# Good Doctor (2013)

> A gifted autistic savant fights societal discrimination to become a paediatric doctor in a Korean hospital.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/51603

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Created by: Park Jae-bum
- Network: KBS2
- Cast: Joo Won, Moon Chae-won, Joo Sang-wook, Kim Min-seo, Wang Ji-won, Na Young-hee, Choi Ro-woon, Kim Young-kwang
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3184708/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: heartfelt, earnest, uplifting, tender, sincere

## What critics say

Audiences widely praised the series for its warm, humane handling of autism and its lead performance, while its medical storytelling is treated as conventional.

## Synopsis

Good Doctor (2013) is a South Korean national-television medical drama series created by Park Jae-bum for KBS2. Its protagonist, Park Shi-on, is played by Joo Won, a young man with autism and savant-level medical gifts who aspires to become a paediatrician despite the discrimination he meets at every turn. Moon Chae-won plays Cha Yoon-seo, a colleague whose bond with him grows alongside his professional struggles, while Joo Sang-wook plays Kim Do-han, a rival surgeon whose ambitions collide with Shi-on's. Choi Ro-woon plays young Shi-on, and Kim Young-kwang and Kim Min-seo round out the hospital cast. The engine of the show is simple and affecting: a brilliant outsider must prove his skill to skeptical senior doctors, navigate ward politics, and earn the trust of patients and families, one diagnosis and one surgery at a time. Told as a single 20-episode limited series, it unfolds in a contemporary Korean teaching hospital with the warm, earnest pacing typical of a k-drama. The tone blends sincere medical stakes with gentle romance and an uplifting belief in perseverance. Fans of The Good Doctor, Hospital Playlist and Extraordinary Attorney Woo will find resonance in its mix of heart, underdog struggle and hospital intrigue.

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