon) is an orthopedic doctor at the end of her residency. She is top of her year and has been offered a fellowship at the hospital by her direct superior Professor Seo. When a young girl becomes paralyzed due to a surgical mistake by Professor Seo, she is told to stay quiet or lose the fellowship. When she takes the side of the patient she not only does she lose the fellowship, but Professor Seo blackballs her from all hospitals making it impossible for her to achieve her dream of becoming a professor. By chance she comes to know Park Ji Heon (Jung Gyu Woon) who at 29 years old returns to the sport of judo to make his dead brother’s dream of winning the gold medal come true. As luck would have it, just as Ji Heon becomes a national athlete at Taereung National Village, Yeon Woo is given the opportunity to work under the new medical director of Taereung, Lee Do Wook (Uhm Tae Woong). Do Wook is a doctor who was once a national athlete in skating, but his career came to a tragic end when he injured his leg and was told he would never walk again. At this most difficult time of his life, his girlfriend and fellow national athlete Kang Hee Young (Cha Ye Ryun) decides to leave him. Now retired, she works as one of the swimming coaches at Taereung. The story continues with the difficulties they face in the athletic world. While Yeon Woo has great compassion for her patients, she struggles to understand the mindset of the athletes leading to many mistakes and misunderstandings at Taereung. Ji Heon may have talent, but after years without training and his leg injury being a continuous issue, his coach has little faith in him. Do Wook is forced to face the ghost of his past (namely Hee Young) for whom love still lingers while coupled with intense hatred for abandoning him when he needed her most.
Love triangle:
Ji Heon ----> Yeon Woo ---->Do Wook <---->Hee Young
I wasn’t planning on watching this drama, but I decided to give it a shot. The show never really lagged for me which if you’ve ever watched a drama is a big plus. It is probably the best sports related Korean drama I’ve ever watched. I mean I love TVXQ’s Yunho as a singer, but his poor acting killed Heading to the Ground for me. I didn’t even get through the first episode of Dream. I can’t think of a single part of the drama that I hated and there is nothing to dislike in terms of acting by the main characters. I would give this drama a solid 8 out of 10.
Ji Heon is your typical goof ball character with a little color added by his quick temper. He acts like a little innocent kid when it comes to love and a happy kid when he is training. This side of his character is supported by his cute nephew who seems like his equal in their scenes together. However he is haunted by the dying words of his brother. His dream of winning the gold in judo is by far his first priority, that is until he begins to fall in love with Yeon Woo. At first when Yeon Woo’s actions impede the path to his dream, he is quick to anger, but without him she her progress in understanding athletes would have been much slower. Still, he is quick to make up after some reflection. The first time he is mad at her, he realizes that her action was the best one and that she will do what she thinks is right for her patient/him no matter what. The second time he’s mad he has good reason to be, but at this point he is in love with her and ultimately knows she did what she did out of care for him. Ultimately he is the cute/adorable guy that a girl has to keep under control with some wheedling. He is like a child, but he also has a spine and temper.
Yeon Woo is someone that annoys me with her poor decisions throughout the drama, but not without drawing sympathy from me as well. You can’t help but like her because of her compassion. She may be naïve, but her naiveté can also be cute at times. She’s really just someone that I can relate to easily. Kim So Yeon Is really a great actress and pulls off the role well. I’m starting to like her more and more as I keep seeing her. However her interpretation and acting in this role is just a stone’s throw away from her role in Prosecutor Princess. Her character in my opinion doesn’t really have much depth script-wise, but she adds depth with her expressions and tones. If anything, her acting has improved in that stone’s throw from Prosecutor Princess to Dr. Champ. Though the expressions are similar, they have more feeling to them in the latter than the former.
Do Wook ia a mild version of Dr. Gregory House. In terms of character, enough said. Uhm Tae Woong… Hmm… I don’t think he’s a bad actor, but I’m not particularly a fan. I’ve seen him in a few other dramas (Nine Tailed Fox, Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, The Devil) and each time I see him, I find myself able to relate to his character on a mental level, but not an emotional one. I find no fault in his acting, except that I wish there was a greater variety of expression in his eyes. I feel like he can express all the emotions with his eyes, but not on different scales. And can I just say that his eyebrows bug me? They are too short in length, but they really stand out on his face.
I don’t really have anything to say about Hee Young’s character. Of the main roles we see her for the least amount of time and she is the least developed. Other than with Do Wook, she has little interaction with other characters. Also when I see Cha Ye Ryun, I find myself thinking of Lee Dong Gun though they are no longer dating.
As a final note, can I just say it's fun to look at the judo teams' abs.
Kim Yeon Woo (Kim So Yeon) is an orthopedic doctor at the end of her residency. She is top of her year and has been offered a fellowship at the hospital by her direct superior Professor Seo. When a young girl becomes paralyzed due to a surgical mistake by Professor Seo, she is told to stay quiet or lose the fellowship. When she takes the side of the patient she not only does she lose the fellowship, but Professor Seo blackballs her from all hospitals making it impossible for her to achieve her dream of becoming a professor. By chance she comes to know Park Ji Heon (Jung Gyu Woon) who at 29 years old returns to the sport of judo to make his dead brother’s dream of winning the gold medal come true. As luck would have it, just as Ji Heon becomes a national athlete at Taereung National Village, Yeon Woo is given the opportunity to work under the new medical director of Taereung, Lee Do Wook (Uhm Tae Woong). Do Wook is a doctor who was once a national athlete in skating, but his career came to a tragic end when he injured his leg and was told he would never walk again. At this most difficult time of his life, his girlfriend and fellow national athlete Kang Hee Young (Cha Ye Ryun) decides to leave him. Now retired, she works as one of the swimming coaches at Taereung. The story continues with the difficulties they face in the athletic world. While Yeon Woo has great compassion for her patients, she struggles to understand the mindset of the athletes leading to many mistakes and misunderstandings at Taereung. Ji Heon may have talent, but after years without training and his leg injury being a continuous issue, his coach has little faith in him. Do Wook is forced to face the ghost of his past (namely Hee Young) for whom love still lingers while coupled with intense hatred for abandoning him when he needed her most.
Love triangle:
Ji Heon ----> Yeon Woo ---->Do Wook <---->Hee Young
I wasn’t planning on watching this drama, but I decided to give it a shot. The show never really lagged for me which if you’ve ever watched a drama is a big plus. It is probably the best sports related Korean drama I’ve ever watched. I mean I love TVXQ’s Yunho as a singer, but his poor acting killed Heading to the Ground for me. I didn’t even get through the first episode of Dream. I can’t think of a single part of the drama that I hated and there is nothing to dislike in terms of acting by the main characters. I would give this drama a solid 8 out of 10.
Ji Heon is your typical goof ball character with a little color added by his quick temper. He acts like a little innocent kid when it comes to love and a happy kid when he is training. This side of his character is supported by his cute nephew who seems like his equal in their scenes together. However he is haunted by the dying words of his brother. His dream of winning the gold in judo is by far his first priority, that is until he begins to fall in love with Yeon Woo. At first when Yeon Woo’s actions impede the path to his dream, he is quick to anger, but without him she her progress in understanding athletes would have been much slower. Still, he is quick to make up after some reflection. The first time he is mad at her, he realizes that her action was the best one and that she will do what she thinks is right for her patient/him no matter what. The second time he’s mad he has good reason to be, but at this point he is in love with her and ultimately knows she did what she did out of care for him. Ultimately he is the cute/adorable guy that a girl has to keep under control with some wheedling. He is like a child, but he also has a spine and temper.
Yeon Woo is someone that annoys me with her poor decisions throughout the drama, but not without drawing sympathy from me as well. You can’t help but like her because of her compassion. She may be naïve, but her naiveté can also be cute at times. She’s really just someone that I can relate to easily. Kim So Yeon Is really a great actress and pulls off the role well. I’m starting to like her more and more as I keep seeing her. However her interpretation and acting in this role is just a stone’s throw away from her role in Prosecutor Princess. Her character in my opinion doesn’t really have much depth script-wise, but she adds depth with her expressions and tones. If anything, her acting has improved in that stone’s throw from Prosecutor Princess to Dr. Champ. Though the expressions are similar, they have more feeling to them in the latter than the former.
Do Wook ia a mild version of Dr. Gregory House. In terms of character, enough said. Uhm Tae Woong… Hmm… I don’t think he’s a bad actor, but I’m not particularly a fan. I’ve seen him in a few other dramas (Nine Tailed Fox, Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, The Devil) and each time I see him, I find myself able to relate to his character on a mental level, but not an emotional one. I find no fault in his acting, except that I wish there was a greater variety of expression in his eyes. I feel like he can express all the emotions with his eyes, but not on different scales. And can I just say that his eyebrows bug me? They are too short in length, but they really stand out on his face.
I don’t really have anything to say about Hee Young’s character. Of the main roles we see her for the least amount of time and she is the least developed. Other than with Do Wook, she has little interaction with other characters. Also when I see Cha Ye Ryun, I find myself thinking of Lee Dong Gun though they are no longer dating.
As a final note, can I just say it's fun to look at the judo teams' abs.