Is it too soon to say I’m in love with new Korean drama Doctor Slump?

Romantic comedies are one of my go-to genres and with Park Shin Hye and Park Hyung Sik in the lead roles, it was an instant interest in this one. But I love that the show is not just a romance set around two characters. It is about their individual journeys as well. I especially liked female lead Ha Neul’s story.

Yeo Jeong Woo (Park Hyung Sik) and Nam Ha Neul (Park Shin Hye) are rivals in high school as they compete to get higher marks and rank in class. They meet after several years — he is now a popular plastic surgeon and she is an anesthesiologist — at their lowest points in life. He is facing a court case and penalties after a patient dies while he was performing a plastic surgery and she is suffering from depression after working non stop without much rest and facing insults, disrespect and unfair and abusive treatment from her senior in the hospital. Both feel all alone in their misery — but start to comfort each other as he starts living as a tenant in a building owned by her mom.

The drama effectively explores Ha Neul’s struggles. She is so relatable — the way she kept postponing enjoyment for a later time when she would have achieved her goals, and kept on working hard for years. The way she is unable to realize at first she has depression. The things she finally says to her senior and later to her mother about her job and mental health — I felt for her. I was clapping for her especially when she answers back fittingly to her senior.

I also liked that her mother’s reaction was denial and shock at first — which is a realistic (though wrong) reaction from a parent belonging to an older generation when mental health wasn’t taken into account much. I’m glad she soon realizes her mistake and tells her daughter that her health is most important to her. That whole arc made me so emotional.

Although Jeong Woo’s suffering is different from Ha Neul’s , it’s huge and he feels lonely and helpless. I’m loving the gradual formation of friendship between the two. It stems from both having a good heart and understanding. I can’t wait to see their path towards becoming more and their individual growth, healing and learnings.

I also found Dae Young (Yoon Park) really cute and amusing! He is Jeong Woo’s senior who has remained jealous of his achievements but also has a soft heart for him. I want to know more about him and their interesting history. His scene with his staff when they advise him to promote his clinic is so hilarious.

Doctor Slump has a lot of funny scenes which made me laugh out loud. Park Hyung Sik is amazing in comedy as well as softer scenes and Park Shin Hye also shines. Their chemistry is great and so natural.

I also want to add that the thriller part in this drama doesn’t seem shoehorned, like it does in so many other rom-coms. It is an important part of Jeong Woo’s story.

All in all, I laughed and I got misty eyed — which definitely makes the premiere week of Doctor Slump amazing for me.