Asian Movies, Music, Entertainment and Dramas: More Bong Dal Hee (Oegwauisa Bongdalhui) 외과의사 봉달희

**WARNING there are some spoilers here!!!!

Lee Bum Soo's first drama in 16 years of acting. He is usually a wise cracking comedian or other interesting acting roles but not a serious Surgeon as he plays here. I must say I don't really care for the haircut. I do love the scene in Episode #14 where Dr. Bong walks in on Dr. Paek giving Dr. Ahn penicillin for syphilis! (After giving a shot to the patient, he pricked himself with the same noodle --the same one on the patient with syphilis!)

I did enjoy the drama overall. I can agree with many fans loving this drama and the characters actually have stories (ie the other residents who started along with Surgeon Bong). Lee Yo Won did a great job as Bong Dal Hee. I read somewhere she got the perm and deliberately wanted to not look good as that would be more realistic. It is not unheard of those who save lives do not have a chance to be very healthy with lack of sleep, not eating well creates many health problems for interns, residents and doctors. For Dr. Bong, it is more difficult with heart situation but her hard work and determination to be a Cardiac Surgeon are commendable.

I enjoyed the transformation of the cold, blunt and rude Dr. Ahn (Lee Bum Soo) to be a bit more caring and warming up to Dr. Bong in later episodes. It is apparent especially after their stint in the country after dealing with an AIDS patient. I did not believe they had on no goggles or gloves when doing surgery on him!

Or how Dr. Bong got stabbed by a criminal whom Dr. Ahn had saved after not sharing some much needed "O" blood to Dr. Lee to save a child who got hurt by the criminal too. This stabbing really brings out Dr. Ahn's concern for Dr. Bong. But Dr. Lee was still in the picture. I thought it cute that Dr. Ahn would come by every free moment to be with Dr. Bong. But he is very awkward with girls and you can tell when he practically "barks" orders to ask Dr. Bong on a date. Everytime he thinks he did a good job after interacting with Dr. Bong he will smile to himself. It shows the softer side of him coming out. Even the usually righteous and moral doctor went against Dr. Bong's request for a different heart valve and put in a mechanical one (he admitted and apologized saying he did not want to lose her and thought of it as a man and not a doctor).

The little boy who is Dr. Lee's son is very cute! I loved his sweet smile, big eyes fringed with long lashes and his slight lisp just makes you want to hug him and pinch his cheeks. Everytime he came out, my sister and I sighed now cute the child actor was onscreen! Definitely an future cute heartbreaker!

When Dr. Lee is leaving for America, I liked how the residents hammed it up putting "We Love you Dr. Lee! Come back soon" It was written on their scrubs, very cute! Another memorable moment, Dr. Lee's first glimpse of Dr. Bong and in her "Pooh Bear" skivvies! Priceless!

The ending being three years later, Dr. Bong has a new crop of residents and she is laying down the rules. *Very cute. She and her other starting resident bump into Dr. Ahn in the hallways. Very cool ending.

외과의사 봉달희/Wegwa-uisa Bong Dal-hee)

(SYNOPSIS from www.global.sbs.co.kr)

Dal-hee is a young doctor who graduated from a lesser-known medical school than her fellow doctors and suffers from a heart condition. She starts her first year of residency at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and this TV series follows her trials at work. A medical TV series that follows the lives of young doctors who deal with setbacks, deaths, patients, and tensions on the job as they grow into full-fledged doctors! Set amid the surgery department of a hospital, this is story about love and marriage among four doctors – First year resident Dal-hee, Cardiothoracic surgeon Ahn Joong-geun, General surgeon Lee Gun-wook, and Pediatrician Cho Moon-gyeong.

Dal-hee(actress Lee Yo-won) has had a frail health since she was a young girl and her condition made her want to become a doctor so that she could cure diseases. But in the first year of her residency, she undergoes a heart operation and this forces her to give up her dreams of ever becoming a doctor. She returns to her hometown where she finds work at a local public health clinic but she can not forget her lifelong dream. With little expectation, she applies for a residency at a general hospital in Seoul and she is accepted due to a shortfall of applicants. Finally, she is able to reach for her dreams again by starting her residency. But she has to complete the 100-day on-call duty in her first year and she tries harder than any other doctor to do her best but she keeps on making small mistakes that leads to serious complications for her patients. As Dal-hee overcomes the prejudices and misperceptions held against her by her peers, she finally gains the respect of her fellow doctors and completes her residency in three years. During those years, heart specialist Ahn Joong-geun(actor Lee Beom-soo) and Dr. Lee Gun-wook(actor Kim Min-joon) develop a rivalry at the hospital to become leading doctors and they also fall in love with Dal-hee. But Dal-hee’s health begins to deteriorate because of the grueling working hours at the hospital. She refuses to listen to the advice of her doctor and continues to work. Because of her health, she tries to take it easy at work but Joong-geun steps up the pressure when he finds her taking breaks. Dal-hee realizes that curing patients has made her life fulfilling and so she relies on her mental edge to keep her going at work but one day she collapses in the middle of an operation. That incident put her entire career on hold...

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_drama_detail.htm?No=897

Surgeon Bong Dal Hee (외과의사 봉달희/Wegwa-uisa Bong Dal-hee) aired on SBS January to March of 2007.The title character Bong Dal-hee (Lee Yo-won) is an ambitious first year resident who works hard to achieve her dream of becoming a surgeon, despite her heart problem. Dr. Ahn Jong-geun (Lee Bum-soo) is a cardiologist and Dal-hee’s attending physician. They have a rocky start but begin to develop a bond as time goes by. Dr. Lee Geon-wook (Kim Min-joon) divorced fellow-doctor Jo Moon-kyung (Oh Yoon-ah) when he found out that their 6 year-old son is not actually his, but was fathered by another man before they had married. He obviously still has feelings for her but feels betrayed and hurt. Korea’s answer to the US medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Surgeon Bong Dal-hee is centered on the lives of resident physicians in and out of the hospital. These doctors live a roller-coaster life, dealing with the stresses and joys of work, office politics as well as their personal lives.

-review about White Tower in comparison against Surgeon Bong Dal Hee By Cho Chung-un

Historical dramas have ruled TV screens since last year with all three major broadcast stations in Korea rushing to produce epic series. But recently, local TV dramas seem to have found a new flavor. Making a big jump from using stories from ancient eras, TV screens have begun to focus on the lives of professionals living in the present, such as medical doctors.MBC and SBS each began to air medical dramas earlier this month and the two serial dramas are both topping the viewer ratings chart. This is not the first time mainstream TV channels have produced medical dramas. But the latest trend, the so-called "medical drama boom", clearly shows that viewers are now turning their backs on "palpable" and "conventional" triangle love stories."Production companies started to address new subjects. This perhaps shows changes in viewers' preferences, leaning toward new subjects because they are fed up with watching melodramatic stories or comic dramas", a TV critic said.

The two medical dramas both tell the stories of struggling surgeons and their isolated daily lives in big hospitals.MBC's weekend drama "Behind the White Tower" portrays doctors' obsessions with power and success by revealing the brutal power games that unfold at a hospital recognized as the best medical institute in the country. The drama focuses on the story of a brilliant surgeon Chang Jun-hyuck who takes every possible opportunity to achieve his goal of becoming chief surgeon of the prestigious hospital.Kim Myeong-min, hero of the smash-hit KBS drama "Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin", takes the role of Chang, an ambitious and two-faced doctor who eventually loses his fame when he blindly disregards patients because of his obsessive ambitions.Produced by renowned Kim Jong-hak Productions, known for filming a number of successful TV series, the drama attempts to depict the doctors' lives in a realistic way. It reportedly made a huge investment in building a set that resembles a real operating room complete with medical instruments.It seems pointless to compare this drama with the medical drama "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" aired on SBS, because the two take a different approach to telling the story of doctors.If "Behind the White Tower" tells of a series of bitter power games at the male-dominated hospital, "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" entertains viewers with a softer story of a troublesome female doctor.Bong Dal-hee is a resident doctor, a native of the remote Ulleung Island, who is making slow progress in becoming a surgeon. Bong struggles with other competent resident doctors but it is her compassionate character that wins patients' hearts. Star actress Lee Yo-won takes the role of the pure and innocent doctor on the drama which airs every Wednesday and Thursday night.What differentiates this drama is that it contains a triangle love story and comedy, while MBC's "Behind the White Tower" takes a very serious look at power games among medical doctors. "Surgeon Bong Dal-hee" seems a bit like a Cinderella story when watching the troublesome resident doctor loved by two rival doctors, Ahn Jung-geun (played by Lee Beom-soo) and Lee Gun-woo (Kim Min-joon).Thanks to the medical drama boom, other local TV channels also started to air foreign-made medical dramas such as the smash-hit series "Grey's Anatomy" and "E.R"., the original Japanese version of "White Tower (2003)".The medical drama boom is likely to continue for the rest of the year as "General Hospital 2" is scheduled to air in March. Some filmmakers are also rushing to make films of medical dramas. "Gidam", a tragic story of doctors in the 1940s when the country was under Japanese colonial rule, featuring versatile actor Kim Tae-woo, is currently in production, sources say.

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/03/16/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-special/---

(source of following weblinks below)

SBS Good Morning did a one hour special on “…Dal Hee”, the one hour special consists of behind-the-scenes, ngs, and interviews. Cute scenes of Lee Bum Soo and Lee Yo Won, it’s a must watch clip for Dr. Ahn & Dal Hee’s shipper!
— 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0aYXS_SIQ

— 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk-uc1SfuYc

— 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylgw8FlOD58

— 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPmtuu27U0s

— 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEsxLxR8kHI

— 6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3quPAnsfgqw

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/02/21/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-episode-11/

http://apdy.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/surgeon-bong-dal-hee-ep-17-preview/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUO2zD5thxU (Video meet up for date-brief)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Cf1Z7U2G0&mode=related&search= (dating theme Bong Dal hee) fanmade video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KELWGINOwi0&mode=related&search= (kiss scene episode 17)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKO3JYHSe3Y&amp;amp;amp;mode=related&search= (romance theme fanmade MV)

http://apdy.wordpress.com/tag/1-tv-dramamusic/surgeon-bong-dal-hee/ (listing of her blog entries regarding Bong Dal Hee