Only Kim Ji-won Could Pull Off 'Doctor X' [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

This time, it is a doctor who stands against a medical cartel. Actress Kim Ji-won, breaking her two-year hiatus, has once again proven her potential by seizing the medical genre as well.

In SBS's new Friday-Saturday drama "Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia," which aired its first episode on the 9th, Kim Ji-won played the role of genius surgeon Gye Su-jung. In the story, Gye Su-jung, known as the "crazy Gye of the operating room," is a character who confronts the so-called "White Mafia" that pursues power and profit within Gu Seo National University Hospital.

Gye Su-jung's abilities were fully revealed from the very first broadcast. On her first day at the hospital, she did not flinch even before the absolute authority of Director Kim Myeong-seop (played by Kim Jong-gu), speaking her mind or delivering sharp rebukes to fellow doctors who had hitched their wagons to power for their own advancement.

Her qualities as a doctor who prioritizes patients' health and lives above all else were also displayed without reservation. The scene that best showcased this was the appearance of VIP patient Park Gwang-cheol (played by Kim Gi-cheon), who is receiving an imperial medical examination. Gye Su-jung threw Park to the floor, snatched his wheelchair, and placed Joo Hee (played by Yuna), a patient she had carried in herself, into it. She also successfully performed an extremely difficult surgery that left everyone at a loss, delivering a sense of catharsis.

Viewers responded to Gye Su-jung's unyielding, straight-ahead demeanor. According to Nielsen Korea, the viewership rating for the first episode of "Doctor X," broadcast on the 9th, was 11.4% nationwide and 11.2% in the Seoul metropolitan area, with a peak per-minute rating of 12.9%. This marked the highest first-episode rating among mini-series aired this year, achieving the feat of ranking first not only in its time slot but also among all Friday programs.

The viewership rating for the second episode, broadcast on the 10th, rose even higher than the previous day. It reached 14.9% nationwide and 14.7% in the Seoul metropolitan area, with a peak rating of 17.4%, setting a new all-time high record after just two episodes.

Kim Ji-won returned to television screens for the first time in two years, following the tvN drama "Queen of Tears," which aired in 2024. At the production press conference held on the 7th, she shared her thoughts on her return, saying, "It has been a long time since I last greeted you, so my hands are trembling, and I feel both excited and nervous. During my hiatus, I prepared and thought about what kind of image I would show you while waiting."

Kim Ji-won, who had repeatedly mentioned her excitement and nervousness at the time, presented a different side from the face she showed in previous works such as "Queen of Tears," enhancing the immersion in the drama. In particular, "Doctor X" incorporated Kim Ji-won's diverse and multi-dimensional acting that audiences had not previously seen, including the sense of responsibility and decisiveness of a doctor with a strong mission, her realistic habit of packing up her bag to leave work at 6 p.m., and her down-to-earth portrayal of being content with just one cup of instant noodles.

In future episodes of the drama, the story is expected to focus more intensively on the secrets Gye Su-jung has hidden and the medical cartel. Anticipation is already building as to what kind of character Kim Ji-won's Gye Su-jung will ultimately become by the end.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original