Doctor K

Year produced
1999

Foreword
How does a doctor acquire such powerful medical skills? What is the secret of his success? Why does he reject love when he is such an eligible bachelor?

Story

Dr. Min (Cha In Pyo) has only joined the hospital for a year but he is famous for performing brain operations. Even a child who is dying of brain cancer survives. Many are curious about his success but he will not reveal a word. They wonder why he looks so energetic even though he only sleeps for an hour daily. Where does he hide? Actually he hides under a pool for 15 minutes to rest his mind.

After that, his weariness will be gone and he is back to work. Dr. Xu (Jin Hui Xiu) is his classmate and is also his colleague now. She is secretly in love with him but he doesn't know it. The senior doctors (including Dr. Xua's uncle, Dr. Lee) demand to know how he refuses all the tumours and his reply is 'By chance'. Who isn't suspicious as he has only joined the hospital for 3 years?

Dr. Lee asks Dr. Xu if she knows anything about Dr. Min. She only recalls that Dr. Min was a lone ranger in school, not mixing with others. But he is helpful when others approach him and he was the first in class every year, earning his scholarship. He could have joined other private hospitals to earn more and work less but he chooses to stay in this public hospital. The thing she remembers is him putting his coat over her when she gets too tired to sleep in the library.

She also finds it suspicious and follows him one night to the pool. From there, she sees him suffering in pain but he tells her not to reveal it to anyone. She agrees to keep it a secret. But Dr. Lee shows her some tapes of his operations. Dr. Min has performed black magic and has not really touched the surgical knife. Dr. Xu decides to find out more from him. Dr. Min is afraid to fall in love with Dr. Xu because he has a secret.

Jo (Kim Ha Neul) is hospitalized as she has a brain tumour. Dr. Min frowns upon seeing her smoking. She becomes Dr. Min's patient and Dr. Xu can't help feeling jealous because of his concern for her. Dr. Min feels closeness towards her because her birthday is his younger brother's death date. One day, a lunatic tries to hold her hostage and she is in danger. Dr Min looks into the man's eyes sternly and causes him to throw the knife aside to save her. She hugs him and both find affinity with each other. She thinks it is love but he is thinking of something else. Through his magical powers, he realizes that she is her brother's reincarnation.

Jo follows him one night and knows his identity. He has tried to force the evil forces in his body through the village sorcerer's help but fails. So he is forced to bring her out to the zoo but he doesn't know that her condition is already critical and what follows him is actually her soul. Her body is still in the ER. When he was young, his mother was a witch and his brother's birth caused famine in the whole village.

The villagers chase them out and his brother died. It is only then the famine stopped and they were re-accepted. He is burdened with guilt all along for being unable to protect his brother all along. He believes that this is his destiny. So he becomes a doctor to cure the sick. But he can't get rid of his magical powers even through witchcraft so he uses them to cure the sick. But he can only transfer the tumours to himself. Normally they will reduce in size or vanish once he dips into the pool.

Dr. Xu is angry with Dr. Lee. He too jealous of Dr. Min's skills, wanting to reveal this to the public to ruin his future by showing her the tape. But now, he is in a top position as a consultant so there is no need for it. He has in fact wanted to promote him to become a senior doctor so that he will not have to work so hard.

But Dr. Min will die if he performs the operation for Jo as her tumour is too large. That is what Dr. Min's mother tells Dr. Xu so she tries to stop him. Dr. Min still insists on saving her life to go ahead with the operation. Drn Xu has no choice but to assist him. However, it proves to be so unbearable that he faints. Jo chooses to die and removes his younger brother's soul from his body.

Actually it has haunted him all along, causing him so much pain and distress so she decides to remove it once and for all. She also takes away all the tumours from him. Dr. Xu sees her leaving and can only wish her soul to rest in peace. A few months later, Dr. Min recovers and loses all his magical powers. He can't even remember what has happened. However, he is more cheerful and is a good mentor to all the interns after becoming a senior doctor. He starts romance with Dr. Xu now. Dr. Xu sees a butterfly nearby and knows that it is Jo visiting them. She smiles and holds his hand as they walk in the garden.

Conclusion
The movie looks hideous all the time with the dark shots and Cha In Pyo looks the same too. It does offer a few surprises as to why Dr. Min is so skillful. He can be bespectacled to look gentle but he can look so evil when he performs magical powers. It is only an average movie. The actresses only offer passable acting - Kim Ha Neul in the usual pathetic role and Hui Xiu as a capable woman. So it offers little surprises. In Pyo and Hui Xiu do look like a couple, though. Do watch it if you are curious to know how the two act as doctors. They are quite convincing, especially in performing autopsy in their intern days. That is considered the highlight of the movie as you seldom get to see that.

Sukting's ratings :

On acting : *** (Scale of 5)

On story : *** (Scale of 5)