“Reducing medical staff to incompetent villains”... Practicing doctor seeks review of Doctor X; Namgung In’s consulting role draws attention

[Financial News] SBS Friday-Saturday drama Doctor X has sparked a hit-making frenzy, rising to No. 1 globally on Netflix after just two episodes aired. Meanwhile, a practicing doctor has drawn attention by requesting a broadcast review, alleging that the drama distorts the realities of medical practice.
According to the broadcasting industry on the 16th, a social media user identified as A, who introduced themselves as an orthopedic surgeon, posted on their social media on the 15th that they had “requested a broadcast review of the drama Doctor X,” and shared details of their complaint.
A criticized the drama, saying, “It repeatedly portrays medical rounds as unnecessary busywork, reduces medical staff to incompetent villains, and even ignores the uncertainty inherent in medical procedures.” A added, “I understand dramatic exaggeration, but I felt that this goes far enough to create a false impression of medical reality.”
According to a photo A shared, on the 13th they filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Media Communications Standards Commission under the title “Request for review of Doctor X for distorting medical reality and depicting medical professionals.”
After this became known, opinions online were divided. One user criticized the drama, saying, “Some parts are way over the top. It depicts a female surgeon as a hero straight out of a cartoon,” but still predicted that it would be a hit. Another user responded, “Doctors are making a fuss among themselves, asking who the consultant was, but I found it really entertaining.”

Professor Namgung In, a practicing emergency medicine specialist and writer, served as an on-set consultant for Doctor X.
Namgung In had earlier posted on his social media, “Doctor X has finally begun airing. It’s the first drama I’ve worked on as an on-set consultant,” sharing his impressions of the filming set.
He praised the hard work of the actors and production staff, saying, “I came to realize that the drama scenes I used to watch casually were the result of many people’s collaboration, endless patience, and a kind of madness bordering on obsession.”
Recalling the outdoor shoot for the first episode in particular, he said, “On a brutally cold winter day, at 3 a.m. when the streets were deserted, they sprayed water onto the road at Sewoon Sangga with a water truck and filmed. I wondered if everyone was really in their right mind.” He added, “Since everyone worked so incredibly hard, I hope Doctor X becomes a huge hit.”

Doctor X is a medical noir about surgeon Gye Su-jeong (played by Kim Ji-won), who has genius-level surgical skills and takes on corruption in the medical field. Following Taxi Driver, The Fiery Priest and The Judge from Hell, it is an SBS drama offering satisfying catharsis, and it drew considerable attention from its first week on air.
The first episode recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 11.4% and a peak rating of 12.9%. In the second episode, the figures surged to 14.9% nationwide and a peak of 17.4%.
Its global performance has also stood out. In the weekly rankings for October 5–11 announced by Netflix’s official data site, Tudum, the show reached No. 1 in the global non-English TV show category after only three days of release.
It has also generated considerable buzz in South Korea. It ranked No. 1 in TV and OTT drama buzz for the second week of October, according to Good Data Corporation’s FUNdex, while lead actor Kim Ji-won topped the combined TV and OTT cast-member buzz rankings.
Episode 3 of Doctor X airs at 9:50 p.m. on the 16th.
[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter