Binge-worthy: Another career-defining role for Park Eun-bin in K-thriller Hyper Knife
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Park Eun-bin (left) and Yoon Chan-young in Hyper Knife.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
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Hyper Knife (M18)
Disney+
★★★☆☆
There is no lack of South Korean medical dramas at the moment. The recent The Trauma Code: Heroes On Call was a hit for Netflix, and the streamer will release its next offering, Resident Playbook, on April 12.
Disney+ takes a different spin on this tried-and-tested genre with Hyper Knife. Besides adding a thriller element, it is also banking on K-actress Park Eun-bin’s maiden attempt at going over to the dark side.
She plays Jung Se-ok, a brilliant neurosurgeon who has more than a few screws loose. Her obsessive and reckless behaviour is exacerbated after her mentor Choi Deok-hee (Sul Kyung-gu), another genius doctor, strips her of her medical licence as punishment for her insubordination.
Hyper Knife has reportedly set a record for being the most-viewed Korean premiere globally in 2025, based on seven days of streaming data since its debut on March 19.
Here are three reasons to binge on the eight-episode series available on Disney+.
1. Extraordinary Park Eun-bin
Hyper Knife, starring Park Eun-bin (right) and Sul Kyung-gu.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
Park, who won acclaim for her turn as a gifted lawyer with autism in Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), is known for playing wholesome characters, such as the sweet-natured island girl in 2023’s Castaway Diva.
Her transformation into the sociopath Se-ok is another career-defining moment.
Se-ok’s ambition to be the best of the best makes her crazy as a bat, yet her medical skills are so reputed that she is a sought-after neurosurgeon on the black market.
Park delivers the intensity, ferocity and vengefulness you expect from her character. She also skilfully channels the requisite moments of vulnerability that make you root for the method in her madness.
2. He is just as crazy
Hyper Knife stars Park Eun-bin (left) and Sul Kyung-gu.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
Se-ok is Deok-hee’s favourite student, yet he discards her like trash. But he now needs her as he has a tumour in his brain, and trusts only Se-ok’s skills.
His pride stops him from seeking reconciliation the way normal people do – apologise and make amends. Instead, Deok-hee is determined to continue destroying Se-ok’s life and break her into submission. Both are indeed two sides of the same coin.
3. Intriguing story overcomes slow pacing
(From left) Park Byung-eun, Yoon Chan-young and Park Eun-bin in Hyper Knife.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
The question raised by Deok-hee’s assistant is the one in the viewer’s mind: Why would you trust the scalpel in the hands of the one who is trying to kill you?
Also, why do fellow doctor Han Hyun-ho (Park Byung-eun) and young student Seo Young-ju (Yoon Chan-young), who assist in Se-ok’s moonlighting, indulge her eccentricity?
It is not until the sixth episode that answers are slowly revealed as to why the people around Se-ok let her bulldoze her way around.
The meandering plot may put one off, but the overall strong performances keep you invested for the big will-she-operate-or-won’t-she reveal.
Joanne Soh is a lifestyle correspondent at The Straits Times, with a special interest in entertainment and pop culture.
