Overview: New Heart

This is a relatively new Korean Drama which has finished airing in Korea.

Korean Title: 뉴하트
English Title: New Heart

Synopsis
This drama focuses on the growth and sufferings of the heart surgeons who work in the thoracic surgery department.

Lee Eun Sung graduated from a newly established medical school in the provinces. He applies for a job at the hospital and has high hopes of becoming a great doctor. Nam Hye Suk graduated at top of her medical school. She is an absolute fundamentalist but starts to show her humane side once she gets to know Eun Sung.

The problem is Choi Kang Gook just became the new head of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He believes that only doctors can save people's lives and is a genius but he is also a stubborn surgeon who does not care for hospital policies. Only Eun Sung and Hye Suk apply to work in his department. "

My reviews

I had stumbled upon this medical doctor series accidentally. Yet I was completely glued from ep 1 to 12 at one go..I couldnt stop and when I finished ep 20, it left me with a good feeling.

As far, its a pretty tight series with all the hospital politics and the schemings by the different professors to gain an edge in their professional ladder climb. I found this definitely better than the new seasons of Grey anatomy which I have stopped following as it got more and more boring. G.A should just stop overdoing and focusing on all those inter-love romance thing.

New heart basically starts with Professor Choi as an outcast (as punishment) in a remote rural hospital as he had openly disagreed and went up against his senior/ colleagues about a patient's case back (when he was in the city major hospital). By chance while being treated for wounds due to a brawl, he saved a life threatening patient. The junior doctor (Eun Sung) who almost misdiagonised the critical case witnessed Choi's act and was immensely impressed with Choi's skills. Eun Sung found himself to be inadequate that he couldnt even read an Xray properly. From there, inspired to be a thoracic surgeon and to be the best, he decided to apply for a position in the famous city hosiptal despite his low chances of being accepted. His journey begins from there.

Due to political changes and influences, Choi was being asked to returned to be a new head by the new director whose only idea is to further enhance the brandname and rid itself of "non revenue making" departments such as the thoracic department. This clashed severly with Choi's single mindedness to only save lifes at all costs without care of his peers feelings nor respect for hospital regulations. Choi's actions quickly made him a perm target for hospital politics. The ep explained Choi's behaviour briefly in that Choi had an old "score" with the medical world, which was to avenge his falsely accused father through his "godly" skills. To do so, Choi took it upon himself to perform all the difficult and "impossible" operations, offending many along the way, and whom wished and plotted for his fall from grace.

Eun Sung made it to the same famous city hospital only to be severly ostracised due to his humble and non prestigious university background. The drama focuses on his perservances and how his caring heart affected his peers around him, especially the unfeeling female colleague, Hye Suk who also happened to be his only peer in the same batch.

Much of the story revolved around the struggles of the various doctors and how they overcome the difficult situation they are often placed in. Romance is not the main essence in this series. Rather than making love the main theme, instead relationships (friendship, family ties) are weaved in and out to give viewers a sense of appreciation to the predications and sacrifices of thoarcic doctors without coming off like a preach. Towards the last few episodes, we also see how the the friendship between Eun Sung and Hye Suk slowly blossoms into something possibly more.

I love Professor Choi character. He is often in dilema, complex emotional situations and I simply love the chemistry he had with his surborinates especially with Eun Sung, that often quite have me laughing loudly. I certainly would put him to be the rock of the whole drama and without fail, the actor had brought the charactor to life vividly with ease.

While this isnt one of those tear jerking love drama, I reckon it is still a series worth your time.