Reasons Why You Should Watch Hospital Playlist 

Are you looking for a new show to watch on Netflix? I would totally recommend a Korean drama that is currently airing on Netflix, Hospital Playlist. It is one of the most anticipated Korean dramas of 2021 since the first season’s airing in 2020. The writers and producers of Hospital Playlist are the same group of people who wrote and directed the hit dramas Prison Playbook and the Reply series. Both of the previous dramas of the production team had done really well in both Korea and internationally and can also be found on Netflix if you are looking for something similar to Hospital Playlist. 

Like both the Reply series and Prison Playbook, Hospital Playlist has a slice-of-life plot and is very enjoyable to watch with family or friends. All the characters are very enjoyable and likable and you can either watch one episode per day or binge-watch the first season and the first few episodes of the second season while waiting for the new episodes to air. I first came upon this drama last year during the quarantine period when my friend gave me their Netflix account. 

1. Enjoyable slice-of-life plot

One of my favorite genres of dramas is slice of life dramas. It may seem that there may be nothing dramatic or climatic happening in the plot, but each episode will keep you wanting to watch more of the realistic storyline and characters. Hospital Playlist tells the story of 5 doctors and their daily life working at a hospital, friendships, relationships, and life outside of work. 

The 5 doctors have been long-time friends since their first, unusual meeting in medical school when they were still students. After entering the workforce, they have all been separated but still kept in contact. One day, with the thought of recreating their college band, they meet up and work together again in the same hospital.  

2. Humorous characters

Together, the 5 doctors work at Yulje hospital and go on about their lives. Every week, they would meet up and play together as a band, one of my favorite highlights of every episode. Each of them plays a special role in their group. 

Lee Ik Jun, the mood maker of the group. His cold jokes and playful character keeps the group in high spirits and has positive vibes. He also has an open personality and can create conversations with anyone, from his patients to other hospital employees. Ik Jun always knows what is going on with everyone and in return, he is a popular figure among his patients and hospital colleagues. He is a single father outside of the hospital and has a young son. I love the interactions Ik Jun and his son have. His son understands that his father is a busy doctor and does not have a large amount of time to be with him. On the other hand, Ik Jun knows that he does not spend a lot of time at home with his son, therefore tries to compensate and spends whatever free time with his son. 

Ahn Jung Won, pediatrician, aka Andrea is the softie of the group. He’s the youngest son in his family and after his siblings joined the monastic life, he got all the attention and inheritance of his family’s wealth. He’s known as the living Buddha in the hospital because of his attentiveness and care towards his patients. His care and thoughtfulness are not just towards his patients but also his family and friends. He secretly wants to become a priest because he hates seeing his patients in pain. 

Kim Jun Wan, a heart surgeon with a cold demeanor in a professional setting. Many people in the hospital may see him as a doctor that has no empathy or feelings, but privately he cares a lot about his patients and friends. He is serious about his job, life, and relationships and will spend a lot of time maintaining a good relationship with the people he cares about. Jun Wan may seem like a strict mentor to his students and interns, but in actuality, he prepares them for the stressful hospital environment. 

Yang Seok-hyeong, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. He is an introvert and seems like he lives in his own world and is oblivious to everything outside of his patients and his phone, but that is only what strangers see of him. He has a kind and soft personality and has an empathetic nature towards his patients. 

Last but not least there is Chae Song-hwa, the only female in this group of friends. She focuses on neurosurgery and is perfect in the eyes of others. She works hard, is a good mentor, and is perfect in her surgeries, and treats her patients kindly. She is the only one in the group that understands Ik Jun’s cold jokes and is one of the fastest eaters along with Jun Wan. Whenever they eat as a group, Jun Wan and Song Hwa are the ones that finish before anyone else. 

Together as a group, there is always laughter, talking, and band music. Just watching their interactions with each other makes you feel like you also want a group of friends like them. I love how each of the characters fits in the group so well, they each have a special place in their group. Their conversations are very relatable and enjoyable. For example, as they all have their own busy lives, the time that they spend with their parents decreases. The parents know less about their children and vice versa. I related to that part of the drama a lot and made me reflect on my own communication and interactions with my own parents. 

3. Takes place in a hospital environment

Don’t let the fact that the drama is set in a hospital environment to make you think twice before watching. Hospital Playlist is not the typical, cliche hospital plot with doctors with ‘special abilities’, but rather a down-to-earth drama about the normal, day-to-day life of a hospital. It is unlike the other hospital Kdrama like Romantic Doctor, Teacher Kim, or Doctor Stranger. From my own intern experience at a hospital, the plot seemed really realistic to me. 

There are no fights between doctors to get recognition, but rather the drama shows the relationships between the doctors and patients, the hardworking staff and their life working at the hospital, and the emotional and materialistic struggles of the patients. 

One of my favorite parts of the drama is in the second season where an elderly lady comes into the emergency room and is declared brain dead. She is listed as an organ donor, and in the course of contacting a family member to sign papers, it is revealed that her only son is a security guard at the hospital. The security guard is hesitant about signing the organ donation documents, but after hearing his story, many may empathize with him in his hesitancy. But, it turns out that the elderly lady is the security guard’s mother whom he lost contact with because his parents had separated when he was really young. He had felt really touched and emotional when his brain-dead mother wrote him down as an emergency contact. In the end, the security guard signed the organ donation documents because he felt that he had to fulfill his mother’s last wishes. 

There are many similar heartbreaking, emotional, and heartwarming scenes in the drama that are subtly shown. I really enjoyed how realistic and down-to-earth each character and the plot are and are very different from other hospital setting dramas I’ve watched. 

4. Unstressful plot

I had heard about Hospital Playlist and knew about the high ratings of the first season before I had started watching it myself. After watching the first episode, I was really confused and debated whether or not I should continue watching. But after sticking it out for another 2 episodes, I found myself really enjoying the drama. 

Hospital Playlist is not your typical Kdrama with a climatic storyline and a complicated plot with an evil character and good heroes. Rather, there is no actual climax and the characters hold the story together. There are no dramatic twists and everything is really enjoyable. If you are looking for something to destress and escape reality, this drama is perfect for you. 

5. The soundtracks

One of the biggest watchpoints in this drama is the friendship between the 5 main characters and their band. The band is one of the most hilarious parts in each episode. I am not familiar with the songs they covered during their weekly band practice, but it was very enjoyable to watch them practice as a band. Most of the songs that got covered were popular songs from the 1990s and early 2000s but they were still perfect for today’s music listening. 

One of my favorite songs that were covered in this drama is “Aloha” covered by the actor who played Lee Ik Jun, Jo Jung-suk. This song was originally released in 2001 by the trio Cool. Each time it had played as the background music it was perfect for the atmosphere for the scene. It was really enjoyable and hilarious to watch the song come up during a flashback of the time the 5 five friends sang at karaoke during their university days. 

Another one of my favorite soundtracks is the cover of “Me to You, You to Me” covered by the actors who played the 5 friends. Just hearing the intro of this song, will remind me of the scenes and friendship of this drama. 

6. Touching and emotional

This is not your typical touching and heartbreaking drama with lots of tears but rather there are many scenes where it makes you reflect on your own life and your actions. I don’t think I have reflected on my own actions while watching dramas as much as I did after watching this drama. 

7. Just everything about it 

I love everything about this drama, from its characters to the script to the storyline and it is a masterpiece of Korean drama in recent years. The friendship between the characters had me really wishing I had a group of close friends like that. I am a big fan of slice-of-life dramas, and I assure after watching this drama, you will become a big fan of them too.