Eh, well, I know why I stay away from medical and crime dramas made by Koreans, or East Asians in general, because I have seen so many American ones (and quite a few European gems) that it's next to impossible to compete in this genre. They got it down to a beat in terms of gritty and raw.
Now the Korean flavour works sometimes but not really in these genres, not for me. I've been watching E. R. and others and crime dramas since I was practically in high school. You can't fool me with flashy twists out of nowhere and characters having fits and power trips every five minutes, it looks so fake and hurts the authenticity. So, if you don't have that kind of reference to compare it to, sure, go ahead and watch this and others like it. In fact the only reason I tried it is because everybody raves about it and it's a short format, which is always more approachable than the standard 16 episode drama. It has its good parts, I think the trauma scenes look very realistic, but the childish corporate backstabbing and the doctors and chiefs behaving like five year olds whose cookie got taken away are just not my cup of tea at all. Dr. Baek is an enjoyable lead, even with his narcissistic persona and his No 1 provides a likeable foil and after all I kind of enjoyed it, but 3.5 is the best I can give it. It is by no means revolutionary and not even special.
Just watch This is Going to Hurt. It's the most recent one I can think of that excels at rawness and authenticity.
Now the Korean flavour works sometimes but not really in these genres, not for me. I've been watching E. R. and others and crime dramas since I was practically in high school. You can't fool me with flashy twists out of nowhere and characters having fits and power trips every five minutes, it looks so fake and hurts the authenticity. So, if you don't have that kind of reference to compare it to, sure, go ahead and watch this and others like it. In fact the only reason I tried it is because everybody raves about it and it's a short format, which is always more approachable than the standard 16 episode drama. It has its good parts, I think the trauma scenes look very realistic, but the childish corporate backstabbing and the doctors and chiefs behaving like five year olds whose cookie got taken away are just not my cup of tea at all. Dr. Baek is an enjoyable lead, even with his narcissistic persona and his No 1 provides a likeable foil and after all I kind of enjoyed it, but 3.5 is the best I can give it. It is by no means revolutionary and not even special.
Just watch This is Going to Hurt. It's the most recent one I can think of that excels at rawness and authenticity.