The King's Doctor Explained

Country:	South Korea
Language:	Korean
Num Episodes:	50
Runtime:	70 minutes
Company:	Kim Jong-hak Production AStory
Channel:	Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation

Korean name
Hangul:	마의
Rr:	Ma-ui
Mr:	Maŭi

The King's Doctor (; lit. Horse Doctor) is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to March 25, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 50 episodes. The historical/period epic drama commemorated MBC's 51st anniversary.^[1]

Filmed at MBC Dramia in Gyeonggi Province,^[2] The King's Doctor was directed by Lee Byung-hoon, known for his previous works Hur Jun, Jewel in the Palace, Yi San and Dong Yi.^[3] This marked the first television drama for actor Cho Seung-woo in his 13-year film and stage career.^[4]

Plot

The life of a Joseon-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses, who rises to become the royal physician in charge of the King's health.^[5]

Cast

Main characters

• Cho Seung-woo as Baek Kwang-hyun^[6]
  • Ahn Do-gyu as young Kwang-hyun
• Lee Yo-won as Kang Ji-nyeong^[7]
  • Roh Jeong-eui as young Ji-nyeong/Young-dal
• Son Chang-min as Lee Myung-hwan
• Yoo Sun as Jang In-joo
• Lee Sang-woo as Lee Sung-ha
  • Nam Da-reum as young Lee Sung-ha
• Lee Soon-jae as Ko Joo-man
• Han Sang-jin as King Hyeonjong
• Kim So-eun as Princess Sukhwi
• Jo Bo-ah as Seo Eun-seo

Supporting characters

• Kang Ki-young as Horse Doctor
• Kim Chang-wan as Jung Sung-jo
• Jeon No-min as Kang Do-joon, Kwang-hyun's father
• Choi Su-rin as Joo In-ok
• Kim Hye-sun as Queen Inseon
• Lee Hee-do as Choo Ki-bae
• Maeng Sang-hoon as Oh Jang-bak
• Ahn Sang-tae as Ja-bong
• In Gyo-jin as Kwon Suk-chul
• as Yoon Tae-joo
• as Park Dae-mang
• as Jo Jung-chul
• Shin Gook as Shin Byung-ha
• as Court Lady Kwak
• as Ma Do-heum
• Lee Ga-hyun as Queen Myeongseong
• Joo Jin-mo as Sa-am
• Uhm Hyun-kyung as So Ka-young
• Park Hyuk-kwon as Baek Seok-gu
• Hwang Young-hee as Baek Seok-gu's wife
• Yoon Hee-seok as Seo Doo-shik
• as Jo Bi
• as Hong Mi-geum
• Oh In-hye as Jung Mal-geum
• Seo Beom-shik as Kang Jung-doo
• Im Chae-won as Lee Myung-hwan
• Na Sung-kyun as Park Byung-joo
• as Choi Ga-bi
• Heo Yi-seul as Park Eun-bi
• Yoo In-suk as farmer
• Han Choon-il as doctor at royal horse stable
• as doctor at royal horse stable
• Kim Ho-young as Oh Kyu-tae
• as First Secretary
• So Hyang as Kyu-soo
• Jung Dong-gyu as Shim Moon-kwan
• as Ji-pyung
• Lee Jong-goo as Lee Myung-hwan's stepfather
• Yang Han-yeol as young Ji-nyeong's friend
• as Doo-mok
• as Guru Uigeumbu
• Shin Joon-young as Byun
• as Joseon's officer
• Choi Eun-seok as Joseon's officer
• as Joseon's officer
• Park Gi-san as Joseon's officer
• as Joseon's officer

Guest appearances

• Jung Gyu-woon as Crown Prince Sohyeon
• Kyung Soo-jin as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Kang clan
• Sunwoo Jae-duk as King Injo
• Choi Deok-moon as King Hyojong
• as Kim Ja-jeom
• Jang Young-nam as Do-joon's wife and Kwang-hyun's mother
• Seo Hyun-jin as So-yong Jo, later Gwi-in Jo
• as Lee Hyung-ik
• as Boo Tae-soo
• Lee Hee-jin as Woo-hee
• as Soo-bo, Woo-hee's older brother
• as Choi Hyun-wook
• as Hong Yoon-shik
• Kang Han-byeol as little crown prince, later King Sukjong
• Jung Yoon-seok as the child (ep 8)

Episode ratings

• In the table below, represent the lowest ratings and represent the highest ratings.
• NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.

Original broadcast date	Episode	Average audience share
		TNmS Ratings^[8]		AGB Nielsen^[9]
		width=100	Nationwide	width=100	Seoul National Capital Area	width=100	Nationwide	width=100	Seoul National Capital Area
2012-10-01	01	10.0% (15th)	11.7% (8th)	8.7% (16th)	9.1% (17th)
2012-10-02	02	12.5% (9th)	13.1% (7th)	9.7% (15th)	10.7% (10th)
2012-10-08	03	(NR)	(NR)	(NR)	(NR)
2012-10-09	04	9.2% (17th)	9.2% (19th)	10.0% (12th)	11.0% (11th)
2012-10-15	05	11.7% (14th)	13.4% (5th)	10.4% (13th)	12.1% (8th)
2012-10-16	06	12.5% (7th)	12.6% (6th)	12.9% (6th)	13.9% (5th)
2012-10-22	07	15.0% (3rd)	16.1% (3rd)	14.3% (4th)	15.6% (3rd)
2012-10-23	08	15.3% (5th)	16.9% (4th)	14.3% (5th)	16.9% (3rd)
2012-10-29	09	13.1% (4th)	14.8% (4th)	13.4% (3rd)	15.2% (3rd)
2012-10-30	10	14.0% (9th)	16.0% (5th)	13.5% (7th)	15.1% (5th)
2012-11-05	11	14.5% (5th)	16.0% (4th)	14.7% (4th)	15.9% (4th)
2012-11-06	12	15.5% (4th)	17.1% (4th)	15.4% (4th)	16.8% (4th)
2012-11-12	13	13.8% (9th)	14.0% (5th)	14.6% (4th)	16.4% (4th)
2012-11-13	14	16.4% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	16.8% (4th)	18.5% (3rd)
2012-11-19	15	15.7% (5th)	17.9% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)
2012-11-20	16	16.7% (4th)	17.4% (4th)	18.1% (3rd)	20.3% (3rd)
2012-11-26	17	17.0% (4th)	19.1% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2012-11-27	18	17.8% (4th)	19.9% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-03	19	19.1% (4th)	21.4% (3rd)	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2012-12-04	20	18.7% (2nd)	21.7% (1st)	17.8% (2nd)	19.1% (1st)
2012-12-10	21	17.6% (3rd)	19.7% (1st)	16.0% (4th)	17.5% (2nd)
2012-12-11	22	17.4% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	17.4% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)
2012-12-17	23	17.5% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)
2012-12-18	24	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-24	25	17.2% (3rd)	19.3% (3rd)	17.1% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)
2012-12-25	26	20.2% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)	19.9% (3rd)
2013-01-01	27	18.1% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.4% (3rd)
2013-01-07	28	18.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	16.6% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)
2013-01-08	29	20.3% (3rd)	22.1% (2nd)	18.3% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2013-01-14	30	18.9% (3rd)	21.1% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2013-01-15	31	20.5% (3rd)	23.0% (2nd)	19.2% (3rd)	20.4% (3rd)
2013-01-21	32	19.4% (3rd)	21.3% (2nd)	20.1% (3rd)	21.8% (3rd)
2013-01-22	33	20.7% (3rd)	22.9% (2nd)	20.0% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-01-28	34	19.4% (3rd)	22.2% (2nd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.1% (3rd)
2013-01-29	35	21.5% (3rd)	24.4% (2nd)	21.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)
2013-02-04	36	22.8% (3rd)	24.8% (2nd)	22.4% (3rd)	24.2% (2nd)
2013-02-05	37	(2nd)	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)
2013-02-11	38	20.8% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)
2013-02-12	39	19.5% (4th)	22.2% (3rd)	20.3% (2nd)	22.7% (2nd)
2013-02-18	40	21.2% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-02-19	41	19.7% (3rd)	22.5% (2nd)	18.1% (4th)	19.0% (4th)
2013-02-25	42	20.6% (3rd)	23.3% (3rd)	19.6% (3rd)	22.0% (3rd)
2013-02-26	43	20.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	21.9% (3rd)
2013-03-04	44	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-05	45	18.8% (3rd)	20.5% (2nd)	18.5% (4th)	20.4% (2nd)
2013-03-11	46	19.6% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-12	47	18.9% (4th)	21.0% (4th)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-03-18	48	18.0% (5th)	20.5% (4th)	18.8% (3rd)	20.9% (3rd)
2013-03-19	49	17.9% (5th)	19.6% (5th)	19.1% (4th)	21.1% (3rd)
2013-03-25	50	17.2% (4th)	18.4% (5th)	17.8% (4th)	20.2% (3rd)
Average		17.3%	-	17.1%	-

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2012		Grand Prize (Daesang)^[10]
		Best Drama	The King's Doctor
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama
		Best New Actress

International broadcast

Country	Channel	Series premiere	Title
	NHK^[11] ^[12]		馬医 (Umai)
	SCTV Phim tổng hợp		Ngự y của hoàng đế
			Морины эмч (Morinii emch)
			ඉසිවර වෙදැදුරු (Isiwara Wedaduru)
			ពេទ្យសេះម្ចាស់ស្នេហ៍ (Pet Seh Mchas Sne)
			King's Doctor

External links

• Horse Doctor Official MBC website

Notes and References

1. Web site: The King's Doctor, Cho Seung-woo's Drama Posters. MBC Global Media. November 11, 2012. September 15, 2012.
2. Web site: Dramas Shot in Dramia. MBC Dramia. January 12, 2014.
3. Web site: Oh. Jean. Historical fantasies a passing fancy?. The Korea Herald. November 25, 2012. November 19, 2012.
4. http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2012050814045560435 "Cho Seung-woo to make small screen debut in Jewel in the Palace director's next series"
5. Web site: Lee. Rachel. Jo Seung-woo to star in MBC historical drama. The Korea Times. June 25, 2012. November 18, 2012.
6. Web site: Lim. Ju-ri. Star of screen, stage accepts drama challenge. Korea JoongAng Daily. October 4, 2012. November 18, 2012. usurped. https://web.archive.org/web/20121223125704/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2960242. December 23, 2012. mdy-all.
7. Web site: Nam. Woo-jeong. Horse Doctor Lee Yo Won talks about her relationship with Cho Seung Woo. StarN News. September 25, 2012. November 18, 2012.
8. Web site: TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu . TNMS Ratings . October 1, 2012 . ko . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131128032303/http://www.tnms.tv/rating/default.asp . November 28, 2013 .
9. Web site: AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu . AGB Nielsen Media Research . October 1, 2012 . ko . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131226133248/http://www.agbnielsen.co.kr/index.asp?ref=0 . December 26, 2013 .
10. Web site: Big Winners of 2012 Announced at Drama Awards Ceremonies of Major Broadcasters . TenAsia . February 1, 2014 . January 1, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140415192928/http://www.tenasia.com/big-winners-of-2012-announced-at-drama-awards-ceremonies-of-major-broadcasters/ . April 15, 2014 .
11. Web site: King's Doctor to air in Japan. The Korea Herald. 2014-03-24. 8 March 2013.
12. Web site: Jeon. Su-mi. Horse Doctor to Air in Japan and Other Asian Countries. enewsWorld. 2014-03-24. 8 March 2013.