"You Did Provide Medical Consultation, Right?"... Professor Namgung In Responds to 'Doctor X' Medical Accuracy Controversy

'Doctor X' Records a 14.9% Viewership Rating
"Please Assume the Consultants Lost Their Argument with the Production Team"

Professor Namgung In, an emergency medicine physician and writer, has addressed the controversy over the medical accuracy of SBS drama "Doctor X."

"My First Time as an On-Set Consultant... I Hope the Show Is a Huge Success After Everyone's Hard Work"

Actress Kim Ji-won. SBS

Recently, Professor Namgung In said on Facebook that he served as a medical consultant for SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "Doctor X: The Era of the White Mafia" ("Doctor X"), which premiered on October 9.

"At last, 'Doctor X' has begun airing. It's the first drama I've worked on as an on-set consultant," he said. "I realized that the scenes in dramas I used to watch without a second thought were made possible by the collaboration of many people, endless patience, and an almost fanatical level of dedication." He added, "The actors and crew were working under truly grueling conditions on set, yet they were always kind and smiling. It seemed like everyone was quietly obsessed with their work."

In particular, referring to an outdoor scene filmed for Episode 1, he said, "On a terrifyingly cold winter day, at 3 a.m. when the streets were deserted, they sprayed water from a water tanker onto the road at Sewoon Sangga and filmed there. I wondered if everyone had lost their minds." He went on to say, "After all the hard work everyone put in, I hope 'Doctor X' becomes a huge success."

The post prompted a range of reactions to the drama. Some users praised it, commenting, "It's been a while since there was a medical drama, so I watched with my eyes wide open," and "I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to what's next." Others, however, said some scenes were exaggerated, such as portraying a female surgeon as overly heroic.

Medical Accuracy Debated After Premiere

Actors pose at a press conference for the drama "Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia" at the SBS headquarters in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, on the 7th. From left: Son Hyunjoo, Kim Jiwon, Lee Jungeun and Kim Wooseok. Yonhap News Agency.

After the premiere, controversy arose over whether the medical details were accurate. Some viewers argued that the show differed from real medical practice, pointing to the process of sending a patient with an inguinal hernia for emergency surgery and the failure to provide proper anesthetic care in a critical situation where the patient's blood pressure could not be measured.

One user asked Professor Namgung In, "You did provide medical consultation, right?" He replied, "Yes. I was an on-set consultant." He added, "If you see anything medically inaccurate, you can assume that the consultants and the production team argued about it and the consultants lost."

Meanwhile, "Doctor X" is a medical noir about surgeon Gye Su-jeong (played by Kim Ji-won), a doctor with extraordinary surgical skills, as she takes on a vast system of injustice. It recorded a 14.9% viewership rating after just two episodes (Nielsen Korea·nationwide).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.