Doctor Cha
2023 South Korean television series
Doctor Cha (Korean: 닥터 차정숙) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Uhm Jung-hwa in the title role, along with Kim Byung-chul, Myung Se-bin, and Min Woo-hyuk. It aired on JTBC from April 15 to June 4, 2023, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 (KST) for 16 episodes. It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea and on Netflix in selected regions.
The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated series in Korean cable television history.
01Synopsis
The series follows the story of Cha Jeong-suk, a housewife of twenty years who becomes a first-year medical resident.
02Cast
Main
- Uhm Jung-hwa as Cha Jeong-seok: a full-time housewife of twenty years who decides to return to her medical career after surviving an unexpected crisis.
- Park Joo-won as young Cha Jeong-seok
- Kim Byung-chul as Seo In-ho: the perfectionist husband of Jeong-suk and the chief surgeon at a university hospital, who has an affair with his first love Seung-hee, and is the father of her illegitimate daughter who is the same age as his daughter.
- Park Tae-in as young Seo In-ho
- Myung Se-bin as Choi Seung-hee: In-ho's first love who is a family medicine professor and is mother to In-Ho's illegitimate daughter.
- Moon Ye-jin as young Choi Seung-hee
- Min Woo-hyuk as Roy Kim: a charismatic surgeon who gets entangled with Jeong-suk. He was adopted by American parents and tries to find his biological family by registering his DNA
Supporting
- Song Ji-ho as Seo Jung-min: Jeong-suk and In-ho's son who is a first-year surgical resident.
- Jo Aram as Jeon So-ra: Jung-min's girlfriend who is a third-year surgical resident.
- Baek Joo-hee as Baek Mi-hee: Jeong-suk's friend who is a dermatologist.
- Park Joon-geum as Kwak Ae-sim: In-ho's mother and Jeong-suk's mother-in-law.
- Kim Mi-kyung as Oh Deok-rye: Jeong-suk's mother who works as a caregiver in a geriatric hospital.
- Lee Seo-yeon as Seo Yi-rang: Jeong-suk and In-ho's daughter.
- So A-rin as Choi Eun-seo / Seo Eun-seo: Seung-hee and In-ho's daughter. Yi-rang and Jung-min's half sister
- Park Chul-min as Yoon Tae-sik: the chief of surgery department.
- Kim Byung-chun as Im Jong-kwon: the chief of the family medicine department.
- Lim Hyun-soo as Lee Do-gyeom: a first-year resident in the family medicine department.
- Kim Ye-eun as Min Chae-yoon: an intern in the family medicine department.
Extended
- Jo Eun-yoo as Hwang Mi-ra: a surgeon at a university hospital.
- Song Young-ah as Park Ji-yeon: a third-year chief resident.
- Song Young-chang as Chairman Oh Chang-gyu: a VIP patient.
- Sung Byung-sook as Jang Hae-nam: a patient who was imprisoned for killing her husband.
- Kim Hyun-mok as Hwang Seong-gyu: a patient who has Crohn's disease.
- Seo Yoon-ji as Seo-yeon: Seong-gyu's wife.
- Nam Myeong-ryeol as Park Ho-won
Special appearances
- Kang Ji-young as Yoo Ji-seon: a single mother.
- Choi Eun-kyung as a shaman
03Release
It was reported that Doctor Cha was initially scheduled for release in October 2022. However, in November 2022, JTBC announced that the series was included in their 2023 drama lineup.
04Original soundtrack
The original soundtrack for Doctor Cha includes five singles, released between April 15 and May 20, 2023. These singles, as well as 46 score tracks, were later included in the original soundtrack album for Doctor Cha, released on June 3, 2023 by Music&NEW.
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alone" (홀로) |
|
| Rothy | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Alone" (Inst.) | 2:50 | |||
| Total length: | 5:40 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shine Like a Star" |
|
| Sondia | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Shine Like a Star" (Inst.) | 2:43 | |||
| Total length: | 5:26 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breath" (숨) |
|
| Jung Seung-hwan | 3:41 |
| 2. | "Breath" (Inst.) | 3:41 | |||
| Total length: | 7:22 | ||||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "After This Night" (이 밤이 지나면) |
|
| Park Min-hye | 4:16 |
| 2. | "After This Night" (Inst.) | 4:16 | |||
| Total length: | 8:32 | ||||
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Day For Me" (나를 위한 하루) |
|
| Shinae An | 2:28 |
| 2. | "A Day For Me" (Inst.) | 2:28 | |||
| Total length: | 4:56 | ||||
05Reception
Viewership
Doctor Cha : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||
| 1 | 1.125 | 1.644 | 1.700 | 2.330 | 2.437 | 2.846 | 2.856 | 3.696 | 3.411 | 4.061 | 3.552 | 4.005 | 3.143 | 4.088 | 3.232 | 4.030 | 3.010 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | April 15, 2023 | 4.937% (1st) | 5.464% (1st) |
| 2 | April 16, 2023 | 7.780% (1st) | 8.632% (1st) |
| 3 | April 22, 2023 | 7.814% (1st) | 8.488% (1st) |
| 4 | April 23, 2023 | 11.205% (1st) | 11.715% (1st) |
| 5 | April 29, 2023 | 10.856% (1st) | 12.007% (1st) |
| 6 | April 30, 2023 | 13.203% (1st) | 13.317% (1st) |
| 7 | May 6, 2023 | 12.874% (1st) | 13.019% (1st) |
| 8 | May 7, 2023 | 16.181% (1st) | 16.868% (1st) |
| 9 | May 13, 2023 | 15.588% (1st) | 15.708% (1st) |
| 10 | May 14, 2023 | 17.958% (1st) | 18.925% (1st) |
| 11 | May 20, 2023 | 16.225% (1st) | 17.059% (1st) |
| 12 | May 21, 2023 | 18.493% (1st) | 19.336% (1st) |
| 13 | May 27, 2023 | 14.420% (1st) | 14.560% (1st) |
| 14 | May 28, 2023 | 18.168% (1st) | 17.920% (1st) |
| 15 | June 3, 2023 | 14.676% (1st) | 14.742% (1st) |
| 16 | June 4, 2023 | 18.546% (1st) | 19.383% (1st) |
| Average | 13.683% | 14.196% | |
Accolades
Awards and nominations
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APAN Star Awards | 2023 | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Uhm Jung-hwa | Won | |
| Excellence Acting Award, Actress | Myung Se-bin | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actress | Jo Aram | Won | |||
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Actress | Uhm Jung-hwa | Nominated | |
| Brand of the Year Awards | 2023 | Best New Actress | Jo Aram | Won | |
| KCA Consumer Rights Day Awards | 2023 | Viewers' Choice Actor of the Year | Uhm Jung-hwa | Won | |
| Best Director | Kim Dae-jin | Won | |||
| Kim Jung-wook | |||||
| Best Screenplay | Jung Yeo-rang | Won | |||
| Best Production Company | SLL | Won | |||
| Studio&NEW | |||||
| New York Festivals TV and Film Awards | 2023 | Entertainment Special, Mini-series | Doctor Cha | Finalist |
Listicle
06Remake
The Turkish adaptation, Bahar, began being broadcast on Show TV in February 13, 2024. The protagonist is played by Demet Evgar.
The Indian adaptation, Dr. Aarambhi being broadcast on Colors TV from 27 January 2026. The protagonist is being played by Aishwarya Khare.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Doctor Cha”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Doctor Cha.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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