Directed by Boo Sung-Chul, “Ghost Doctor” narrates the story of two doctors whose lives are intertwined and who both learn the lessons of life from each other. The arrogant doctor, haughty for his genius, learns humility back from the intern, who gets coached to overcome his fears by the doctor. Mysteries overrule their lives, and a comradeship finally sets their lives right. A must watch, “Ghost Doctor” enjoys a different storyline with comedic timing and bittersweet romance involved in it.
‘Ghost Doctor’ Season 1: Plotline – What Is The Korean Drama Series About?
Cha Young-Min is hailed as one of the best surgeons in his hospital. Young-Min strives to save whichever patient he takes on. However, due to being bullied by other doctors for his genius, he has developed a petty personality to save himself. While taking on the operations of Chairman Jang Kwang-Deok, Cha Young-Min meets with an accident that leaves him in a comatose state. His soul detaches itself from his body and he wanders around till he meets Go Seung-Tak, an intern who has just started his internship at the hospital. Coincidentally, Young-Min can possess Seung-Tak, and he uses this to his advantage, and operates on himself first to test it out. Afterwards, he comes to an agreement with Seung-Tak and continues to save the lives of the emergency patients that come to the hospital for treatment. Eventually, Young-Min wakes up from his coma and returns to his normal life.
Spoilers Ahead
The Accident That Went On To Connect The Two Doctors.
Cha Young-Min, at first refused to operate on Chairman Jang Kwang-Deok, but after being implored repeatedly he took on the surgery and had successfully completed it. While he waited for the Chairman to wake up, he received an urgent text from his ex, Jang Se-Jin, who is also the daughter of the chairman. He left his patient; however, the chairman met with complications right when he was making his way toward the hospital. However, on his way, he met with an accident which left him in a comatose state and he ended up in a spirit-like state. He wandered around till he realized he could possess Go Seung-Tak and used this to his advantage.
Cha Young-Min possessed Seung-Tak whenever he needed to operate on any patient without his permission. This annoyed Seung-Tak, and he called for an intermission. Seung-Tak had been able to see ghosts and also interact with them since his childhood, after he and his father met in an accident while boating. This accident affected Seung-Tak very much and left him fatherless and with an ability to interact with ghosts. Seung-Tak had started working in the hospital after his grandfather, who was the chairman of the hospital, and his mother, the director of the hospital, insisted on his internship here. While working, he finally admitted to being able to see Young-Min after being provoked. He then had a deal with Young-Min to operate on the emergency patients and also the patients Young-Min had promised a safe surgery.
While both Seung-Tak and Young-Min focused on the patients, they discovered a bigger play at hand. They discovered that Young-Min’s accident was not an accident, rather it was an attempt to sabotage his operation on the Chairman. The Chairman’s operation was successful; however, the people involved in this foul play had administered drugs that resulted in the Chairman remaining in a coma. Those people did not want Young-Min to wake up either, lest he sabotage everything. Both Young-Min and Seung-Tak try to revisit every nook and cranny to find evidence and leave no stone unturned to find the perpetrators. They discover that Dr. Ahn, Seung-Won, the assistant director, and Min-ho, the Chairman’s son, were involved in this. Young-Min and Seung-Tak set out to prove all the evidence so that they can hand the perpetrators to the police.
What Happened To Doctor Ahn?
Young-Min was mentoring Dr. Ahn and preparing him for the position of a senior doctor. However, Ahn had no clue about what Young-Min had done for him, instead believing Han Seung-Won had assisted him in sabotaging the operations on the Chairman. He backstabbed Young-Min and worked with Seung-Won until he realized that he had single-handedly destroyed any chance he had to become a successful doctor after Seung-Won had tossed him out after he did his work. Ahn realized his mistake and could not find a way out, so he reached out to his mentor to help him gain back his honesty and walk on the right path. Young-Min took pity on him and sought him out with the help of Seung-Tak. They devised a plan to bring down Seung-Won and Min-Ho legally.
Ahn met with Seung-Won to discuss their further plans and, in the meantime, recorded him, which served as hard evidence against them. Ahn then went on to confess and serve his time in jail, also condemning both Min-Ho and Seung-Won in the process. He was arrested along with Min-Ho and Seung-Won and the entire matter was brought to light. However, the arrests happened away from public view so as to safeguard the hospital and its residents.
Who Was Tess?
Tess, short for Hippocrates, according to him, was a doctor before he turned into a spirit. His real name was Oh Joo-Myung, and his granddaughter, Oh Soo-Jung, was Seung-Tak’s friend. Tess had died in his sleep after a long surgery and then woke up to find himself trapped in the hospital as a ghost. He could not let himself move on when, on the day he died, Seung-Tak and his father were wheeling him in for emergency surgery. However, Seung-Tak’s father had already left the world, and little Seung-Tak was barely holding on to his life. Tess possessed the doctor in charge of Seung-Tak’s operation, and little Seung-Tak, while being a coma spirit himself, witnessed the incident. Another witness was Oh Soo-Jung, who had been waiting for her grandfather to return home with the cake he had promised her instead, had woken up to the news of his death and had witnessed his spirit visiting them. She followed him to the hospital and witnessed the incident.
Since that day, after his interaction with Tess, Go Seung-Tak has retained the ability to see spirits and also interact with them. However, this had major implications for his normal life. He was unable to perform any surgeries without noticing the spirits of the cadaver breathing down his neck. After Young-Min’s accident, though both of them had a love-hate relationship, Young-Min coached Seung-Tak through his fears and different operations. Young-Min even encouraged him to operate on his body as a form of fieldwork.
Young-Min, on the other hand, had been possessed by Tess occasionally to save the emergency patients that had been wheeled in. Young-Min’s determination to save the patients who were going to be assigned to a different hospital due to a shortage of doctors, funds, and politics, Young-Min took them on and Tess lent him a hand. However, Young-Min had a competitive spirit and wanted to achieve the genius he was famous for by himself. Young-Min pushed himself to his limit and eventually succeeded in being known for his genius due to his hard work.
The zeal to save the patients at any cost is what connected the two doctors. The fact that Tess had previously possessed Young-Min to help him out could also serve as a factor that had made it possible for Young-Min to successfully possess Seung-Tak. Not to mention, Seung-Tak was operated on indirectly by Tess and he retained the ability to see ghosts after the surgery, which pushed Seung-Tak to be the perfect vessel for Young-Min to possess. Their determination and pact to help those in need of help made them more alike than anything.
‘Ghost Doctor’ Season 1: Ending Explained – What Happened To Cha Young-Min After He Finally Woke Up?
While Seung-Tak could interact with the ghosts while they were in a coma, however, once they woke up from their coma, the patients forgot all interactions and resumed their previous life. Seung-Tak dreaded the day Young-Min would wake up and forget every moment they shared and their friendship. While he was anxious, he found out that Young-Min had recorded a video that would help him recall and accept the friendship they shared and also the important discussions he was to have with his girlfriend, Se-Jin. Seung-Tak under Young-Min’s mentoring and Tess’ support, performed the surgery with the help of Dr. Ahn, who had secured his place on the team to make sure that Min-Ho and Seung-Won could not injure Young-Min in any way.
The operation was successful and Young-Min had woken up, and as a means to play a prank, he pretended to not remember anything that had happened. However, his facade cracked when Seung-Tak barged in to show him the video he had made and wanted him to remember everything on his own accord. Seung-Tak was desperate not to lose the mentor and the best friend he had found in Young-Min, and due to the situations that had tied them, Young-Min ended up remembering everything. After this, they set out to set things right and make sure that perpetrators were captured. Dr. Ahn turned himself in and also implicated both Min-Ho and Seung-Won.
Tess, in the end, possessed the servicewoman and finally gifted Soo-Jung the cake he was supposed to take to her on the day of his death as a means to make peace with everything and move on from this realm. He had also stayed back to look after his best friend, Chairman Go Jae-Sik, Go Seung-Tak’s grandfather and the founder of the hospital. He decided that the hospital was in good hands, while observing Young-Min and Seung-Tak and decided to move on.
“Ghost Doctor” Season 1 is a pleasure to watch with different characters absolutely pulling the heartstrings of the audience, and the plot of possessing people to help others while investigating the mystery on the side is absolutely refreshing. The Korean drama industry seems to churn out gems each time they decide to drop a release.
“Ghost Doctor” is a 2022 Romance Drama series streaming on Netflix.
