K-drama Resident Playbook faces backlash before release due to doctors’ strike
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Upcoming medical K-drama Resident Playbook was initially scheduled for release in the first half of 2024.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
SEOUL – The K-drama Resident Playbook, a much anticipated spin-off of the popular Hospital Playlist series (2020 to 2021), is finally set to air in April. This follows a year-long delay due to negative public sentiment stemming from a prolonged nationwide doctors’ strike in South Korea.
But the series is facing criticism even before its release, as many residents who resigned in protest against the South Korean government’s decision
Resident Playbook stars Go Youn-jung and Shin Si-ah as obstetrics and gynaecology residents at Yulje Medical Centre – the same fictional hospital setting as Hospital Playlist.
It follows the rookie doctors as they navigate the hectic world of hospital life, encountering various patient cases while also pursuing personal and professional growth.
The series was initially scheduled for release in the first half of 2024 after tvN’s megahit romance Queen Of Tears wrapped its run in April.
However, the launch was postponed amid hostile public sentiment towards doctors, as doctors and medical students went on strike over the government’s plan to increase medical school admissions.
With a growing number of patients failing to receive treatment, public opinion turned sharply against the doctors who refused to return to hospitals. The series faced further delays as the doctors’ strike continued.
The broadcaster announced that the series will premiere on April 12, but the strike continues to cast a shadow over the show’s debut.
In Singapore, the series will premiere on Netflix on the same day.
The show’s creator has responded to criticism by emphasising that the central focus of Resident Playbook is the characters’ personal growth.
Producer Shin Won-ho said in a press statement that Resident Playbook is “a story about all beginnings in life, such as friends just starting their social lives and babies newly born into the world. Watching various characters experience awkwardness and grow... will allow viewers to laugh, cry and share emotions together”. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
