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Jung Ryeo-won’s ‘First Doctor’ Targets Another Viral Streak After Kim Mu-yeol’s ‘Teach You a Lesson’ — Stacked Cast Sparks Buzz

‘Global hit’ Kim Mu-yeol returns in a high-stakes medical K-drama

Netflix, First Doctor, Jung Ryeo-won, Kim Mu-yeol, Hong Jong-chan, Ha Yoon-kyung, Baek Hyun-jin, Kim Jong-soo, Drama
Baek Hyun-jin, Kim Jong-soo, Jung Ryeo-won, Ha Yoon-kyung, Kim Mu-yeol [Photo: Netflix]

Fresh off the global buzz of Teach You a Lesson, star Kim Mu-yeol and hitmaker director Hong Jong-chan are back — this time with a high-intensity medical drama.

On the 23rd, Netflix confirmed that director Hong Jong-chan’s new original series First Doctor will star Jung Ryeo-won, Ha Yoon-kyung, and Kim Mu-yeol.

First Doctor follows Dr. Heo Ji-wan (played by Jung Ryeo-won), a pediatric surgeon pushed to the edge, and a pediatric surgery department fighting for survival on the frontline of life as it faces the most fragile patients. Centered on Heo Ji-wan’s desperate struggle to save children’s lives at Yeonhwadae Hospital’s pediatric surgery unit, the story captures the raw stakes inside and outside the operating room.

Jung Ryeo-won plays Heo Ji-wan, a brilliant yet blunt pediatric surgery professor whose outspokenness has driven her to the brink. Ha Yoon-kyung takes on the role of Ki Eun-gyeol, a sharp third-year resident who constantly clashes with Ji-wan, forming a tense, intriguing mentor-mentee dynamic.

Kim Mu-yeol appears as Bae Su-wol, a professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine. A longtime colleague of Heo Ji-wan, Bae is warm, quick-witted, and disarmingly personable. With his seasoned acting and range, Kim is set to add color to episodes both in and beyond the hospital walls. Adding to the immersion, Baek Hyun-jin plays Son Sang-baek, chief of surgery at Yeonhwadae Hospital, while Kim Jong-soo portrays vice director Lee Chang-gon.

The project also draws attention as the third collaboration between director Hong and Kim Mu-yeol, following Juvenile Justice and Teach You a Lesson.

With a rock-solid cast, anticipation is soaring over the explosive synergy First Doctor could deliver.