The King's Doctor

The King's Doctor (lit. Horse Doctor) is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to March 25, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 50 episodes. The historical/period epic drama commemorated MBC's 51st anniversary.

Filmed at MBC Dramia in Gyeonggi Province, The King's Doctor was directed by Lee Byung-hoon, known for his previous works Hur Jun, Jewel in the Palace, Yi San and Dong Yi. This marked the first television drama for actor Cho Seung-woo in his 13-year film and stage career.

Plot
The life of a Joseon-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses, who rises to become the royal physician in charge of the King's health.

Main characters

 * Cho Seung-woo as Baek Kwang-hyun
 * Ahn Do-gyu as young Kwang-hyun
 * Lee Yo-won as Kang Ji-nyeong
 * Roh Jeong-eui as young Ji-nyeong/Young-dal
 * Son Chang-min as Lee Myung-hwan
 * Yoo Sun as Jang In-joo
 * Lee Sang-woo as Lee Sung-ha
 * Nam Da-reum as young Lee Sung-ha
 * Lee Soon-jae as Ko Joo-man
 * Han Sang-jin as King Hyeonjong
 * Kim So-eun as Princess Sukhwi
 * Jo Bo-ah as Seo Eun-seo

Supporting characters

 * Kang Ki-young as Horse Doctor
 * Kim Chang-wan as Jung Sung-jo
 * Jeon No-min as Kang Do-joon, Kwang-hyun's father
 * Choi Su-rin as Joo In-ok
 * Kim Hye-sun as Queen Inseon
 * Lee Hee-do as Choo Ki-bae
 * Maeng Sang-hoon as Oh Jang-bak
 * Ahn Sang-tae as Ja-bong
 * In Gyo-jin as Kwon Suk-chul
 * Jang Hee-woong as Yoon Tae-joo
 * Yoon Bong-gil (actor) as Park Dae-mang
 * Choi Beom-ho as Jo Jung-chul
 * Shin Gook as Shin Byung-ha
 * Ahn Yeo-jin as Court Lady Kwak
 * Lee Kwan-hoon as Ma Do-heum
 * Lee Ga-hyun as Queen Myeongseong
 * Joo Jin-mo as Sa-am
 * Uhm Hyun-kyung as So Ka-young
 * Park Hyuk-kwon as Baek Seok-gu
 * Hwang Young-hee as Baek Seok-gu's wife
 * Yoon Hee-seok as Seo Doo-shik
 * Kim Young-im (actress) as Jo Bi
 * Oh Eun-ho as Hong Mi-geum
 * Oh In-hye as Jung Mal-geum
 * Seo Beom-shik as Kang Jung-doo
 * Im Chae-won as Lee Myung-hwan
 * Na Sung-kyun as Park Byung-joo
 * Lee Sook (actress) as Choi Ga-bi
 * Heo Yi-seul as Park Eun-bi
 * Yoo In-suk as farmer
 * Han Choon-il as doctor at royal horse stable
 * Jeon Heon-tae as doctor at royal horse stable
 * Kim Ho-young as Oh Kyu-tae
 * Na Jae-kyun as First Secretary
 * So Hyang as Kyu-soo
 * Jung Dong-gyu as Shim Moon-kwan
 * Kim Tae-jong (actor) as Ji-pyung
 * Lee Jong-goo as Lee Myung-hwan's stepfather
 * Yang Han-yeol as young Ji-nyeong's friend
 * Oh Jung-tae as Doo-mok
 * Kang Shin-jo as Guru Uigeumbu
 * Shin Joon-young as Byun
 * Kim Ik-tae as Joseon's officer
 * Choi Eun-seok as Joseon's officer
 * Ki Yeon-ho as Joseon's officer
 * Park Gi-san as Joseon's officer
 * Song Yong-tae as Joseon's officer

Guest appearances

 * Jung Gyu-woon as Crown Prince Sohyeon
 * Kyung Soo-jin as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Kang clan
 * Sunwoo Jae-duk as King Injo
 * Choi Deok-moon as King Hyojong
 * Kwon Tae-won as Kim Ja-jeom
 * Jang Young-nam as Do-joon's wife and Kwang-hyun's mother
 * Seo Hyun-jin as So-yong Jo, later Gwi-in Jo
 * Jo Deok-hyun as Lee Hyung-ik
 * Song Min-hyung as Boo Tae-soo
 * Lee Hee-jin as Woo-hee
 * Im Byung-ki as Soo-bo, Woo-hee's older brother
 * as Choi Hyun-wook
 * Park Young-ji as Hong Yoon-shik
 * Kang Han-byeol as little crown prince, later King Sukjong
 * Jung Yoon-seok as the child (ep 8)

Episode ratings

 * In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
 * NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.