Doctor Slump () is a 2024 South Korean medical romantic comedy television series written by , directed by , and starring Park Hyung-sik, Park Shin-hye, Yoon Park, and . The series depicts the lives of two former high school rivals who reunite during the lowest points of their respective careers.
Produced under SLL and HighZium Studio, principal photography took place in Seoul, Busan, and Pyeongchang between March and October 2023. The series aired on JTBC from January 27, to March 17, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 (KST). It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, and on Netflix in selected regions.
Doctor Slump received positive reviews for its sensitive portrayal of mental health, burnout, and the chemistry between the lead actors, Park Hyung-sik and Park Shin-hye, marking their first collaboration since the 2013 SBS TV series The Heirs. The series was also a commercial success, reaching a peak nationwide viewership of 8.2% on Nielsen Korea. It also gained significant international popularity, ranking first on the Netflix Global Top 10 list for non-English television series and remained on the charts for nine consecutive weeks.
Plot Two brilliant doctors whose lives were once defined by academic excellence and professional prestige hit rock bottom simultaneously. During their high school years, Yeo Jeong-woo and Nam Ha-neul were fierce rivals, competing for the top rank in the national mock exams. While Jeong-woo was the effortless, popular genius, Ha-neul was the relentless "study machine" who sacrificed every luxury for her grades.
Fourteen years later, Jeong-woo has become a star plastic surgeon with a flawless reputation and a massive social media following. However, his life is upended when a mysterious medical accident during a routine surgery leads to the death of a patient—the girlfriend of a powerful casino mogul. Framed by a conspiracy and facing a 10-billion-won lawsuit, Jeong-woo loses his clinics, his wealth, and his public standing. Destitute and traumatized, he is forced to move into a humble rooftop room.
Simultaneously, Ha-neul has become a highly skilled anesthesiologist at a prestigious university hospital. Despite her brilliance, she is treated as a doormat by a narcissistic senior professor who steals her research and subjects her to verbal abuse. The cumulative stress of her "burnout" lifestyle eventually manifests as clinical depression. After a near-fatal incident where she almost collapses into traffic from exhaustion, Ha-neul realizes she can no longer function. She quits her job, much to the horror of her mother, who struggles to understand how a "successful doctor" could be mentally ill.
The two former rivals reunite when Jeong-woo unknowingly rents the rooftop room of the building owned by Ha-neul's family. Initially, their reunion is marked by the same petty bickering that defined their teenage years. However, as they navigate their respective "slumps", they find that they are the only people capable of providing true comfort to one another.
As Ha-neul undergoes therapy to reclaim her life, she helps Jeong-woo investigate the medical malpractice case that ruined him. Together, they discover a web of surveillance and betrayal involving a close colleague. Ultimately, the series chronicles their journey of healing, proving that a professional "slump" can serve as a necessary pause to rediscover personal happiness and a life beyond their medical licenses.
Cast and characters Main Park Hyung-sik as Yeo Jeong-woo Seo Woo-jin as young Yeo Jeong-woo A plastic surgeon who achieved academic and professional success early in life due to his academic aptitude, graduating from South Korea's top medical school and gaining public recognition through a documentary about his overseas volunteer work performing reconstructive surgeries. He views plastic surgery as a means to improve patients' self-esteem and quality of life, a philosophy that helped him build a prominent public profile and co-found a medical YouTube channel that earned a Gold Creator Award. However, his career faces a crisis when a patient dies during a facial contouring surgery under mysterious circumstances, complicated by the unexplained failure of the operating room's CCTV cameras during the procedure. Struggling to cope with the sudden downfall and seeking escape from public scrutiny, he unexpectedly reunites with Ha-neul, his intense academic rival from his school years. Park Shin-hye as Nam Ha-neul Yu Ha-yeon as young Nam Ha-neul An anesthesiologist who was recognized as an academic prodigy from a young age in Busan, consistently ranking at the top of her school through extreme, self-sacrificing study habits and eventually scoring first in the nation on a high school mock examination. Driven by a strong competitive nature and the belief that temporary self-deprivation would secure her future happiness, she eschewed social relationships and leisure to focus entirely on her education, leading her family to relocate to Seoul where she encountered her academic rival, Jeong-woo, before successfully entering medical school. Despite achieving her goal of becoming a doctor, the prolonged psychological strain and lack of work-life balance eventually cause her to experience severe burnout, prompting her to abruptly resign from her position to re-evaluate her life. Unaccustomed to leisure and struggling to adapt to free time, her routine shifts when Jeong-woo unexpectedly moves into the rooftop apartment of her family's building. Although they initially resume their high school animosity, Ha-neul develops empathy for Jeong-woo upon witnessing his night terrors and isolating legal battles stemming from a mysterious medical malpractice incident, leading her to provide emotional and legal support while he teaches her how to relax, which gradually transitions their rivalry into mutual romantic interest. Yoon Park as Bin Dae-yeong A plastic surgeon running La Beaute Plastic Surgery Clinic in Gangnam, though his practice struggles financially despite his attempts to attract patients through billboard advertisements and a personal lifestyle vlog on YouTube. As a university classmate who is older than Jeong-woo due to entering medical school late, Dae-yeong harbors a complex mix of envy and affection toward his more successful peer; though he initially leaves malicious online comments out of jealousy rooted in a past misunderstanding from their college days, he defends Jeong-woo against public backlash and assists in his eventual professional return after Jeong-woo's downfall. Additionally, Dae-yeong is a single father raising a middle-school-aged daughter following a difficult divorce from his wealthy ex-wife, whose family subjected him to demanding personal requests. While struggling with the challenges of raising a teenage daughter alone, he develops a mutual support system with Hong-ran, a neighboring gynecologist who helps him navigate parenting dilemmas while he assists with her young son. as Lee Hong-ran An obstetrician and gynecologist, a university classmate of Ha-neul, and her closest friend since their residency. She is a divorced single mother raising her six-year-old son, struggles to balance her demanding medical career—which involves frequent night calls—with her efforts to fill the absence of a father for her child. Due to her schedule, her mother cares for her son during the week, while Hong-ran takes over on weekends, often finding herself unable to fulfill certain requests like taking him to gender-segregated public baths or participating in activities she dislikes, such as insect collecting. Despite her heavy drinking habits and aggressive socialization style, she was the one who initially initiated contact with the solitary Ha-neul, forming a lasting bond. In her professional vicinity, she repeatedly crosses paths with Dae-young, a divorced plastic surgeon operating a clinic across from hers, after discovering his YouTube channel and experiencing an accidental introduction that eventually leads them to support each other through their respective personal shortcomings. as Min Kyung-min A medical professional who shares close connections with both Jeong-woo and Ha-neul. He originally met Jeong-woo while working as his medical student tutor during Jeong-woo's senior year of high school, eventually becoming a close, familial figure to him and later working dedicatedly to help clear Jeong-woo's name following his medical malpractice crisis. Professionally, Kyung-min also served as a hospital senior to Ha-neul and Hong-ran during their residency. Due to his kind demeanor and professional competence, he earned the deep respect of the otherwise reserved Ha-neul, leading others to perceive a romantic connection between them and leaving Ha-neul with lasting memories of their past interactions.
Supporting Ha-neul's family Jang Hye-jin as Kong Wol-seon A single mother who gave birth to her daughter, Ha-neul, at nineteen, and values the youthful, close relationship she shares with her children while living with her late husband's family. Her primary source of pride and fulfillment is Ha-neul's career as a doctor, which helps mitigate other family stressors, including her late husband's absence and her nearly thirty-year-old son's prolonged unemployment. However, Wol-seon faces an emotional challenge when Ha-neul is diagnosed with depression, transitioning from initial denial to acceptance as she focuses on supporting her daughter's mental health recovery. Yoon Sang-hyeon as Nam Ba-da Ha-neul's younger brother. Unlike his academically successful sister, Ba-da possesses neither an aptitude nor an interest in studying, operating under the belief that one top student per household is sufficient. Officially an unemployed job seeker, he lacks the ambition to find employment and instead hopes to inherit his mother's building to live comfortably, maintaining a cheerful attitude despite regular criticism from his mother and sister. To attract romantic interest, he intentionally alters his dialect depending on whether he is speaking to women from Seoul or Busan. Following Ha-neul's burnout and subsequent unemployment, Ba-da finds amusement in the situation, jokingly arguing that he is the more dutiful child for never raising their family's expectations in the first place. Hyun Bong-sik as Kong Tae-seon Ha-neul's maternal uncle, who runs a milmyeon restaurant on the ground floor of their building after learning the craft as a kitchen assistant at a top restaurant in Busan. Despite his imposing build and strong regional dialect, he is dedicated to his business, maintaining strict quality controls such as refusing to offer delivery to prevent the noodles from getting soggy. Having never married, he moved to Seoul alongside his family to help support Ha-neul and her brother, Ba-da, serving as a paternal figure in their father's absence. Nam Gwon-a as Nam Suk-ja, Ha-neul's eldest aunt Lee Min-young as Ha-neul's younger aunt
People of Yeongwon High School as Han Sang-chul Jeong-woo and Haneul's former third-year high school homeroom teacher. Proud of having taught two students who simultaneously ranked first in the nation during the same school year, he frequently reminisces about the experience and boasts to his subsequent students about his connection to them. as Kim Mu-geun Jeong-woo's friend who did not excel academically but maintained a close relationship with him through shared everyday activities. He takes great pride in his friend's academic achievements, particularly when Jeong-woo ranked first nationwide. Kang Sang-jun as Son Chan-yeong