| Alt Name: | The Gang Doctor[1] |
| Genre: | Action Medical Romance |
| Director: | Oh Jin-suk |
| Starring: | Joo Won Kim Tae-hee Jo Hyun-jae Chae Jung-an |
| Composer: | Park Gi-heon |
| Country: | South Korea |
| Language: | Korean |
| Num Episodes: | 18 |
| Executive Producer: | Moon Bo-mi |
| Producer: | Park Young-soo Kim Si-hwan |
| Editor: | Lee Hyun-ah Jung Il-won |
| Cinematography: | Yoon Dae-young Choi Je-rak |
| Runtime: | 65 minutes |
| Company: | HB Entertainment |
| Channel: | Seoul Broadcasting System |
Yong-pal[2] is a 2015 South Korean drama series starring Joo Won, Kim Tae-hee, Chae Jung-an and Jo Hyun-jae.[3] [4] [5] It aired on SBS from August 5 to October 1, 2015, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 18 episodes.[6] Originally slated for 16 episodes, due to the high ratings and popularity of the drama, it was extended by two episodes.[7]
This drama reunites Kim Tae-hee and Jo Hyun-jae who first worked together in the 2004 drama Forbidden Love.[8]
Kim Tae Hyun is a talented surgeon. Desperate for money to pay for his sister's medical bills, he adopts the code name Yong-pal and offers his medical skills to those in need of medical attention but who cannot do so publicly, dealing with criminals and corrupt plutocrats.[9] Joining a team of corrupt physicians Kim rescues "sleeping beauty" Han Yeo Jin, a chaebol heiress, from a medically induced coma, leading to unintended consequences.
A skilled surgeon, who under the alias Yong-pal moonlights as a mercenary doctor for hire. He falls in love with Yeo-jin.
A chaebol heiress placed in a coma by her enemies to get their revenge. She falls in love with Tae-hyun.
Han Yeo-jin's half-brother, who covets his sister's inheritance.
Han Do-joon's wife.
| Yong-pal OST | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various artists |
| Recorded: | 2015 |
| Genre: | Soundtrack |
| Label: | Neowiz Entertainment Daum and HB Entertainment |
Since it began airing, Yong-pal recorded steadily increasing viewership ratings, eventually hitting an impressive 20 percent by its sixth episode. It consistently topped other shows in its Wednesday-Thursday timeslot, eventually becoming one of the top-rated Korean drama primetime miniseries of 2015.[12]
| Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea[13] | TNmS[14] | |||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | |||
| 1 | August 5, 2015 | |||||
| 2 | August 6, 2015 | 14.1% | 16.0% | 11.8% | 14.9% | |
| 3 | August 12, 2015 | 14.5% | 16.3% | 12.5% | 15.8% | |
| 4 | August 13, 2015 | 16.3% | 17.8% | 15.3% | 18.8% | |
| 5 | August 19, 2015 | 18.0% | 20.3% | 16.4% | 19.4% | |
| 6 | August 20, 2015 | 20.4% | 22.2% | 18.1% | 20.7% | |
| 7 | August 26, 2015 | 19.2% | 21.4% | 17.1% | 21.2% | |
| 8 | August 27, 2015 | 20.5% | 22.8% | 18.4% | ||
| 9 | September 2, 2015 | 17.0% | 19.1% | 15.7% | 18.2% | |
| 10 | September 3, 2015 | 17.4% | 19.3% | 16.3% | 19.3% | |
| 11 | September 9, 2015 | 19.3% | 21.7% | 15.9% | 18.4% | |
| 12 | September 10, 2015 | 19.1% | 21.0% | 18.2% | 21.3% | |
| 13 | September 16, 2015 | 18.0% | 21.0% | |||
| 14 | September 17, 2015 | 20.9% | 22.3% | 19.5% | 21.8% | |
| 15 | September 23, 2015 | 20.0% | 22.3% | 17.8% | 20.0% | |
| 16 | September 24, 2015 | 20.2% | 22.3% | 19.2% | 21.0% | |
| 17 | September 30, 2015 | 18.4% | 20.0% | 16.4% | 18.2% | |
| 18 | October 1, 2015 | 20.4% | 21.6% | 21.4% | ||
| Average | ||||||
| ||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Joo Won | |||
| Best Drama | Yong-pal | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, actress | Kim Tae-hee | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Jang Hyuk-rin | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Joo Won | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Tae-hee | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Chae Jung-an | ||||
| Best Drama | Yong-pal | ||||
| Grand Prize | Yoon Dae-young, Choi Je-rak | ||||
| Best Director | Oh Jin-seok | ||||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Joo Won | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Joo Won | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Tae-hee | ||||
| Special Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Jung Woong-in | ||||
| Jo Hyun-jae | |||||
| Special Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Bae Hae-sun | ||||
| PD Award | Joo Won | ||||
| Top 10 Stars | Joo Won | ||||
| Kim Tae-hee | |||||
| Chinese Netizen Popularity Award | Joo Won | ||||
| Kim Tae-hee | |||||
| Netizen Popularity Award | Joo Won | ||||
| Kim Tae-hee | |||||
| Best Couple Award | Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee | ||||
| 2016 | Best Actor (TV) | Joo Won |
There was a talk that the drama Yong-pal which starred Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee could be remade for American audiences.[15] It was reported in December 2015 that a Russian remake produced by Sony Pictures Studios was in development.[16]