Yong-pal
Yong-pal[2] (Korean: 용팔이; RR: Yongpal-i) is a 2015 South Korean drama series starring Joo Won, Kim Tae-hee, Chae Jung-an and Jo Hyun-jae.[3][4][5] It aired on SBS from August 5 to October 1, 2015, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 18 episodes.[6] Originally slated for 16 episodes, due to the high ratings and popularity of the drama, it was extended by two episodes.[7]
| Yong-pal | |
|---|---|
![]() Promotional poster  | |
| Also known as | The Gang Doctor[1] | 
| Genre | Action Medical Romance  | 
| Written by | Jang Hyuk-rin | 
| Directed by | Oh Jin-suk | 
| Starring | Joo Won Kim Tae-hee Jo Hyun-jae Chae Jung-an  | 
| Composer | Park Gi-heon | 
| Country of origin | South Korea | 
| Original language | Korean | 
| No. of episodes | 18 | 
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Moon Bo-mi | 
| Producers | Park Young-soo  Kim Si-hwan  | 
| Cinematography | Yoon Dae-young  Choi Je-rak  | 
| Editors | Lee Hyun-ah  Jung Il-won  | 
| Running time | 65 minutes | 
| Production company | HB Entertainment | 
| Release | |
| Original network | Seoul Broadcasting System | 
| Original release | August 5 – October 1, 2015  | 
This drama reunites Kim Tae-hee and Jo Hyun-jae who first worked together in the 2004 drama Forbidden Love.[8]
Synopsis
    
Kim Tae Hyun is a talented surgeon. Desperate for money to pay for his sister's medical bills, he adopts the code name Yong-pal and offers his medical skills to those in need of medical attention but who cannot do so publicly, dealing with criminals and corrupt plutocrats.[9] Joining a team of corrupt physicians Kim rescues "sleeping beauty" Han Yeo Jin, a chaebol heiress, from a medically induced coma, leading to unintended consequences.
Cast
    
    Main
    
- Joo Won as Kim Tae-hyun[10]
- Jung Yoon-seok as young Tae-hyun
 
 
- A skilled surgeon, who under the alias Yong-pal moonlights as a mercenary doctor for hire, who falls in love with Yeo-jin.
 
- Kim Tae-hee as Han Yeo-jin[11]
 
- A chaebol heiress placed in a coma by her enemies and get revenge of her, in this who fall in love with Tae-hyun.
 
- Jo Hyun-jae as Han Do-joon
 
- Han Yeo-jin's half-brother, who covets his sister's inheritance.
 
- Chae Jung-an as Lee Chae-young
 
- Han Do-joon's wife.
 
Supporting
    
- Jung Woong-in as Chief Lee Ho-joon
 - Stephanie Lee as Cynthia Park
 - Song Kyung-chul as Doo-chul
 - Min Jin-Woong as Lee Sang-Chul
 - Ahn Se-ha as Man-sik
 - Bae Hae-sun as Nurse Hwang
 - Im Kang-sung as Cha Sae-hoon
 - Jo Bok-rae as Park Tae-yong
 - Cha Soon-bae as Chief Shin
 - Kim Mi-kyung as Kang Soo-min, Charge nurse, surgery
 - Oh Na-ra as Charge nurse, intensive care
 - Park Pal-young as Hospital director
 - Park Hye-su as Kim So-hyun
 - Choi Joon-Yong as Tae-hyun's father
 - Kim Na-woon as Tae-hyun's mother
 - Nam Myeong-ryeol as Chae-young's father
 - Jang Gwang as Chairman Go
 - Yoo Seung-mok as Detective Lee Hyung-sa
 - Jo Hwi as Detective Kim
 - Choi Min as Choi Sung-hoon (guest)
 
Special appearances
    
- Lim Hwa-young as Han Song-yi
 - Kim Jae-young as Yong Pal 2 (ep.18)
 
Original soundtrack
    
| Yong-pal OST | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by  Various artists  | |
| Recorded | 2015 | 
| Genre | Soundtrack | 
| Language | |
| Label | Neowiz Entertainment Daum and HB Entertainment  | 
Part 1
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "To My Love" (사랑하는그대에게) | The One (singer) | 3:41 | 
| 2. | "To My Love" (Inst.) | 3:41 | |
| Total length: | 7:22 | ||
Part 2
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Nightmare" (악몽) | Yong Jun-hyung (Highlight) and Heo Ga-yoon (4minute) | 3:51 | 
| 2. | "A Nightmare" (Inst.) | 3:51 | |
| Total length: | 7:02 | ||
Part 3
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Actually, I'm..." (사실은내가) | Jung In | 4:16 | 
| 2. | "Actually, I'm..." (Inst.) | 4:16 | |
| Total length: | 8:22 | ||
Part 4
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "So we are" (이렇게우리) | Baek A-yeon | 3:57 | 
| 2. | "So we are" (Inst.) | 3:57 | |
| Total length: | 4:14 | ||
Part 5
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come to me" (내게 와줘서) | K.Will | 3:57 | 
| 2. | "Come to me" (Inst.) | 3:57 | |
| Total length: | 4:14 | ||
Part 6
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only remember me" (나하나만) | Park Hye-soo | 3:57 | 
| 2. | "Only remember me" (Inst.) | 3:57 | |
| Total length: | 4:14 | ||
Part 7
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Hear you" (니가들려) | Ahn Se-ha | 3:23 | 
| 2. | "I Hear you" (Inst.) | 3:23 | |
| Total length: | 6:46 | ||
Part 8
    
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Suddenly one day" (어느날갑감자기) | Jin Min-ho | 3:48 | 
| 2. | "Suddenly one day" (Inst.) | 3:48 | |
| Total length: | 7:22 | ||
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Main theme of Yong-pal" (Opening Title) | Various Artists | 3:32 | 
| 2. | "Black Room" | Various Artists | 2:36 | 
| 3. | "Hero" | Various Artists | 2:09 | 
| 4. | "Its not that" | Various Artists | 2:11 | 
| 5. | "I never get caught" | Various Artists | 2:35 | 
| 6. | "Let's be friend" | Various Artists | 2:48 | 
| 7. | "Light of Hope" | Various Artists | 3:07 | 
| 8. | "My Mother" | Various Artists | 2:59 | 
| 9. | "Persuit" | Various Artists | 3:07 | 
| 10. | "Precious Family" | Various Artists | 3:27 | 
| 11. | "Run and Run" | Various Artists | 3:30 | 
| 12. | "Sleeping Witch" | Various Artists | 2:45 | 
| 13. | "The Battle" | Various Artists | 2:22 | 
| 14. | "Tae-Hyun's Family" | Various Artists | 2:55 | 
| 15. | "Wound of a question" | Various Artists | 2:18 | 
| 16. | "Yeo Jin's Destiny" | Various Artists | 2:44 | 
| 17. | "Yeo Jin's Theme" | Various Artists | 2:47 | 
| 18. | "Yong-pal" | Various Artists | 3:12 | 
Viewership
    
Since it began airing, Yong-pal recorded steadily increasing viewership ratings, eventually hitting an impressive 20 percent by its sixth episode. It consistently topped other shows in its Wednesday-Thursday timeslot, eventually becoming one of the top-rated Korean drama primetime miniseries of 2015.[12]
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea[13] | TNmS[14] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | August 5, 2015 | 11.6% (4th) | 12.9% (3rd) | 9.2% (9th) | 11.2% (5th) | 
| 2 | August 6, 2015 | 14.1% (3rd) | 16.0% (3rd) | 11.8% (5th) | 14.9% (3rd) | 
| 3 | August 12, 2015 | 14.5% (3rd) | 16.3% (3rd) | 12.5% (5th) | 15.8% (3rd) | 
| 4 | August 13, 2015 | 16.3% (3rd) | 17.8% (2nd) | 15.3% (3rd) | 18.8% (2nd) | 
| 5 | August 19, 2015 | 18.0% (2nd) | 20.3% (2nd) | 16.4% (3rd) | 19.4% (2nd) | 
| 6 | August 20, 2015 | 20.4% (2nd) | 22.2% (2nd) | 18.1% (3rd) | 20.7% (2nd) | 
| 7 | August 26, 2015 | 19.2% (2nd) | 21.4% (1st) | 17.1% (3rd) | 21.2% (2nd) | 
| 8 | August 27, 2015 | 20.5% (2nd) | 22.8% (2nd) | 18.4% (2nd) | 21.9% (1st) | 
| 9 | September 2, 2015 | 17.0% (3rd) | 19.1% (2nd) | 15.7% (4th) | 18.2% (2nd) | 
| 10 | September 3, 2015 | 17.4% (2nd) | 19.3% (2nd) | 16.3% (2nd) | 19.3% (2nd) | 
| 11 | September 9, 2015 | 19.3% (2nd) | 21.7% (2nd) | 15.9% (3rd) | 18.4% (2nd) | 
| 12 | September 10, 2015 | 19.1% (2nd) | 21.0% (2nd) | 18.2% (2nd) | 21.3% (2nd) | 
| 13 | September 16, 2015 | 21.5% (2nd) | 23.7% (1st) | 18.0% (2nd) | 21.0% (2nd) | 
| 14 | September 17, 2015 | 20.9% (2nd) | 22.3% (2nd) | 19.5% (2nd) | 21.8% (2nd) | 
| 15 | September 23, 2015 | 20.0% (2nd) | 22.3% (2nd) | 17.8% (2nd) | 20.0% (2nd) | 
| 16 | September 24, 2015 | 20.2% (2nd) | 22.3% (2nd) | 19.2% (2nd) | 21.0% (1st) | 
| 17 | September 30, 2015 | 18.4% (3rd) | 20.0% (2nd) | 16.4% (3rd) | 18.2% (2nd) | 
| 18 | October 1, 2015 | 20.4% (2nd) | 21.6% (2nd) | 19.6% (2nd) | 21.4% (2nd) | 
| Average | 18.3% | 20.2% | 16.4% | 19.1% | |
  | |||||
Awards and nominations
    
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Joo Won | Nominated | |
| Best Drama | Yong-pal | Nominated | ||
| Top Excellence Award, actress | Kim Tae-hee | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay | Jang Hyuk-rin | Won | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Joo Won | Nominated | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Tae-hee | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Chae Jung-an | Won | ||
 2015 Hallyu Awards[17]  | 
Best Drama | Yong-pal | Won | |
 Grimae Awards[18]  | 
Grand Prize | Yoon Dae-young, Choi Je-rak | Won | |
| Best Director | Oh Jin-seok | Won | ||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Joo Won | Won | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Joo Won | Nominated | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Tae-hee | Won | ||
| Special Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Jung Woong-in | Nominated | ||
| Jo Hyun-jae | Nominated | |||
| Special Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Bae Hae-sun | Nominated | ||
| PD Award | Joo Won | Nominated | ||
| Top 10 Stars | Joo Won | Won | ||
| Kim Tae-hee | Won | |||
| Chinese Netizen Popularity Award | Joo Won | Won | ||
| Kim Tae-hee | Nominated | |||
| Netizen Popularity Award | Joo Won | Nominated | ||
| Kim Tae-hee | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple Award | Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee | Won | ||
| 2016 | Best Actor (TV) | Joo Won | Nominated | 
Remake
    
There was a talk that the drama Yong-pal which starred Joo Won and Kim Tae-hee could be remade for American audiences.[20] It was reported in December 2015 that a Russian remake produced by Sony Pictures Studios was in development.[21]
References
    
- "[English] The Gang Doctor". SBS International. Seoul Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
 - 《BEST》 Yong Pal 용팔이| 김태희, 자신 구하러 온 주원에 "올 줄 알았어"...'오열' EP18 20151001. YouTube (in Korean). SBS Drama. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
 - Ahn, Sung-mi (July 30, 2015). "Kim Tae-hee plays Sleeping Beauty in new medical drama". K-pop Herald. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
 - Park, Ji-ryun (May 22, 2015). "Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee Both Positively Considering New SBS Drama". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
 - Jin, Min-ji (June 13, 2015). "Kim Tae-hee confirms drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
 - "Yong Pal Releases First Intense and Emotional Teaser Featuring Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee". Soompi. July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
 - "Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee's Yong Pal confirmed for an extension". Allkpop. September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
 - "Jo Hyun Jae joins Kim Tae Hee, Joo Won, and Chae Jung Ahn in SBS series Yong Pal". DramaFever. June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
 - "Joo Won Leaps Across Rooftops for Yong-pa". Dramabeans. July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
 - Jo, Yeon-kyeong (July 30, 2015). "Joo Won Says He Fell for Kim Tae Hee's Looks and Personality". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
 - Kim, Jin-seok (November 10, 2015). "Kim comfortable in supporting role". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
 - "The Gang Doctor Gets Two Extra Episodes". ONE TV ASIA. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
 - "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
 - "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
 - Lee, Hye-won (September 9, 2015). "Candidates for 2015 Korea Drama Awards revealed". K-pop Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
 - "2015 APAN Star Awards – Nominees List". November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
 - "'용팔이', 한류대상 드라마부문상 수상…'용팔이 잘지내니' - #용팔이 - 대한민국 No1. HD포토뉴스". topstarnews. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
 - "Yeon Jeong-hoon and Soo-ae to receive Excellence in Acting Awards at Grime Awards 2015". Hancinema. December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
 - "2015 SBS Drama Awards Winners". joencorner. January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
 - Jones, Julie (November 10, 2015). "Will 'Yong Pal' Be Adapted For American TV?". kdramastars. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
 - Javabeans (December 24, 2015). "Drama news bites: December 23, 2015". Dramabeans. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
 
External links
    
- Official website (in Korean)
 - Yong-pal at HanCinema
 - Yong-pal at IMDb
 
