Kim Ji-won is returning to the small screen with Doctor X after a two-year hiatus.
On the afternoon of the 7th, a production presentation for the new SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia” (hereinafter “Doctor X”) was held at the SBS building in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Director Lee Jung-rim and actors Kim Ji-won, Lee Jung-eun, Son Hyun-joo, and Kim Woo-seok attended the event to share various stories about the show.
“Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia” is a refreshing medical noir depicting the activities of Gye Su-jeong (played by Kim Ji-won), a “madwoman in the operating room” who shatters massive absurdities with genius surgical skills that know neither failure nor compromise.
Introducing “Doctor X,” Director Lee Jung-rim stated, “Our work is in the medical noir genre. It will be fun to follow the stories of various people inside the massive organization of a hospital and Dr. Gye Su-jeong, a doctor who never fails.”
When asked if “Doctor X” has distinct differentiating points considering the popularity of medical dramas in recent years, Director Lee explained, “Within the broad category of medical dramas, we wanted to capture the human drama of the hospital organization and the exhilarating feeling of having a genius doctor.”
She continued, “We also call it a noir because we focused on the fact that a hospital is ultimately a massive organization. When various people work together, friction is inevitable, and there are inherent fates and desires. We tried to vividly portray the choices people make and the reasons behind them.”
Asked about the desired viewership ratings for “Doctor X,” which follows the lineage of SBS Friday-Saturday dramas, Director Lee said, “I just received training that I should state my birthday. My birthday is September 21st, so I hope for 9.21%.” Regarding this, the actors mentioned they hadn’t discussed a separate pledge, but Lee Jung-eun showed confidence, saying, “I think we discussed something like this: ‘We never fail.'”
Sharing the charming points of the work, Kim Ji-won said, “As a medical noir genre, we carry weight and exhilaration, but we don’t miss out on humor in between. If you watch the highlight reel, there’s a scene like ‘Six o’clock!’ Those comedic points seem to provide tension and release for pacing control. I think it’s a drama where you can feel tension, exhilaration, and humor all at once.”
Kim Ji-won has returned with “Doctor X” two years and six months after her drama “Queen of Tears” ended in April 2024. Regarding the pressure of her hiatus, she shared, “Greeting everyone after a long time makes even my hands shake slightly at a gathering like this. I am excited and nervous to greet you after such a long time.” She added, “During my hiatus, I was waiting while preparing what kind of image to show, and then I received a great offer and decided to take it. I’ve always enjoyed the director’s work so much that when I heard she was participating, I first thought I wanted to trust her and go along.”
Kim Ji-won further explained, “When I heard the list of people I would be working with one by one, it felt so reassuring. I was very greedy for this opportunity because I thought it would be a chance to work with amazing senior actors and learn from them.”
Particularly regarding the visual distinction from her previous work “Queen of Tears,” she remarked, “Externally, I cut my hair short to show a visual change. In my last work, I showed a lot of flashy fashion visually, but in this character, I wanted to strip that away as much as possible. That was the approach I took.”
Regarding her bromance/womance chemistry with Kim Ji-won, Lee Jung-eun revealed, “I was looking for an opportunity to work with actress Kim Ji-won. The writers and directors I worked with previously praised her so much that I wanted to see her if I had the chance. For this project, I liked the role and thought we could create many good scenes together. There was a moment we shared history, and I think we filmed that scene with high satisfaction.”
Kim Ji-won also expressed satisfaction with her chemistry with Lee Jung-eun, stating, “It was truly wonderful. She is just so lovely. Watching that by her side was one of the joys I found on set, and in terms of acting, it was a time where I could satisfy my personal desires and learn at the same time, making it a chemistry that captured both happiness and learning. I think viewers will be able to feel the chemistry built through human connection and love, and experience that depth.”
Additionally, since this work is based on the Japanese drama “Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon,” some concerns were raised by original fans due to differences in medical systems between Japan and Korea. Addressing this, Director Lee Jung-rim stated, “As you mentioned, because the backgrounds and systems are so different, we reinterpreted it to keep the framework and attractive settings while successfully bringing out Korean sentiments.”
Director Lee added, “Sujeong’s character also has differences from the original, and we tried to adapt her outward appearance and preferences to Korean sentiments. Knowing that the original is a solid work spanning up to Season 7 and spin-offs with a thick fan base and some voices of concern, we tried to modify it so that our Korean viewers could accept it comfortably.”
Meanwhile, SBS’s “Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia” premieres on Friday the 9th at 9:50 PM, and will air every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 PM.
