The Trauma Code’s ending makes it feel like the whole show was set up just to introduce us to a helicopter. Of course, I’m only joking, but for a show about emergency rooms, the focus is quite a lot on this one helicopter that our lead protagonist, Baek Kang-Hyuk, is after. Now neither is the helicopter a metaphor for something profound nor is it just a helicopter; I suppose it’s an emotion. The show tells the story of Baek Kang-Hyuk, a genius trauma doctor. Kang-Hyuk finds himself at HNUH, or the Hanguk National University Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in the country, after the health minister asks the hospital to appoint him. Kang-Hyuk himself doesn’t come from a known university and does things on his own terms—a doctor without manners. This leads to nearly all of the hospital scheming against him, while the 3 doctors who actually work with him know that the only thing he really cares about is saving patients. In The Trauma Code’s ending, Baek and his team go to South Sudan to save a Korean military man with loads of bullet wounds. This is meant to be his redemption arc because he and the minister are being accused of cronyism. So does it work, and does the public opinion towards Baek change? Let’s find out.
How Does Yang Jae-Won Change?
In The Trauma Code, Baek stands out as a doctor because of his speed and how he never hesitates. Yang is Baek’s prodigy, but he doesn’t have a sense of purpose. Sure, he wants to save patients, but there’s something missing there; he’s looking for answers, and that’s okay. In the final episode of the show, I think Yang realizes that his purpose is saving patients, but it’s also specifically to become like Baek—a dedicated doctor who never hesitates and always puts the patient first. Baek faces many obstacles during his time in the hospital, yet he somehow manages to overcome them all with ease. In episode 8, Yang finds himself in a predicament when Baek’s the patient on the bed in front of him. The big dilemma is whether they should go get a CT scan and possibly miss the “golden hour” or if he is confident enough to be able to perform surgery without a CT scan (kids, don’t try this at home). Yang thinks of himself rather than Baek, yet chooses to go directly to the OT without hesitation. This is despite people around him doubting him. So ultimately, Yang did learn from working under Baek, and nothing would’ve prepared him to be a better surgeon/doctor or a better human being. There’s no doubt HNUH has another Baek in the making (whoops).
Is Park Gyeong-Won Really A Spy?
Park is the anesthesiologist resident who works with Baek the most. He isn’t meant to be in the hospital as much because he’s a fourth-year student, but he’s the only one diligent enough to work with Baek. The director asks him to spy on Baek for him early on in the show, and he does, but it turns out he was only pretending to do it because he wanted to “protect” the trauma center. If the trauma center died with Baek, then he would have nowhere to apply to after he was done studying. Sure, it’s a little bit selfish, but he’s very important to the team and really cares for his colleagues, especially Baek, who, of course, teaches him loads.
Why Does The Hospital Despise Baek?
I think the real message of this show is that people need to stop judging professionals based on their background and university and focus on the work they do. The whole hospital despises Baek not only because he’s a doctor without manners (though he’s that way because of how people treat him) but also because he’s got no “proper” background. It doesn’t matter if he’s got experience from working in high pressure places such as Afghanistan while still succeeding, or if he saves nearly every patient he operates on, because at HNUH none of that matters. The show is clearly taking a dig at the hierarchical system in Korea. It’s not just doctors and hospitals where people’s university backgrounds determine their worth. Dr. Han Yu-Rim starts off as a Baek hater because he thinks he’s eating through the hospital budget. Ironically, there’s 10 billion won in store for the trauma center, yet they’re the ones in deficit. Han doesn’t think what Baek is doing is extraordinary until one of the emergency patients ends up being his very own daughter. Han is desperate for Baek to save her, and when he does, Han’s perspective of Baek changes completely. So, when his old friend Hong asks him to choose sides wisely, he chooses Baek, because his apparent “friend” didn’t even check on Han’s daughter while she was in the hospital. At the end of the show, Han takes charge of the trauma center while Baek is not around, making their bond somehow stronger. See, Han pretends he is Baek and even goes to a fire site himself to help the patients. However, this is where Baek gets injured after he comes rushing there directly after landing from South Sudan (what a dedicated doctor who needs no rest at all).
Why Did Baek Start Working for HNUH?
Throughout the show, we know that Baek’s father died because he couldn’t get emergency surgery after an accident. At the time, none of the hospitals took him in, and the golden hour passed him by; however, one doctor at HNUH didn’t give up on him until the last moment. A question everybody keeps asking on the show is, “Why this hospital?” We get the answer to that in the final episode. The doctor who never gave up on Baek’s dad was none other than director Choi Jo-Eun. In episode 8, Baek tells Choi this story sincerely, and realizing what he’s forgotten after 24 years, i.e., “the patient comes first,” he approves the helicopter for HNUH.
What Happens To Baek?
In The Trauma Code’s ending, Baek gets the well-earned respect he deserves at the inauguration ceremony of the helicopter. It’s not only the hospital staff who respect him now, but with the chief on his side, the entire hospital now realizes who the real good guy here is. I also think the public view of Baek changed thanks to his visit to South Sudan and his saving the military guy. At the end of the day, it seems Baek’s going to stay working for HNUH for a long time, and even if he doesn’t get paid a hefty sum for it, it doesn’t matter because he’ll be saving precious lives, and nothing will come in his way, not even being late during an emergency situation. Of course, the main message here is that everybody who works in the emergency/trauma department works terribly hard, and we must be grateful for their work. The show ends with Baek and his team getting ready for new patients.
