i can understand when people dwy this is overrated cuz everyone and their mamas know about this drama but really it deserves the recognition. ive gotten accustomed to jumpscares and sudden betrayals in dramas sm i expected smth to happen at least but nothing happened lmao. hospital playlist is all about 5 doctors and their personal lives and i loved how much insight we got in every operation and everything. i loved how they had a personal life to enjoy too after all their struggles the whole week
i have nothing much to say this is just a feel good drama showing struggles of doctors and the strong friendship between 5 besties. i have a lot of hope for season 2
i loved senghwa and ikjun sm. their foodie besti thing ugh i love them sm. also the parents being friends <33 ah my heart i love all of them sm im gonna cry
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As I get older I appreciate stories that focus on characters in their 30s/40s because its nice to see aspects of my own reality reflected back. The world is different at this age than when I was in my early 20s floundering through love. There are hard stories to watch here; one of the doctors works pediatrics. There were tears, and choked up moments because this show is so great at humanizing characters that only show up for a few minutes of screen time.
It’s also great at subverting expectations. There are not really and villains that you’d expect. There are shitty chaebols but also human, endearing ones. People come in a range of good and bad and we get to see them through our loveable group of long-time friends. The show is just the definition of a moving human drama.
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IKJUN BEST HUMAN!!
i personally watch this bcs jo jung suk is in the cast, he has incredible acting and can do anything. and i was right!!!him playing as ikjun is the best ever!! can sing, can dance, can act, handsome, also great at humor?? lee ikjun is literally jo jung suk in real life!!
thesecond best i like about this is the OST!! damn, i replying this over and over again, they r so talented. esp jo jungsuk and jeon mido. they did really well, their ost also charted so well, pretty sure jjs gonna got that Ost of the year!!
the third best character that i like after ikjun and songhwa is jang gyeo wool, i love her character development. the girl who dont care abt a patient, she did it her own way too~
about the ships, iam all for ikjun-songhwa, they r the sweetest, altho at 1st i like chihong, but when he cant take the hint with how many times songhwa reject him and he still pursuing her, and that day at the dinner with other nerosurgeon doctors, he crossed his lines. iam 100% IKSONG for endgame now!! def knewiksong gonna be super slow burn couple, but whatever, they r my endgame now
also, the cutest ujuuu!!
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But with an average rating of 9.3 and many dithyrambic reviews, I was expecting a unique gem. The show wasn't that for me.
The good points :
- Incredible cast and acting : great actors in EVERY main and supporting roles. (Probably the best casting I have ever seen in quantity and quality).
- Solid writing and pacing.
- Beautiful stories, realistic enough characters.
The average or bad points :
- The show was previsible to me (but I watched too many dramas... )
- I skipped some of the band parts (musical parts of the drama) : I didn't like the way it was recorded/mixed and the music didn't move me.
- For a medical drama, it is amazing (although I don't know anything about medecine). BUT there are already many great medical dramas out there, and although the medical parts were amazing, there was not much originality.
- The first season calls for the second with some cliffhangers at the end.
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Pure wine
This is most likely the only drama review I'll make in a lifetime. And that's because Hospital Playlist is certainly a drama that'll stay me for life. Friendly summary of everything I loved about it:- It's hard to beat the greatness of the main five friendship. Their chemistry, understandment and care are just something else.
- It portrays the beauty of life in its root. No flashy heroes, hateful villains or over the top happenings; only life and its greatness, and life doesn't have a planned outline.
- Characters are so well built and compelling, supported by brilliant acting. And I mean all characters, including hospital staff, families and patients. All of them feel important to me, it doesn't matter how big their roles are.
- Again: the acting in this drama is no joke, but rightfully expected from such a great cast. All the care on the process of casting showed.
- The musical breaks are so heart warming and comforting! The OSTs have been in my playlists for months already, and the Aloha karaoke scene remains as my favorite moment in the drama. Plus, props to the actors for making such an effort on actually playing the instruments. No more bad instrument playing cringe on dramas, please!
- It only gets better with time. By the time of this review, I've watched season one 8 times, and it's amazing how the show hooked me more the more I watched and understood its elements.
- The CRAZY amount of details and consistency. The amount of information (specially in the first couple of episodes) can be overwhelming at first, but it's full of meaningful scenario, characters and background details. It's impressive, really. Rewatch value is so high on this one!
- It's so full of emotions and realness. The work put here by all the actors and production must be commended. I sincerely want to thank all of them for making such a masterpiece.
I could go on and on about it, but this is already too lengthy. It's unbeliavable to me how Hospital Playlist could climb my favorites list right away, but I'm so happy it did. This is my comfort show and I can't get over it. Season 2, please come fast!
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Mature, skillful writing, direction, and acting that inspires
This is my current all-time favorite drama. Although it's a medical drama, it resists going down the melodramatic path and really strives for a sense of hope. It gives us a glimpse into the lives and meaningful friendships and relationships between very smart professionals. You get to know every character, including all the supporting cast, in amazing depth. It's light in the sense that you're not crying over dead people every moment and it isn't plot driven so some would say the pace is slow, but it's so very deep around the characters' love and support of each other that you are never bored. All the characters are written in a mature way without silly angsty features, which is refreshing. There is magic in every interaction and conversation. And there's an overlay of confidence, humbleness, and making good, moral decisions so the entire show radiates hope and inspiration that you feel like striving to emulate when you watch it.If you are looking for mature stories, amazing writing, and great acting, this is it. This is the ONLY drama I've rewatched more than twice, and without skipping ANY scenes. It's. That. Good.
The only thing I would have liked to change would be at least one more female in the main cast. It does pretty much balance out because there are a couple strong female supporting characters but having only 1 main female lead out of 5 is disappointing.
And if you've seen this show, you should check out the many behind the scenes videos online. You gain so much respect knowing how they made the show, how skilled the director is, and all the skills the actors had to learn.
In a COVID world where hope is sorely needed, I can't wait for the next season of inspirational relationships! I have a feeling it will take a very long time for another show to take the place of HP as my most favorite show ever.
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This review may contain spoilers
Okay. I started watching this drama without reading anything about it (well except the actors and director). Didn’t really know how the story will go or what. So half way thru the first episode I kept looking for answers to questions I have in mind - what’s the story? Who’s the main lead? Who’s the protagonist? Antagonist? What would be the main problem? Main love line? Etc. So when the first episode ended, I was quite surprised. I realized that I may have misinterpreted this drama. This drama is simply about the lives of five friends who happened to be doctors and are working in the same hospital.Seeing that this was the plot (reminded me of reply series tbh), it made me feel refreshed. Initially I postponed watching it when it first aired because it will only air one episode per week and I cannot stress enough how I anxious I think I will be while waiting for the next episode. But I easily gave in, I started watching when episode 3 or 4 was out.
It’s not your typical medical drama where everyone keeps cockblocking the career of others for their own advantage. And where one episode is dedicated to just solely treating a patient.
I love the friendships of every one in this drama. Starting from the five main leads, the doctors in the hospital and of course, the “oldies” (the mothers and the chairman). They really complement each other. But of everyone my most favorite character would Ikjun. He’s just so funny and mature at the same time. A good father, a good friend, and I believe he is a good lover.
Love love love the OSTs as well!!! The voice of Jo Jungseok is really something!!! Daebak!!!
The ending was such a cliff hanger. Can’t wait for the next season!!! Hopefully it’ll be out next year. And really hoping that they will still be the leads for the next season.
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We saw each character’s strengths and weaknesses, their inner conflict, and the reality of what they have to go through in their daily lives. Sometimes they need to give bad news to the patient's family and how every bad news also breaks them inside, as they are a human first before they are a doctor. How they have to sacrifice their personal time for patients and how to make time for themselves.
This show does not have a major plot going on, a major villain, a major case to solve, a big secret buried and waiting to be revealed, nothing like that. This is just a story of a few doctors and how they cope with their daily life. Yet I did not find any dull moments for 12 episodes. Every case is interesting, every patient shows a piece of the reality people struggle with. I feel like I watched us on hospital playlist, I watched the stories about humans and I think that's what we need right now.
I am so happy we will get season 2. I will not wait for season 2 just to get the endgame of our beloved iksong couple (even I certainly hope they will end up together), but more than that, I will definitely wait for another patient’s story and the relationship they have with our doctors!
PS: this drama definitely has the best soundtrack ever (other than goblin)!
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1. The all around feel-good nature of the drama. There aren't "bad" character or "enemies".
2. The morals and lessons that are taught throughout
3. The character development/interactions between not only the main characters but side ones.
4. The witty and comical bantering between everyone
5. The style in which the writer tries to mislead you into thinking one way and then reveals the underlying truth sometimes not until much much later. Details are important!!
I'm so so excited that Hospital Playlist is getting a second season. I just can't get enough of these characters and I can't wait to see them again soon!
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This review may contain spoilers
Light drama that takes your stress away
First things first, this drama is a big appreciation for our medical staffs especially now that we are in the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, this is so light and it's perfect as a stress-reliever. If you are tired, overworked, bored, sleepy, you can watch atleast one episode then after that continue whatever you need to do. For my case, it really worked. A few times, I only watched half the episode then continued later. It's not because it is not engaging but it was just really light compared to the ones that keep you in the edge and that's its beauty. There is no major plot, the drama strive no masterpiece, it is just meant to make you smile a little, laugh a little, cry a little and just there to refresh you. The medical aspect is close to reality, not dramatic, just right and some of the stories just hits you naturally especially those in the finale.But, I do believe that our medical friends will much more appreciate this drama, since, there are technical terms that might be really helpful for them especially to those that are med students. And there are med jokes, I'm sure they'll loved (I am not a med student, I am programmer btw). Overall, this is really nice, I also learned a little on what the doctors do on certain cases.
However, the reason why my rating is not that high, because although it delivered as a light medical drama, I think there is some mediocrity in it, especially in the first two episodes. The first episode was a bit over the place. There are some stories of the patients in those episodes that I just felt like kind of force. I mean, the stories are sad and I cried, but the directing and acting on some of those first emotional scenes weren't delivered very well as I expected. The humor is also there, I laughed but did not buy me off. The editing of the first scene in episode 1 did really seem mediocre in my opinion --but, wait hold up!! Don't be discouraged because episode 3 got me attached to it and have warmed up to their friendship and by episode 4, I am really vibing the drama.
I also want to talk about the romance as its sub-plot, although I enjoyed the ships especially Min Ha and Seok Hyeong, I think this drama would've been really impactful not it almost turn into a shipping club. But, for what it is, I enjoyed its low-key romance.
The likes:
- Jun Wan and Song Hwa best food buddies
- Yang Seok Hyeong, the sweetest teddy bear!
- Min Ha x Seok Hyeong ship (they are my absolutely OTP in this drama!)
- Gyeoul's character development and her motivation of becoming a better doctor!
- The friendship, it is lovely
- Chae Song Hwa best teacher, best girl, best prof
- Ik Jun being the best PR, doctor and a father
- Uju moments (I hope to see more in season 2)
- Jun Wan and Jae Hak friendship development!
- The touching finale
- Its nice OSTs
The dislikes (major spoilers ahead):
- Ahn Jeong Won's shallow character development.
He's a sweet nice doctor, I commend his character for that. But, I don't buy the way he was 'obsessed' of being a priest, maybe not really 'obsess', but the drama did not give a backstory or the main reason why he wanted to become a priest, the whole plot was just there to become some comic relief. It was really shallow for me. I also thought that at least at the end of this season he would realize that God's calling for him is to become a doctor, but he realized mostly because of some 'romantic' reasons. I know not just because of Gyeoul, but let's admit that she is the biggest influence.
- Ahn Jeong Won treatment on Gyeoul that doesn't feel right
- The lowkey jokes about Catholic priests and nuns
- Some transitions of scenes on the drama's first part
- Choi Young-Joon role as the gossip doctor (I really liked him in Flower of Evil but here his only job is to be a gossip doctor, if he's going to be cast again in season 2 I hope to see more involvement in the medical cases^^)
So, that's it. Of course there are things I did not like but you see, there are more things that I liked. I enjoyed the drama, got refreshed by it and appreciated our medical staffs! :) So last words, if you are craving for a romcom, not this one, next. But, if you are in for some medical drama that is light, good, simple with some good friendships and nice feel good music, hop in and this drama might be for you!
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What a refreshing, well written, excellently directed, fabulously paced and realistic programme this is.
It is not at all sentimental, but feels very real and believable ; from the interactions of the main friends and their colleagues and families, to the patients, their problems and the anxiousness of their guardians. There is no overacting, no perfect scenarios, no obvious clichés, but plenty of laughs, some tears and frustrations.
Real doctors, nurses and carers should watch this too, as it portrays the care patients should get, as when they don't, it isn't washed over, but shown honestly and discussed.
The cast has been perfectly chosen and their relationships are very believable and honest.
I cared about all of them, felt invested in every episode and became quickly addicted.
This one of those dramas that stands out, because it is underpinned by talent from every angle; not by special effects, emphasis on gore, over-the-top fight scenes, power crazy CEOs and mistreated characters.
The struggles, tough decisions, stress and bonds of friendship that are played out, are like a breath of fresh air.
I simply cannot wait for 2021 and series 2, and I cannot possibly recommend this drama enough. Simply FABULOUS! Watch it, or lose out ?
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This review may contain spoilers
I am really not that type of person who'll write a review. I have been using mdl for years and this is my first time to write one.First of all, the story is so good. The writer and PD never fails to amaze me. The cast is so perfect - they portray their roles very well to the point that you'll think that's really their personalities irl. Especially YYS, I am just in love with him now - I have been watching his dramas even before HP but danggg, this is the first time that I appreciate his visuals and his smile. He got me.
Second,
The FEELS. I cannot describe how I am obsessed with this drama. I cannot seem to get over it. The OST is amazing and do I really have to mention the rewatch value? I mean I have lost count in how many times I have watched it especially the last episode. The emotions are there. I CAN FEEL IT. I CRIED WITH THEM. My Winter Garden heart is happy and satisfied. Can't wait for season 2!
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