WARNING: This article contains minor spoilers for Doctor Slump episode 1.

Summary

• Netflix's new K-drama Doctor Slump follows the unique relationship between struggling doctors Nam Ha-neul and Yeo Jeong-woo.
• Ha-neul and Jeong-woo were once high school rivals and reunited in less-than-ideal circumstances.
• The show explores their past in high school and the challenges they face in the present.

medical K-drama going back and forth between past and present to show how their unique relationship came to be. After never seeing each other following their graduation, Ha-neul and Jeong-woo reunite in less-than-ideal circumstances.

Once considered some of the most brilliant minds of their generation, both Jeong-woo and Ha-neul had a lot of potential. While they did graduate from medical school and accomplished some of their biggest goals, their lives took a drastic turn around the same day. Ha-neul almost died due to the stress of her work, whereas Jeong-woo was accused of causing the death of a patient. This is when the main characters of this new 2024 K-drama show surprisingly reunite, leading to the beginning of a love story. Park Shin-hye and Park Hyun-sik previously worked together in 2013's The Heirs.

Park Shin-hye as Nam Ha-neul

Actor: Park Shin-hye, 33, is a South Korean actor and singer whose breakout role was in 2003’s Stairway to Heaven series. Park was born in Gwangju but grew up in Songpa District, Seoul. After participating in two music videos of singer Lee Seung-hwan, she began her own music and acting career. She graduated in theater at Chung-Ang University in 2016 and has starred in plenty of Korean movies and K-dramas since then. She has also released two singles, “Arm Pillow” and “My Dear.” Park currently stars in Doctor Slump as Nam Ha-neul.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Stairway to Heaven (2003), Tree of Heaven (2006), You're Beautiful (2009), Miracle in Cell No. 7, The Heirs (2013), Doctors (2016), Memories of the Alhambra (2018), Sisyphus: The Myth (2021).

Character: After moving to Seoul to pursue a better education and eventually a medical school, Nam Ha-neul was placed in a high school class where only one other student could rival her intelligence. Ha-neul has been focused on her academic career for most of her life – apart from her bedtime, there is no portion of her day when she isn’t studying. While this approach worked, by the time Ha-neul graduated from medical school, she was dealing with anxiety and showing signs of depression. It all became worse after her job in a college hospital left her burned out.

Park Hyung-sik as Yeo Jeong-woo

Actor: Park Hyung-sik, 32, is a South Korean actor and singer whose career began in 2010 following his musical debut as part of ZE:A pop group. Three years later, Park Hyung-sik would have his breakout acting performance in 2013’s The Heirs, followed by leading roles in dramas such as High Society and Strong Girl Bong-soon. As part of ZE:A, Park Hyung-sik has written three songs and has been credited with six soundtracks for movies and TV shows. Before Doctor Slump, his most recent role was in 2023’s Our Blooming Youth.

Notable Movies & TV Shows: The Heirs (2013), High Society (2015), Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016), Strong Girl Bong-soon (2017), Suits (2018), Happiness (2021), Soundtrack #1 (2022), Our Blooming Youth (2023).

Character: Yeo Jeong-woo was by far the best student in his class until the arrival of Nam Ha-neul. Now challenged by this new, more dedicated student, he began to put more effort into his studies and projects and went on to have a very successful career. Jeong-woo became one of the country’s most famous plastic surgeons, even having a strong social media presence with viral videos about his work. However, after a failed surgery leads to the death of a patient, Jeong-woo is accused of negligence and perhaps even murder, which all but destroys his career.

Yoon Park as Bin Dae-yeong

Actor: Yoon Park, 36, is a South Korean actor born in Seoul. He attended the Korea National University of Arts and started his career as a drummer. Yoon has appeared in TV shows since 2012, but his breakout role was in 2014’s What Happens To My Family?

Notable Movies & TV Shows: What Happens to My Family? (2014), Flower of Queen (2015), Birthcare Center (2020), Forecasting Love and Weather (2022).

Character: Although Bin Dae-yeong did not go to high school with the main characters, he went to medical school with Jeong-woo. There, he created a rivalry with Jeong-woo, and while Jeong-woo never really cared about it, Dae-yeong continued to foment this rivalry even after they graduated. After criticizing all of Jeong-woo’s career decisions, especially the use of social media, Dae-yeong was arguably happy about what happened to his “friend.” Bin Dae-yeong is jealous of Jeong-woo’s accomplishments and barely tries to hide them from their mutual colleagues.

Kong Seong-ha as Lee Hong-ran

Actor: Kong Seong-ha, 31, is a South Korean actor most known for her roles in Those Who Read the Hearts of Evil (2022) and Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023). She has also had minor roles in movies such as The Mayor (2017) and First Child (2022).

Notable Movies & TV Shows: Jirisan (2021), Dr. Brain (2021), Those Who Read the Hearts of Evil (2022), Daily Dose of Sunshine (2023).

Character: Dr. Lee Hong-ran is an anesthesiologist who works in the same hospital as Ha-neul, her best friend. Lee Hong-ran was already worried about Ha-neul possibly being burned out from work even before the accident happened. Hong-ran was on the phone with Ha-neul when the latter was run over by a bus after almost falling in the middle of the street due to a strong stomachache.

Doctor Slump ing Cast & Characters

Jang Hye-jin as Kong Wol-seon: Wol-seon is Ha-neul’s mother. She decides to move the family to Seoul following the death of her husband to help her daughter eventually get into medical school. She ran a local business before selling it to have enough money for the family to move to the capital.

Yoon Sang-hyun as Nam Ba-da: Ba-da is Ha-neul’s younger brother. While he says the only reason why did not get into medical school is because he did not want to, it does not seem like he shared the same enthusiasm for studying as his sister. He currently lives with his mother and sister in Seoul.

Hyun Bong-sik as Kong Tae-seon: Tae-seon is the uncle of Ha-neul and brother of Wol-seon. He is very proud of his niece and used to work at the family business before his sister sold it to move to Seoul.

Park Won-ho as Kim Moo-geun: Moo-geun was one of Jeong-woo’s high school best friends. He was always joking and teasing Jeong-woo about his grades.

Kang Sang-jun as Son Chan-young: Chan-young is also one of Jeong-woo’s high school best friends in Doctor Slump. He was interested in knowing whether the new student was pretty or not and went on to make fun of Jeong-woo after learning that her grades were better than his.

Watch Doctor Slump on Netflix