Surgeon Bong Dal-hee

Surgeon Bong Dal-hee is a 2007 South Korean medical drama television series starring Lee Yo-won (in the title role), Lee Beom-soo, Kim Min-jun and Oh Yoon-ah. It aired on SBS from January 17 to March 15, 2007 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 18 episodes.

Plot
Bong Dal-hee (Lee Yo-won) approaches her life and work with a simple-minded gungho sincerity. She's had frail health since she was a little girl, and after she undergoes heart surgery, Dal-hee decides to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. She graduates from a little-known medical school in her hometown, the remote island of Ulleungdo, and against all odds, gets accepted into the prestigious Hankook University Hospital residency program in Seoul. Dal-hee is determined to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, all the more so because of her own heart condition. Her old-fashioned name, provincial upbringing and lack of competitiveness mark her as different among the first year residents. She immediately gets on the bad side of Ahn Joong-geun (Lee Beom-soo), a brilliant but extremely strict cardiothoracic surgeon who often gets angry at the mistake-prone Dal-hee. Adding to the negative impression is Dal-hee's friendship with recently divorced general surgeon Lee Geon-wook (Kim Min-jun), who was Joong-geun's rival since their intern years. Geon-wook is attracted to Dal-hee, but he still has lingering feelings for his ex-wife, pediatrician Jo Moon-kyung (Oh Yoon-ah). Geon-wook and Moon-kyung split up after he learned that their six-year-old son was fathered by another man before they married, leaving him feeling betrayed and angry. Meanwhile, as they continue to work together, Joong-geun and Dal-hee grow closer. Called a "troublemaker" by her colleagues but loved by her patients for her compassionate personality, Dal-hee must learn to deal with professional setbacks, tensions on the job, hospital politics, patient deaths, romantic confusion and recurring ill health, on her way to becoming a full-fledged surgeon.

Cast

 * Lee Yo-won as Bong Dal-hee, 1st year cardiothoracic surgery resident
 * Lee Beom-soo as Ahn Joong-geun, cardiothoracic surgeon
 * Kim Min-jun as Lee Geon-wook, general surgeon
 * Oh Yoon-ah as Jo Moon-kyung, pediatrician
 * Kim In-kwon as Park Jae-beom, 1st year general surgery resident
 * Choi Yeo-jin as Jo A-ra, 1st year general surgery resident
 * Song Jong-ho as Lee Min-woo, cardiothoracic surgery resident
 * Kim Hae-sook as Yang Eun-ja, Dal-hee's mother
 * Kim Jung-min as Bong Mi-hee, Dal-hee's younger sister
 * Baek Seung-hyeon as Kim Hyun-bin, cardiothoracic surgery chief resident
 * Jung Wook as Jang Ji-hyuk, general surgery chief resident
 * Park Geun-hyung as Lee Hyun-taek, chief of general surgery
 * Lee Ki-yeol as Seo Jung-hwan, chief of cardiothoracic surgery
 * Kim Seung-wook as Professor Park
 * Kim Myung-jin as Professor Jung
 * Sung Woo-jin as Instructor Oh
 * Jo Myung-woon as surgical intern
 * Lee Bom as Ah-jeong
 * Im Sung-min as Nurse Go
 * Jo Ah-ra as Nurse Lee
 * Jeon Hye-sang as ER head nurse
 * Jo Yeon-hee as Seon-ju
 * Lee Hyun as Instructor Baek
 * Lee Jong-min as Instructor Seo
 * Jung Sung-woon as chief of emergency medicine
 * Oh Man-seok as Oh Jung-min, Moon-kyung's ex-boyfriend (guest appearance, ep 13-14)

Reception
Surgeon Bong Dal-hee was a hit; it recorded average ratings of 22.4% and a peak of 29.3%, and was number one in its timeslot for most of its run (beating the competition Dal-ja's Spring on KBS2 and Prince Hours on MBC). The series also received several acting, directing and popularity awards.

International broadcast

 * It aired in Vietnam on HTV3 from February 9, 2009.