Actor Kim Ji-won from the SBS medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White”SBS
SBS medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White” is taking viewers by storm with its scathing portrayal of the medical profession, as lead actor Kim Ji-won plays a fearless freelance surgeon who challenges hospital hierarchies and exposes the incompetence of her fellow doctors.
The series premiered on Oct. 9 with a nationwide household viewership rating of 11.4 percent, which climbed to 14.9 percent for its second episode, according to Nielsen Korea.
It has also found success overseas and topped Netflix's global chart for non-English television shows on Wednesday, just three days after its streaming release.
Much of the show's early success can be attributed to its protagonist, Gye Su-jeong, played by Kim Ji-won — a doctor who isn't afraid to call out other doctors.
Gye is a freelance surgeon affiliated with a medical staffing agency. Paid per operation, she clocks out at exactly 6 p.m., no exceptions. Dispatched to Guseo University Seonnam Medical Center, which is struggling with a shortage of surgeons following a wave of resignations, Gye openly challenges the hospital director's misguided surgical decisions and colleagues who focus exclusively on treating VIP patients. At the same time, she saves patients in critical condition with her exceptional surgical skills.
One scene from the first episode, which Gye delivers a blistering takedown of the hospital's authoritarian culture, attracted attention online when released as a trailer, even before the drama premiered.
“People who only studied to get rich and climb the ladder,” Gye’s line goes as she refers to other doctors. “People with no ethics, no beliefs, and no independent thought, who are smart yet stupid. You grovel to superiors while lording it over patients […] You irresponsible people care only for your own comfort, so you leave surgery to an old man who neglects his health and skills and is lucky if his hands don’t shake.”
“You know full well how much the patient will suffer with his life on the line yet you only think about how to get off the hook, complacent as ever. You are the worst.”
A still from the SBS medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White”SBS
Confronting colleagues who remain silent about the hospital director's inappropriate medical orders, Gye unleashes a rapid-fire tirade lasting nearly a minute. Short-form clips of the scene, shared on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, have amassed more than 8 million views combined.
“Unlike the protagonists of conventional medical dramas, Gye is not employed by the hospital, allowing her to view the medical profession entirely from an outsider's perspective,” drama critic Gong Hee-jung said.
“Previous dramas that criticized the existing medical system, such as 'Dr. Romantic' [2016-23] and 'The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call' [2025], ultimately had to resolve their conflicts through reconciliation within the hospital because their protagonists were staff doctors. 'Doctor X: Mafia in White,' however, raises expectations that it could break away from that formula.”
Medical dramas have traditionally focused on camaraderie and sacrifice among doctors.
Series from the 1990s, including “General Hospital” (1994-96) and “Sunflower” (1998-99), emphasized compassion and sacrifice in medical settings. More recent productions, such as “Hospital Playlist” (2020-21) and “Doctor Cha” (2023), centered on friendship and romance among doctors. “Dr. Romantic” and “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call” highlighted doctors' sense of duty and determination to save lives.
A still from the SBS medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White”SBS
“Doctor X: Mafia in White,” by contrast, takes a sharply critical approach from the outset.
Its opening scenes depict a celebratory gathering hosted by a faction within a medical association to mark the election of a former association member as city mayor.
“Protecting doctors is the only way to set health care right, but those fools fail to see it,” the association's chairman says in a speech.
Watching the speech with disgust, Boo Seung-gwan, played by Son Hyun-joo, mutters, “You should be protecting patients, you goddamn bastards. I hope you all get gout from eating all that meat,” before leaving the banquet hall.
The doctors portrayed in the series are often strikingly incompetent.
Kim Myeong-seop, the hospital director, played by Kim Jong-goo, collapses after entering an operating room wearing latex gloves, unaware that he has a latex allergy.
Another surgeon, Do Yoon-sik, played by Kim Young-min, discovers during an operation that a patient's cancer has spread farther than anticipated. Rather than attempting to remove the cancerous tissue, he decides to close the incision.
“For viewers who felt disappointed by doctors' collective actions and the disruption of medical services during the nearly two-year conflict between the government and the medical community that began in 2023 in real life, the drama's criticism and exposés offer a sense of vicarious satisfaction,” Koo Jeong-woo, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said.
The cast's performances are another major draw.
To portray Gye's bold and uncompromising personality, Kim Ji-won practiced speaking in a lower voice and completed the look with minimal makeup and a sharp, chin-length bob.
Actor Lee Jung-eun from the SBS medical drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White”SBS
Lee Jung-eun plays Jang Hee-sook, the head of the medical staffing agency and Gye's ally. Actor Son portrays Boo, who rises to the hospital director's position after threatening the bedridden Kim Myeong-seop. Kim Young-min plays a surgeon more concerned with hospital politics and protecting his position than performing operations.
All three are seasoned performers who bring depth to their roles.
Whether the 12-episode series can sustain its early momentum remains uncertain.
The exaggerated storytelling style of its Japanese original, “Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon” (2012-21), could eventually test Korean viewers' patience.
The Korean series has also faced criticism for its lack of medical accuracy and its overwhelmingly negative portrayal of doctors.
One online commenter who identified as an orthopedic surgeon said they had requested a review of the drama by the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
“The show repeatedly portrays medical professionals as incompetent villains while disregarding the inherent uncertainties of medical practice, potentially giving viewers a distorted understanding of medical realities,” the commenter wrote.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
