This series could have been on par with Mr. Stranger series but they wasted so much with how they managed the series. Let me start by listing the things I believe did not help the series at all. When you watch the series, and you should, how scenes ended and how they moved from one scene to the other felt very disconnecting. They poorly used a great soundtrack and managed to ruin scenes due to unfathomable logic. In a kissing scene, for example, as the scene climaxes, they switch to a different song in a heart beat instead of using one song as it builds up to that moment. There is also a feeling that there is a soundtrack but it isn't there because they failed to correctly showcase it in scenes that affect the story line. Unfortunately, the lead actor Joo Won failed to connect with me at a deeper level. To portray a feeling of being devastated, how much you tear up can decide the intensity of the scene and when compared with his queen Kim-Tae Hee, who perfectly conveys the correct degree, he fails miserably. I'm not blaming him for that, but I'm more disappointed in the team working behind this series who managed to ruin it. When I recollect the kissing scenes alone, the camera angles alone they chose purposely hide the kiss. A key display of affection that we all wait for leaves us dissatisfied. I was hoping that this series will provide something on par with Dr. Stranger when it came to surgeries but it failed as well. The ending left me wanting. There were a few things unresolved in my opinion.
10 Reviews
The Title Should Be Changed To The Heiress
lia000274 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Yong pal is a really good drama mainly because of the actors well except for Joo Won as the main lead and because of the realistic plot of the heiress's leadership and gaining ultimate power from her evil surroundings including her own brother. This drama is more focusing on Han Yoe Jin's survival with Yong pal/Kim Tae Hyun's help throughout eps while the title yong pal means gang doctor doesn't really right for the whole story, also inserting their love story.
I really enjoy this drama because of Kim Tae Hee's incredible acting. I'm not really a big fan of her, her dramas which I watched are "stairway to heaven, love story in harvard, iris, jang OK jung" not really appealing for me and her acting felt so so but in "My princess and yong pal" she really did a good job. Here she was acting great portraying a hurtful, loving, and cruel person at the same time and when she did cruel things instead of hating her I felt sympathy to her since we the audiences could understand her reasons and her pains for doing so. Not just a pretty face but this woman really can act. It's hard to gain audiences' sympathy nowadays since audiences' become smarter each time.
However Joo Woon really disappointing while I was his fan at first but now I have to change that. Watching him first time since "Baker king" followed by "Good doctor and Nodame cantabile" (Korean version) feel that yong pal is his most degrading acting. He really didn't have many expressions either receiving bad and sad news, even felt disappointed he showed nothing very lack of affection towards his wive while he claimed he loves his wive so much nearing the end of the eps.
This drama should have ended at 16 but the producer decided to extend it to 18 eps since they wanted the main couple to have a happy ending which I find unnecessarily. The story is perfect ending at 16 where Han yoe jin and kim tae hyun saying good bye to each other due to the difference thought of life, she is a leader of multi national companies in her hand lies thousands of people life depending on her good and cruel leadership while he is a naive doctor who is not thinking bright of humans' mind and rather stupid of business's world helping her evil brother just like betraying his own wive but he did not realize that. Both characters are too different to each other to live together unless she can let go of her company or he let go of his naive thoughts and what he called a kindness if not he'll be continued being used as a tool to hurt her. The writer of this drama at first making yong pal's character really good and bright he understood how the society works but nearing the end the writer wanted to make a conflict between a lover hence creating the naivety of yong pal who was being raised as a poor child and had already felt the cool and the cruel reality of the world which rather not make sense, I blame the writer and the producer who was trying to change the original concept of this drama to their own mellow dramatized version.
Yes it's a happy and short ending.
I really enjoy this drama because of Kim Tae Hee's incredible acting. I'm not really a big fan of her, her dramas which I watched are "stairway to heaven, love story in harvard, iris, jang OK jung" not really appealing for me and her acting felt so so but in "My princess and yong pal" she really did a good job. Here she was acting great portraying a hurtful, loving, and cruel person at the same time and when she did cruel things instead of hating her I felt sympathy to her since we the audiences could understand her reasons and her pains for doing so. Not just a pretty face but this woman really can act. It's hard to gain audiences' sympathy nowadays since audiences' become smarter each time.
However Joo Woon really disappointing while I was his fan at first but now I have to change that. Watching him first time since "Baker king" followed by "Good doctor and Nodame cantabile" (Korean version) feel that yong pal is his most degrading acting. He really didn't have many expressions either receiving bad and sad news, even felt disappointed he showed nothing very lack of affection towards his wive while he claimed he loves his wive so much nearing the end of the eps.
This drama should have ended at 16 but the producer decided to extend it to 18 eps since they wanted the main couple to have a happy ending which I find unnecessarily. The story is perfect ending at 16 where Han yoe jin and kim tae hyun saying good bye to each other due to the difference thought of life, she is a leader of multi national companies in her hand lies thousands of people life depending on her good and cruel leadership while he is a naive doctor who is not thinking bright of humans' mind and rather stupid of business's world helping her evil brother just like betraying his own wive but he did not realize that. Both characters are too different to each other to live together unless she can let go of her company or he let go of his naive thoughts and what he called a kindness if not he'll be continued being used as a tool to hurt her. The writer of this drama at first making yong pal's character really good and bright he understood how the society works but nearing the end the writer wanted to make a conflict between a lover hence creating the naivety of yong pal who was being raised as a poor child and had already felt the cool and the cruel reality of the world which rather not make sense, I blame the writer and the producer who was trying to change the original concept of this drama to their own mellow dramatized version.
Yes it's a happy and short ending.
Jo Hyun Jae's Breakout Performance
Multipleh22 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Joo Won is the doctor hero here. He saves Kim Taehee the princess in this drama from her medically induced coma. The villain is Jo Hyun Jae the evil greedy corporate brother and they are also in a medical setting with decent supporting cast. It's fast, fun and fearless. The only thing that bothered me was how the story starts to sink when the evil brother dies. The show should have ended with the death of the evil brother. Instead you get couple of episodes at the end which fills like a filler.
Of course Joo Won has been in a medical drama before "Good Doctor" where he shone as the doctor with autism. He is brilliant here-very brilliant, he is part doctor/stuntman/hustler and what not. Joo Won is very good here. Kim Taehee is competent in her role but not brilliant here. The only surprising thing about this show is the career turning move and the breakout performance of Jo Hyun Jae who plays the evil brother. This is really the first time he has played a villain of course he played a smirky sneaky adman in "Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek", but this is a full on villain role. Jo Hyun Jae is that actor that has always played the sweet baby faced hero prince in countless Korean dramas. Here, he is menacing, intelligent, cold, heartless, articulate and passionate. Who knew he had that inside of him? The scene of the dinner party is a standout scene for Jo Hyun Jae. This is a revelation-not to be taken lightly. Move over Jo In sung and Jung Woo Sung, here comes Jo Hyun Jae!
Of course Joo Won has been in a medical drama before "Good Doctor" where he shone as the doctor with autism. He is brilliant here-very brilliant, he is part doctor/stuntman/hustler and what not. Joo Won is very good here. Kim Taehee is competent in her role but not brilliant here. The only surprising thing about this show is the career turning move and the breakout performance of Jo Hyun Jae who plays the evil brother. This is really the first time he has played a villain of course he played a smirky sneaky adman in "Ad Genius Lee Tae Baek", but this is a full on villain role. Jo Hyun Jae is that actor that has always played the sweet baby faced hero prince in countless Korean dramas. Here, he is menacing, intelligent, cold, heartless, articulate and passionate. Who knew he had that inside of him? The scene of the dinner party is a standout scene for Jo Hyun Jae. This is a revelation-not to be taken lightly. Move over Jo In sung and Jung Woo Sung, here comes Jo Hyun Jae!
One of the top level kdramas
from-nsj418 June 2018
There are lots of good kdramas, but only perhaps a dozen or so which really stand out as better than the rest. While this one doesn't get that much credit in many lists of top kdramas, I think it is in that top dozen. It's got plenty of intrigue and suspense, lots of medical operating room gore, money driven power plays, and a very nice romantic story anchored by the beautiful Kim Tae Hee. This is a drama well worth watching.
Pleasantly surprised!
shareen_shany3 January 2022
A love story about a talented pauper & a rich powerful sleeping beauty.
A typical kdrama with all sorts of betrayal thrown in this romantic medical drama.
There is not much scenes that involves the 2 leading characters together but when they are together, you can feel their love, so beautiful. It's a drama that's full of the rich & powerful abuse the leading actor who has to moonlight in addition to keeping his resident at the hospital. Everyone uses him to get what they want through blackmailing & exchanging favours. Money & Power do buy people especially talented one!
All he wanted is to earn enough money to get help for his sister but he never gets a break. Everybody wants something from him. After so many episodes, he finds a small amount of happiness & respect from the gangsters boss.
Wish the ending could be a little longer & a little more romance nevertheless, surprisingly good.
A typical kdrama with all sorts of betrayal thrown in this romantic medical drama.
There is not much scenes that involves the 2 leading characters together but when they are together, you can feel their love, so beautiful. It's a drama that's full of the rich & powerful abuse the leading actor who has to moonlight in addition to keeping his resident at the hospital. Everyone uses him to get what they want through blackmailing & exchanging favours. Money & Power do buy people especially talented one!
All he wanted is to earn enough money to get help for his sister but he never gets a break. Everybody wants something from him. After so many episodes, he finds a small amount of happiness & respect from the gangsters boss.
Wish the ending could be a little longer & a little more romance nevertheless, surprisingly good.
Until he calls my name
alaningle723 March 2022
A surgeon has an illegal sideline of operating on criminals away from hospitals and the police, he is not a bad man but does this to pay for his sisters treatment whilst she waits for a kidney transplant. Corrupt managers at the hospital find out his sideline and use his talents to cover up the wrongdoings of their rich clientele. Whilst working for them he discovers a shocking secret about a comatose rich heiress being isolated on the top executive floor of the hospital. It is a series with an interesting plot and is well acted particularly by the female cast but sadly would have benefitted from fewer episodes. Worth a watch though I felt the plot moved either too slow or too quick, but could have been much better with more action and romance and less needless twists and turns.
Beautiful story
venusray-314515 August 2020
What a beautiful story. That was my last thought after watching this show. I saw a review on IMDb that it was one of the best kdramas. I became intrigued and watched the show. Honestly, it didn't disappoint me. The basic storyline is about a rich heiress who is like a sleeping beauty and a doctor who tries to rescue her from her enemies. All I can say that it's a worth watch. There are many trashy shows out there, all of them have the same basis plot. In the name of rom com you don't find unique shows. This one is different for a change. It has action, it has drama, it has romance & enough amount of suspense. The couple despite having less screen time together steals the show. What is different is that both the male lead and the female lead have their own stories. They are a character in themselves. They are totally opposite from each other when it comes to their values. They are people who love each other but are obviously belonging to different worlds. That makes this storyline special. At first I found the lead actress boring. Just someone who is beautiful but if you stick around you will find that she is the best character in the show. I think this show gives you two endings. If you want a really good ending you will stop at episode 16. If you want a satisfying ending and are curious to know more like me you will stick around till episode 18. Of course it has it's flaws but if I mention it you will remember it and will interfere with your enjoyment . But it's nothing major. It looks a bit old but was worth my time. The conversations between the side characters was also good. I say give it a try. You might not rate it 10 stars but you definitely won't rate it less than 8 stars or 7 stars. I feel this show is underrated. If you like the storyline you should go for it.
In limbo over the ending
rippytangled4 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Absolutely enjoyed this series. Definitely has all the ingredients of a Kdrama with a reasonable dose of suspense and "guess who the killer is" thrown in. I would have preferred a more romantlc ending. I am still wondering what happened to the princess! Does the pauper/doctor who loves her going to live with or without her? Help!! I am in limbo over the ending.
An impressive K-drama
Tweekums21 April 2022
This Korean drama is centred on Kim Tae-hyun, a skilled surgeon at a Seoul hospital who owes money to loan sharks after borrowing to pay for his sister's ongoing medical treatment. To help pay off these debts he makes 'house calls' to help criminals injured during their illegal activities... when on these jobs he is known as 'Yong Pal' and Yong Pal is wanted by the police. This is the least of his problems though; at work he is promoted to the Twelfth Floor, where VIPs are treated. Here he learns that the chairman's sister, Han Yeo Jin the rightful chairwoman of the company, is being held in an induced coma; worse still it appears that she is about to be killed. He determines to free her.
I thought this was a really impressive series. It provides plenty of drama with numerous exciting scenes, a romance and quite a few comic moments... something for everybody. As the story develops there are some good twists and turns; some of which are genuinely surprising. Those who don't like medical scenes will finds themselves watching several scenes through their fingers as there are many gory surgical scenes. The characters are fun to watch, even the bad guys who veer into pantomime villain territory with their amusing forced laughter and wicked glances. The secondary characters are also good; most obviously the hospital nurses. The cast is solid; most obviously Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee as Kim Tae-hyun and Han Yeo Jin respectively. Overall a really solid series that I'd certainly recommend to fans of K-drama.
These comments are based on watching the series in Korean with English subtitles.
I thought this was a really impressive series. It provides plenty of drama with numerous exciting scenes, a romance and quite a few comic moments... something for everybody. As the story develops there are some good twists and turns; some of which are genuinely surprising. Those who don't like medical scenes will finds themselves watching several scenes through their fingers as there are many gory surgical scenes. The characters are fun to watch, even the bad guys who veer into pantomime villain territory with their amusing forced laughter and wicked glances. The secondary characters are also good; most obviously the hospital nurses. The cast is solid; most obviously Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee as Kim Tae-hyun and Han Yeo Jin respectively. Overall a really solid series that I'd certainly recommend to fans of K-drama.
These comments are based on watching the series in Korean with English subtitles.
Lack in romance
ganeshwarang11 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Initially the story is very interesting it will hook you up to watch. The development of love chemistry between hero and heroine is really good. It portray talented hero while beautiful and smart heroin.
But story has changed once heroine comes in power she wanted to revenge her enemies in order to do that she distant herself from hero.
She successfully took revenge on her enemies but in that process the initial romance which developed between two has'nt got blossom.
It would ve good if heroine don't take revenge on her enemies and enemy try to attack her hence hero and heroine both collectively fight them successfully and make there love bond more strong.
But unfortunately we didn't get much of romance, yet hero and heroine didn't lose trust on each other.
Overall story is good but the lack of love and romance between two makes it more boring.
I am not saying that writer had to make it romantic but the romance between hero and heroine which story commence should be maintain throughout the story that way it makes more interesting to watch.
Anyway hero finally meets the heroine when it is too late when she diagnosed with lover cancer. It feels bad when they look distress.
But story has changed once heroine comes in power she wanted to revenge her enemies in order to do that she distant herself from hero.
She successfully took revenge on her enemies but in that process the initial romance which developed between two has'nt got blossom.
It would ve good if heroine don't take revenge on her enemies and enemy try to attack her hence hero and heroine both collectively fight them successfully and make there love bond more strong.
But unfortunately we didn't get much of romance, yet hero and heroine didn't lose trust on each other.
Overall story is good but the lack of love and romance between two makes it more boring.
I am not saying that writer had to make it romantic but the romance between hero and heroine which story commence should be maintain throughout the story that way it makes more interesting to watch.
Anyway hero finally meets the heroine when it is too late when she diagnosed with lover cancer. It feels bad when they look distress.
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