White Tower (3)

Another medical drama revolves around the lives of doctors, the power struggle and politics in an hospital. I didnt expect to shed a tear for this drama since its very boring at the start- but in the end its worth a couple of tissue ^_^ ( I judged a drama to be boring if by the middle of the episode I tends to fall asleep or by the end of each episode I'm not tempted to continue watching the next episod and the next and the next....). It took me more than a week to finish of this 20-episodes drama. normally it only took me 3-4 days only.

Dr Jang Joon Hyeok (Kim Myung Min) and Dr Choi Do Young (Lee Sun Gyun) has been friends ever since they were studying at the hospital together. You would think only similarities can bring two person together to form a friendship but Dr Choi was different as day and night from Dr Jang. He was laid back, sympathetic with his patients' plight and only care what best for the patients- not to further his career. While Dr Jang, a talented gifted surgeon was very ambitious, arrogant and prideful. He do anything to be at the top of his field and to be the most recognized doctor. Not only he married another doctor's daughter to further himself up faster - while still keeping his mistress at the side- it didnt bother him the slightest to resort to any means possible; bribe, intimidate, shift the blame to others - to maintain his position. But as much as he's such a hateful person, you just cant seem to totally 100% hate him. Even Dr Choi, his best friend who testify against him in court still maintain their friendship. In a way they respected each other personally.

The drama would be much more interesting, if its more in-depth; that viewers can understand and in-tune with what the characters are feeling. Watching this make me feel like watching an english sitcom, I'm watching from the outside, just a spectators, no personal feeling - I just cant decribe it... Its like typical kdrama, makes you put yourself in that character's shoes, their situation;but this drama didnt.

Below are decriptions of each characters from http://www.koreanmovie.com/:
Jang Jun-hyeok (Kim Myeong-min),an assistant professor in the department of general surgery at Myeongin University.Strikingly tall with a stony demeanor, Jun-hyeok is an ambitious individual with an unrivaled drive for success. He is particularly renowned for his skill in hepatobiliary cancer and pancreas transplant surgeries, and is a celebrated scholar in the field of carcinogenesis. His dexterity with a scalpel is astounding.Intuitive decision-making, a confident attitude, and a cold personality are his defining characteristics. As a result, he often rubs people the wrong way and, in particular, makes Professor Lee Ju-wan deem him unsuitable to become the head of the department. Still, his talent and ability as a doctor are unsurpassed. What really sets him apart from other doctors is the fact that he obsesses more about his patients’ diseases than about the patients themselves. In other words, he derives exhilaration from encountering new diseases and conquering them.This attitude coincides with his life’s goal of becoming the best surgeon in the world. The first step in his journey toward this goal is to become the chief of the department of general surgery. This would make him the best in Korea, and provide the foundation for his intended rise to the top of the world. However, he comes across the first stumbling block in his life when Professor Lee Ju-wan tries to bring in someone from his alma mater as his successor.
Choi Do-yeong (Lee Sun Gyun), an assistant professor in the department of gastrointestinal medicine at Myeongin University, who graduated in the same class as Jang Jun-hyeok.Although he initially majored in basic medicine and pathology, Do-yeong switched to clinical medicine out of a desire to heal suffering patients with his own hands. He is gentle, kind, and considerate.His warm nature makes him the kind of a doctor that every patient wants to entrust their health to. Believing that a doctor must be rigorously scientific for his patients, he does not jump to conclusions in his diagnoses but poses question after question until he obtains absolute certainty. This places him in stark contrast to the intuitive Jun-hyeok. For this reason, they are constantly at conflict with each other. That is, as doctors, Do-yeong is idealistic whereas Jun-hyeok is pragmatic. Within the insular world of the university hospital, Do-yeong’s humane and idealistic attitude comes up against endless challenges.Clashing with surgeon Jang Jun-hyeok, with whom he has an organic relationship as a physician, Do-yeong is sometimes wooed and at other times threatened by the hospital, but he firmly stands his ground and defends his beliefs.

Lee Yun-jin (Song Seon-mi), Professor Lee Ju-wan’s daughter. Although Yun-jin appears shy and docile, she is in fact strong in character and firm in her convictions. Having observed the life of doctors from an early age, she is jaded by the hospital and rebels against her parents’ desire to marry her off to a doctor.

Kang Hee-jae (Kim Bo-kyeong) Dr Jang’s beautiful girlfriend. Because Hee-jae runs a bar near Myeongin University, a frequent haunt for doctors working at the university hospital, she serves as Jun-hyeok’s information source and even acts as an invaluable “spy” for him from time to time.Because she once attended medical school, she has no problem carrying on a professional conversation with the doctors who visit her bar. She is smart and intellectual, but her situation as an ex-med-student-turned-bar-hostess has made her rather cynical. She loves Jun-hyeok, but does not try to possess him.This testifies to the extent of her willingness to submit to reality. She regards Jun-hyeok, who single-mindedly follows his ambition, with sympathy rather than envy.