Original subtitles

DOCTOR X: MAFIA IN WHITE

1988 GUSEO UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONY

Gu Bon-pyeong.

CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION GU BON-PYEONG

GUSEO FOUNDATION CHAIRMAN'S AWARD

Next is Bu Seung-gwon.

Here!

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD BU SEUNG-GWON

All those awards actually belonged to Bu Seung-gwon,

but Professor Min agreed to give them to Gu Bon-pyeong

on the condition that Seung-gwon leads the Hippocratic Oath.

That's what I heard.

The chairman's son can have the awards,

but someone who truly deserves them should lead the oath.

That's the general idea.

And he's right.

Someone who'd actually practice should lead it.

Good job.

Thank you.

HIPPOCRATIC OATH

Hi… Hippocratic Oath!

-I pledge! -I pledge!

"As a member of the medical profession…"

-As a member of the medical profession… -As a member of the medical profession…

"I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity."

I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.

1996 GUSEO UNIVERSITY

"I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due."

I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due.

"I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity."

I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity.

-One, two, three! -One, two, three!

-Okay. -One, two, three!

Hold on. The theater club guys.

Hey, theater club!

-Hey, line up. -Guys, get ready.

Three, two, one!

-Wilderness! -Wilderness!

One more! Three, two, one!

"The health and well-being…"

"The health and well-being of my patient will be my first consideration."

"I will respect the secrets that are confided in me."

"I will maintain

the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession."

Diploma issued to Ma Seong-gyu and fellow graduates.

"My colleagues will be my sisters and brothers."

Congratulations.

"I will maintain the utmost respect for human life

from its very beginning."

First, let me be clear

that this decision was not made lightly.

Negotiations have failed.

We issue a warning to the government!

If this measure is not withdrawn,

all medical associations will mobilize

to hold an immediate vote on a general strike.

We also want to make it clear

that stepping away from our patients is our absolute last resort.

2026 PRESS CONFERENCE MEDICAL SCHOOL QUOTA INCREASE OPPOSITION

Hello, I'm Ma Seong-gyu,

head of the Gyeonggi Chapter of the Korean Intern Resident Association.

In 42 hours, at 6 a.m. this Wednesday,

all residents and interns will stop working and leave the hospital.

"I will not permit considerations of race, religion, nationality,

political party, social standing,

or any other factor to intervene

between my duty and my patient."

"Even under threat,

I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity."

"I make these promises as a medical doctor

solemnly, freely, and upon my honor."

DOCTOR X: MAFIA IN WHITE

EPISODE 8

42 HOURS BEFORE WORK STOPPAGE

I can't see the margins.

Placing a retractor.

-The other side too. -Yes, Dr. Gye.

Vitals are unstable.

Oh, come on.

Teddy bears don't have vitals.

That damn theater geek.

You got this!

"You got this"? What a joke.

I don't do that.

How could you flat-out refuse?

You heartless person!

Are you saying Dr. Gye, the infamous mad dog of the OR,

is refusing surgery?

But this hardly counts as--

Let's operate for now.

The guardian is crying.

Why did you page me again?

What's this?

-The stuffing's out. Toss it. -Hey, you'll contaminate it!

She can hear you from outside.

I'm leaving.

-No, wait. -Me too.

Just open an OR for me. Please?

Don't be ridiculous. Let go of me.

Doctor.

Can you operate on Snuggles?

Of course, Hyeon-a.

This is Dr. Gye Su-jeong.

Wow, it's Dr. Gye Su-jeong.

Do you know me?

I heard everyone talking in our ward.

They say you're the best surgeon.

Dr. Kim also said you were the best.

Ward?

Hyeon-a, you're so smart.

What made you bring Snuggles to the ER when she got hurt?

Whenever I collapsed after being discharged,

they brought me here.

That's why I brought Snuggles here.

This is Lee Hyeon-a. She's eight, and she's my friend.

Right?

Hyeon-a here is super brave.

Despite the pain, you always tell us your name and where it hurts, don't you?

Not even adults can do that.

You're amazing, Hyeon-a.

Dr. Gye.

Will Snuggles live if she gets surgery?

"Live"?

I'm not sure

what you mean by that, but…

Why don't you just buy a new--

Seriously?

Lee Snuggles, six years old.

The patient has a deep laceration and--

We control the organ injury first.

I get it, Doctor.

I just wanted to try it out, okay?

That's pretty cool, isn't it?

I'll get back at him for this.

Think this will be good enough?

Vitals are stable now.

Thank you, Doctor.

Dr. Gye, you need to take this seriously.

Hyeon-a's watching.

Dr. Kim got us a lot of new stuffing.

Make Snuggles plump and stuff her--

I'll stuff your mouth.

Shutting up now.

This?

Theluji.

Snow.

-"Nun" in Korean. -"Nun."

Exactly.

Nun.

I want to see snow.

We'll take you to see it before the year ends.

With Neema.

This won't do.

Let me take this off.

Neema.

Yes.

Mkono is "hand."

-"Hand." -"Son" in Korean.

-"Son." -Son.

And this is heart.

"Simjang" in Korean.

-"Simjang." -"Simjang."

Simjang.

-"Simjang." -"Simjang."

"Sinjang."

How about this?

Maeum.

"Maeum."

"Maeum."

Yes. Maeum.

-"Maeum." -Perfect.

Dolly!

LEE SNUGGLES, F/6

Cut.

BLOOD PRESSURE CUFF

I think it's over.

Hyeon-a, Snuggles is done.

The surgery went well.

She has a malignant myofibroblastoma.

Thank you.

It's about 15 cm and wrapped around her abdominal organs.

Palliative chemo is all we can do now.

Mom, can you wait a minute?

She already knows

that no one can operate on her.

Dr. Gye.

If I ever leave this world,

please take care of Snuggles.

And if she gets sick again,

please operate on her.

Promise you won't tell my mom what I just said, okay?

Hey, Hyeon-a.

Snuggles got her surgery thanks to me,

so come visit me again, okay?

Gummy candies taste the best when I eat them with you.

These are just for you.

Okay?

Good girl.

Don't run.

GUSEO UNIVERSITY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL MAKING CHILDREN HAPPY

She never gave me a hug.

Dr. Gye, your phone has been buzzing.

I heard Dr. Gye finally got a desk in the hospital staff room.

Yes, well…

There were some circumstances.

Dr. Gye, how do you like your desk?

I've never sat there, so…

I guess you've had a lot of surgeries lately, huh?

Including Mr. Oh Sang-beom's case,

Dr. Gye has indeed been a great help to us.

I'm so happy to hear that.

I should hand out snacks to her colleagues.

By the way, this doctor here…

Aren't you Dr. Jang Gil-yeong of neurosurgery?

How do you know me?

You still have your white coat.

That's right, I still have it. So what?

You want me to… take it off…

Are you going to take it off me?

Dr. Jang, please calm yourself.

It was a joke.

Of course, I know who you are.

You're one of the top neurosurgeons and a master of craniotomy.

So what? He's never around.

I told you that wasn't my fault!

You're rarely around with all those surgeries,

and I imagine you're busier than ever these days.

Listen, going forward,

we'd like you to take on

our neurosurgery consults.

Yes, of course.

If you need more hands on deck, we'll certainly oblige.

But don't neglect general surgery.

Of course not.

I'd say a situation like this

is when Dr. Gye truly proves her worth.

Like a jack-of-all-trades, if you will.

Tell us now if she's board-certified in some other specialty as well.

Don't spring it on us later.

Right, so that brings us to…

this new contract.

Here you go.

Given the urgent medical staff shortage,

we ask you to show a little appreciation for her hard work.

You want a pay increase.

Quota increase, pay increase…

I can't stand it.

There's a new term.

"The locum is allowed to perform the surgery she wants."

You know Wonjae Hospital, right?

PRIORITIZE DR. GYE'S PREFERENCES

They called us.

Apparently, they've heard of Dr. Gye.

These top-grade melons are extremely hard to get.

How many should I have ready?

PATIENTS' RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

WE WILL NOT APOLOGIZE TO PATIENTS

DOCTORS' STRIKE: OUR FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN

Dr. Hwang in neurosurgery is ill.

The problem is, there's no one to operate on him.

Who?

You know, the one who wasn't around, like Dr. Jang.

The other one whose white coat you threatened to take.

-Oh, right. -It's not just general surgery.

Every department is canceling surgeries.

I can't tell if I'm putting food in my mouth or my nose.

It's going in your mouth.

Thanks a lot. Just eat up, so you can do more surgeries.

Can you stop paging me?

Why am I the only one you page for surgeries?

That reminds me, I need you to open an OR--

Official email requests only.

I don't remember verbal requests.

She's overwhelmed because there aren't any doctors.

I thought anesthesiology would be okay,

but I guess not.

You must be busy, young doctor.

I heard many people walked out.

Hey…

I was wondering where they've been.

You can really feel Dr. Ma's absence.

All the patients feel uneasy.

Yes, understood.

Doctor, I'm afraid we need to cancel the surgery.

No one can assist you that day.

That's rather unfair.

Whose fault do you think--

Hello?

Hello?

There are plenty of ORs.

But even if Dr. Jo opens one,

there's no primary surgeon.

And even if there is one, there's no--

There's no one to assist.

And with no one to assist, they can't operate.

I mean, they won't operate.

Right.

But this is when you learn more, Dr. Park.

You'll get to observe more than those other interns

and get more chances to scrub in.

It's not exactly a learning opportunity.

I'm just so busy tackling whatever work is assigned to me.

The problem is that they involve people's lives.

I'm so afraid

I might miss something.

They never used to give tasks like that to interns,

but it's non-stop these days.

Oh my.

Excuse us.

What's the point of a pediatric center?

The OR situation over there was the same

even before the recent medical crisis.

Plenty of ORs, but no surgeons.

Then why build it?

Reimbursement rates were low and pediatric surgery was neglected,

so the government raised the rates a couple of years ago.

Now there's profit to be made,

but it's a mess because they rushed everything.

Hey, the pediatric center will send you lots of consultation requests now.

I see.

In that case…

"I see. In that case"?

Don't think.

Don't do anything.

Just do the surgeries that come in.

That part about performing surgeries you want?

I only included it in the contract to raise your morale.

But what I really wanted was to raise your pay rate.

I see you thinking.

You're thinking, and it's making me nervous.

But I heard pediatric surgery is nothing like adult surgery.

They say you can crush a vessel just by pressing it.

So unless you're a pediatric specialist,

only a few brave, experienced surgeons might consider it,

since they're so small and fragile.

Dr. Gye performed a cute and amazing surgery--

You must be busy. Let's go.

Be quiet,

or she'll chew me out for wasting time on something unprofitable.

The grandmother must've raised those sisters.

I wonder what her illness is.

She doesn't look good at all.

"Doc…"

"Doctors'…"

-"Strike." -"Strike."

"Fi…"

"Fight."

Let's go back and read a storybook.

No.

"Work stoppage."

What's that?

What does it mean?

Let's go back now.

Doctors' strike!

Fight! Work stoppage!

Be quiet.

Doctors' strike!

Work stoppage!

-I said stop it! -Whatever!

My little puppy, my little kitten, my little calf.

My sweet little Ga-eul.

Me too!

My sweet little Ga-yeong.

My little puppy, my little calf…

my little puppy.

Yoo Ga-eul, ten years old.

After a needle biopsy,

the results came back as ganglioneuroblastoma.

It's located in the retroperitoneum,

encasing the aorta, vena cava, right renal artery and vein, and ureter,

with spinal canal invasion.

I now see why a consult came in despite the tumor being benign.

It's quite extensive.

Yes, clinically it's neuroblastoma.

She went through eight rounds of chemo,

but there was no decrease in size.

Ganglioneuroblastoma…

It's clear on imaging as well.

She definitely needs surgery since the tumor in the spinal canal

is compressing the surrounding structures.

Surgery was scheduled for tomorrow.

They're more understaffed than ever,

so they requested a consult with neuro and general.

She's probably in a lot of pain.

Shouldn't we operate right away?

Of course, we should.

But they can't work it out right now, so today's agenda is to pass the buck.

When was the surgery pushed to?

It's been postponed indefinitely

because there's no surgeon and no one to assist.

We looked into transferring her, but everyone is reluctant

because it's so extensive and requires multiple specialties.

Director Bu.

The government is taking legal action against doctors

who leave their posts to participate in the strike.

That is…

Their licenses will be revoked.

-What? -Have they lost their minds?

That'll just make more of them walk out, for goodness' sake.

DR. MA SEONG-GYU

DR. BAE HEUNG-GON

He's not answering.

He's never done this before.

Feels like he's not picking up on purpose.

Let's pause the conference for now.

-Under these circumstances-- -No, we can't.

I mean…

then what about this patient?

MOLLY GOES SHOPPING

How much longer does she have to hold on?

38 HOURS BEFORE WORK STOPPAGE

Please.

Nurse, I'm begging you.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Then what do we do now?

Where do we go?

I'm so sorry.

My little puppy…

My little kitten…

My little calf…

My little chick…

My little bunny…

Mom…

Dad…

Let me…

Let me stay just a little longer before I go to you.

Please help.

Who'll take care of Grandma and Ga-yeong if I'm not around?

Help me.

Please help me.

Pediatric center, right? What room?

Dr. Gye, what are you doing?

Sit back down, Gye.

Sit.

Sit!

He'll need some snacks, at least, to get her to sit.

Do I need to tranquilize you?

Explain and leave, or sit down.

"The locum is allowed to perform the surgery she wants."

Is this one of those?

There's no one to assist you.

An OR and a surgeon alone are not enough to--

-They're enough. -What?

I already planned out everything.

Are you saying you're going to do a solo surgery?

SOLO SURGERY: PRIMARY SURGEON OPERATING WITHOUT AN ASSISTANT

It looks like it.

Look, the hospital can't just stand by and allow such a risky surgery

to be performed all alone without an assistant.

You can't bulldoze your way like this even if you're board-certified.

What happens if things go wrong?

Then…

when do we do it?

We wait until a surgeon's available, then match schedules with others.

But if there's no OR, then no surgery.

So tell me when.

Nobody's clearing their schedule or walking away from the strike to do it.

-Still, this isn't-- -Have you ever been kicked in the stomach?

Ever been crushed under a huge rock?

That 10-year-old is enduring the pain

of being kicked in the stomach repeatedly.

It's as if someone placed a huge rock on her stomach.

If you won't remove it,

if you won't do anything,

at least look the other way.

We're doctors too.

It's because we're doctors that we can't look the other way!

If you're a doctor, join me.

If you're a doctor,

scrub in with me.

She's the only doctor with no ties to the strike.

Use her to fill the gap.

Online sentiment and public opinion don't look good right now.

When will you do it?

Tomorrow at 12 p.m., as originally scheduled.

What, tomorrow?

Like, the next day?

Her pre-ops are done, so we can start on time.

Right?

I have another surgery.

This will take at least ten hours. I can't squeeze it in.

Six hours tops.

I'll get it done.

Dr. Gye.

If you pull off this surgery in six hours,

I'll consider a more flexible interpretation…

of that particular term.

I don't ever…

fail.

I'll pass it on to Ms. Jang.

I'm going to ask urology to place a double-J.

I'll call them.

I'm sorry I can't make it. I have work backed up.

Having no one is better than having dead weight.

My feelings aren't hurt.

What you said is true.

I'm glad you're operating.

Can you tell me your plan?

Open the abdomen, find the tumor, check the major vessels,

and dissect with minimal trauma.

The ureter should be fine with the double-J,

so run a frozen biopsy on tissue around the vessels and ureter.

-If it's benign tissue, temporarily-- -Temporarily close,

move on to the spine,

prep with Ioban,

flip her to the prone position, proceed with spinal canal mass excision…

Are you joining?

I have another surgery.

If Dr. Gye hadn't stepped up, I would've had to.

But honestly, I don't feel like I'm up to it.

I'm worried I might pop those tiny vessels with a mere touch.

I seriously don't know if this is even possible,

and I got anxious…

that I ended up following you out.

Her parents

died in a hit-and-run accident.

-Her grandmother collects waste paper-- -How do you know her so well?

That hit-and-run

happened during the 2020 strike.

They were bounced from ER to ER…

and made the news.

The internal bleeding was so severe that by the time they came to me,

it was too late.

Only Dr. Kim would take them.

-Are you the only one who knows? -And Dr. Do.

That's why we accepted the consultation request.

We lost her parents to a strike,

and now we might lose her to another strike?

Hey, that's pretty harsh.

We're all doctors here. Don't act like you don't know.

We didn't lose them to strikes.

Right.

You didn't lose them to strikes.

"I will practice medicine with conscience and dignity."

You had no conscience or dignity.

That's why you doctors lost them back then.

It's painful to watch the media and the public

write off these collective actions as the arrogance of doctors

and the selfishness of interns and residents.

We want to ask who's really forcing doctors

to leave their patients.

Right now, at this hospital, 50% of the interns and residents

have already handed in their resignations and stopped working.

And that pace is picking up.

How can they put their own interests above people's lives?

I know.

Remember the breast cancer patient in the next bed?

The hospital told her to leave.

I thought she came for chemo.

-Exactly. -Oh dear.

You can't negotiate with doctors through aggressive and unilateral demands.

Dr. Gye.

Oh, hello.

I hear you'll be operating on Ms. Yoo Ga-eul as scheduled.

You came to tell her that, right?

Dr. Jo was right.

She said you'd be lurking near the patient's room.

Lurking?

And she said I should help out.

I'm so glad

at least one patient can get their surgery on time.

-Ma'am. -Oh, hello.

You don't need to worry about Ga-eul's surgery.

Goodness, thank you so much.

It's been difficult, hasn't it?

Hi, Hyeon-a.

I'm getting my surgery.

You're so lucky!

My doctor suddenly disappeared.

That's not true. They'll come.

-They'll come. -That's right.

They'll come. It'll be okay.

What should we do today?

-Let's draw pictures. -Okay.

I drew this myself.

Wow!

That's really good.

Ga-eul is really good at drawing.

Neema.

It's her first doll.

But it could also be her last.

Here.

My word, eight rounds of chemo and no decrease in size?

She must've suffered a lot.

Good thing Su-jeong's operating before she suffers more.

I should charge them extra for a solo surgery.

Leave money out of children's cases.

All right.

The nerve posterior to the transverse process

must be protected as much as possible, since the tumor is mostly benign anyway.

Preventing nerve damage is critical for this child's future.

-There's more. -What?

There's another surgery I want you to look at.

I can hear you.

But I won't be doing it.

Only kids get this, right?

It mostly occurs in children,

but it's still rare.

She held on for a long time. She's a fighter.

Good girl.

YOO GA-EUL, F/10

-Mi-gyeong. -Yes?

Are you done with internal medicine?

Are you sticking with general practice?

I thought I could save my patient.

I got so angry

when they said they were in pain and begged me to let them go.

I couldn't accept it.

I kept thinking, "Why can't I save them?"

"Why are they still in pain?"

Even when I let them go,

I didn't cry.

But they smiled and said…

that it didn't hurt anymore.

So…

you save your patients, okay?

The kids are probably in pain even now.

Ga-eul.

Does it hurt a lot?

Should I call the doctor?

I'm okay.

Why are you up, Hyeon-a? Are you having trouble sleeping again?

I came to give you this.

You need a shot when you feel sick.

But you've held back because it costs money.

I'll give that to you,

so you can call the doctor today.

Thanks.

But I don't need it.

I'm getting surgery tomorrow.

I just need to hold on a bit more.

But your surgery might get postponed again.

The doctors keep disappearing.

No.

The nurse said my doctor won't disappear.

Really? That's such a relief.

I hope tomorrow comes soon,

Mi-gyeong.

Found it.

Is this…

Snuggles?

Doctor.

-Doctor! -Dr. Gye.

-Doctor! -Dr. Gye.

Come on, energy stick. Get her up.

I know we had to close the ER due to lack of definitive care,

but what kind of behavior is this?

You think the ER is a joke because we had to shut down?

It's only for a few days.

The ER is closed?

Seriously? I had no idea.

There's a sign out front.

I suppose you didn't see it.

NOTICE OF EMERGENCY ROOM CLOSURE

We couldn't take patients after midnight.

This is a first for me too.

We were even open 6 years ago during COVID-19.

About 70% of the interns and residents walked out.

This is totally different from back then.

Send the patients to me.

Why? Are there ten of you?

You only need ten?

Hey, Buzzkill Won-jin, you're as silent as ever.

Are you here to take her away?

You seem okay.

I thought you'd raise hell and scream, "You call yourselves doctors?"

then find yourself a corner to sob, "I'm sorry."

Me?

You're totally wrong.

No way I'd do that.

Where are you going?

You call yourselves doctors?

I'm sorry.

I couldn't protect the ER.

What? I'm totally fine.

I slept well, so I feel great.

I bet it's a transfer call!

Then why are his eyes bloodshot?

And why are you here?

Just because.

I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come,

so I came early to wait.

Dr. Kim definitely rubs off on you.

Now Tae-gyeong and everyone else are just as soppy as he is.

-We don't have big rooms. -Let's go.

No, we're not set up like that.

Hey, you have no right to look so cool just walking away.

Why do you look cool going into surgery?

I want to do it too.

"Suction."

Dr. Ma.

What brings you here?

Are you really packing up?

-Are you really walking out? -You're staying, right?

Yes, I'm staying.

I want you to stay too.

Get back to work.

You're getting double board-certified, so there's no time to lose.

Your patients saw your interview and were really startled--

What's the point?

What?

Why go through hell to become a double board-certified surgeon?

Like that matters.

They don't care. They're saying they can just hire more people.

This is how they treat us

after all those years of studying and grueling hours of work.

Instead of giving people a reason to stay,

they just want to push out more doctors to work.

What are we, damn machines?

Dr. Ma.

Here's the book I borrowed from you.

-Forget it. Keep it. -No, please.

Read it again.

Please.

What are you doing?

Get out of his way.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMITTEE MEETING ON URGENT MATTER

AGENDA: INTERN AND RESIDENT STRIKE VOTE

Getting together to vote?

Shouldn't this be online?

If it's anonymous, how do we flush out the traitors?

Miss it, and you're a traitor.

You call that a vote?

I knew you wouldn't come.

Your dad owns a hospital, so you don't care, do you?

Yeah, I don't care.

Man, I hate your damn tone.

-Hey, why did you come here? -What?

You graduated from Yeongsin University.

Let's be real. Your school is way more prestigious

than a random school like Guseo.

And you're in a branch hospital too.

Excessively self-aware, aren't you?

Hey, Park Tae-gyeong.

You didn't get into trouble there.

So why'd you leave that place to come here?

-Did you run a background check? -It's a small field.

So it's easy to ask around.

Out of 140,000 doctors in Korea,

a little over 8,000 of them are interns and residents.

Those 8,000 are the ones running every university hospital.

But after breaking our backs for them, we got stabbed in the back.

And out of those 8,000, you're the biggest sellout.

Why'd you come here to screw us over?

You're dragging our numbers down.

It's because this selfish asshole has a hospital-director daddy to fall back on.

Hey.

That pretty much applies to everyone here, no?

I mean, is anyone here not a doctor's son?

Your dad's an ophthalmologist.

Your mom's a dermatologist.

And yours is…

a veterinarian, right?

-Which is why you're so insecure. -You bastard.

So is anyone here not a doctor's son?

Hey.

Who became a doctor because they were poor?

Who became a doctor to save lives?

You bastards became doctors because you had money.

And you became doctors to make even more money.

Now you're on a goddamn strike while using patients' lives as collateral.

How can you call your colleagues traitors for choosing to stay and treat patients?

Hey.

Hey.

Listen.

You're the selfish assholes with zero conscience.

-You're an errand boy for a random temp! -What did you say?

What the hell are you doing?

Park Tae-gyeong.

Want to get disciplined?

Do I need to call Dr. Gye?

Let him go.

If you don't,

I'll make sure you end up seeing Dr. Kim as a patient.

Now's your chance. Hit him, Tae-gyeong!

Are you serious?

You three, leave.

You forgot something.

You need to apologize

to the random temp and her errand boy.

Why didn't you stop them if you were here?

Why didn't you come in earlier if you were at the door?

I was listening in because it got interesting.

Tae-gyeong here sounded totally out of character.

I'm sorry.

What for?

If I hadn't said anything…

You graduated from Yeongsin, huh?

That's why you have no friends among the interns and residents,

who are mostly Guseo graduates.

I'm sorry.

What for?

Why did you come here?

You know how Guseo graduates can be.

Well…

I just wanted to study at a different school.

Yeah? That's it?

Is that so?

-I thought you had surgery this morning-- -It's over.

Man, I really wanted to take a nap before the next one.

It's time to go.

MOM

Ms. Yoo Ga-eul's surgery is scheduled for 12 p.m., right?

You thought her sister's name was Gyeo-eul, right?

It's Ga-yeong.

Despite her name, Ga-eul wasn't born in autumn.

Her grandmother never had it easy,

so she gave her that name, hoping she'd have a bountiful life.

Her mother held on for a few days before passing.

Her grandmother came with Ga-yeong on her back,

holding Ga-eul's hand.

Are you sure you can do this solo?

I was wrong.

It's better to have no conscience and no dignity

than to have a little of either.

I'm saying you can't afford to fail.

Do you know any doctor who can?

Look here, Gye Su-jeong!

Dr. Bae, Director Bu, and I have all failed before.

That goes for all doctors.

Some of us fall apart afterward and start hoping for something in return.

So we go on strike, and some of us even leave the field!

The fear of failure is overwhelming…

and its results are devastating.

So how can you talk about failure so casually?

How can you claim you won't fail?

You're a doctor too!

Dr. Do Yun-sik.

Do you know what sets us apart?

I scrub in myself because I don't want to fail.

But you…

You don't because you don't want to fail.

We…

We'll have to close up.

Dr. Do.

Are you really going to close up?

Don't you think

you should do everything you can now so you can tell him that later?

I don't fail

because I can't afford to fail.

The camera is in place.

Let's begin.

Harmonic.

I don't fail

because I can't afford to fail.

Let's start the time-out.

Let's begin.

Let's do a time-out.

What's the patient ID number?

It's 2-0-2-6… 0-7-0…

Dr. Hwang! Are you okay?

Please page someone! Hurry!

Effective immediately, the government is ordering

all interns and residents to stay on duty.

We reiterate that failure to comply

will result in license revocation and legal penalties.

A separate return-to-work order will be issued

pursuant to Article 59 of the Medical Service Act…

Hey, Hwang!

Wake up!

Hwang!

What is it? Who's the patient?

What's the surgery? Put up the CT scans.

How far did he get?

Doctors who collectively and without justifiable cause…

They've lost their minds.

Are they threatening to arrest us doctors?

Doctors or medical facility founders…

Dr. Ma, you saw the news, right? Come to the director's office.

A return-to-work order?

How is this different from forced labor?

This will just make things worse.

Med school students are pushing back too.

Of course, they are. Kids these days hate stuff like that.

It's actually better this way.

People will get a reality check once they suffer without doctors.

If patients are affected due to the doctors' strike,

it won't serve as grounds for exemption from liability.

Seriously, what's the matter with you?

That reality check you mentioned

could lead to lawsuits.

Director Bu!

Stop raining on our parade!

We already lived through this

during the 2000 medical separation strike.

An unconscious four-year-old was taken to the hospital

but couldn't get surgery due to the strike,

and their condition worsened dramatically.

The family sued,

and the hospital was ordered to pay 300 million won in damages.

As doctors,

I'm sure you two will remember.

It's been a while, Dr. Ma.

How's the preparation going?

I'm doing my best, sir.

-Dr. Ma-- -Director.

Dr. Hwang Min-gu of neurosurgery collapsed in the OR.

-Good work, Doctor. -Good job.

Thank you all.

Dr. Hwang's surgery was in two days, but it was postponed.

He was feeling okay,

so he insisted on doing his surgeries without delay.

He said once he became a patient himself,

he understood what it's like to have surgery pushed back.

That's not like him at all.

That's not true.

He's very dedicated when it comes to his cases.

The problem is that he's a patient too.

Dr. Kim. Dr. Hwang was here, right?

Yes, they just took him up to the OR.

What? Who's operating?

There aren't any general surgeons.

Oh, Dr. Bae?

Dr. Kim.

How's Dr. Hwang?

A solo laparoscopic procedure?

This is insane.

A solo laparoscopic caudate lobectomy

is something I've only seen done once at Johns Hopkins.

Only a very few…

could pull that off in Korea.

Dr. Gye is proving…

that she's one of the few.

Dr. Gye, what about Ms. Yoo Ga-eul's surgery at 12 p.m.?

At 12 p.m.?

It's already past 11 a.m.

That's why she went in laparoscopically.

She says she can make it there by 12 p.m.

-You could push back-- -No.

I'll make it no matter what.

I won't let her suffer for even a minute longer.

Come on.

Just a bit faster.

Faster…

I think she'll make it.

Right?

That's a relief.

I have a surgery to get to, sir.

Me too, sir.

Dr. Bae.

Yes?

Do you think…

we failed?

What do you mean?

She really has her work cut out for her in that huge OR.

But there's no one to assist, so she has only herself to rely on.

Yet she's holding the laparoscope to save a life.

You know,

that surgery-obsessed mad dog.

For the first time,

I see her not as a surgery-obsessed mad dog,

but as Gye Su-jeong, a doctor obsessed with saving lives.

Did we lose?

The strike seems pretty trivial now.

I think she'll wrap up pretty soon.

She might

even get to grab a sandwich before her next surgery.

Seong-gyu…

didn't show up.

He's with President Kim and Mayor Im--

I support the strike.

I'm behind it, but…

Seong-gyu should be observing that.

He needs to observe it

because observing procedures like that

will help him immensely.

It feels like he's missing out on every important moment.

25 HOURS BEFORE WORK STOPPAGE

2026 INTERN AND RESIDENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMITTEE MEETING

We'll begin as soon as the reporters arrive.

You'd better do a good job. I'll be watching you.

-That's enough. Get up there. -Yes, of course.

If you see your mom and dad while you're asleep,

don't follow them.

Okay?

I still hope I get to see them.

Ga-eul, if you see Mom and Dad,

tell them to visit me in my dreams.

I don't remember them well,

so they have to let me know they're Mom and Dad.

Make sure you tell them that, okay?

Okay, I will.

Twenty-two minutes left.

Just a bit more…

Wait.

Good…

Good job, Doctor.

ENERGY DRINK

All university hospitals have this statue.

Incoming students take photos in front of it.

The statue here is quite large.

They say she's Doctor X.

-Excuse me? -Dr. Bae and Dr. Ma found an article

while looking for reference materials on Mr. Park Gwang-cheol's surgery.

It said a certain Doctor X performed the same procedure.

Is that so?

Well, it's a big world with all sorts of surgical procedures

and doctors to match.

I didn't believe it.

Of course not. Why would you believe such a rumor?

However,

after watching today's surgery,

it made me realize it could be true.

What do you mean?

Dr. Gye and Dr. Ma are the same age.

To be that surgically talented at her age

and to be willing to give it her all--

Director Bu.

Dr. Gye is indeed

an exceptional genius.

But she also worked incredibly hard.

It's upsetting to hear you cast doubt on her like that.

At a time when this statue of Hippocrates and his oath

are being used as a mere photo backdrop

or as a background prop to the ongoing strike,

I can't help but wonder who Gye Su-jeong really is.

I think I've heard enough.

Excuse me. It's almost time for surgery.

Is Gye Su-jeong…

Is Gye Su-jeong…

Let's begin the surgery.

OPERATION TIME, TIME, ANESTHESIA TIME

Is Gye Su-jeong…

Doctor X?

DOCTOR X: MAFIA IN WHITE

DOCTOR X: MAFIA IN WHITE

We need to walk away from this hospital.

I need to do this surgery.

No, it'll make you look more like Doctor X.

There's literally no surgical procedure.

That child has no time.

Are you putting a patient's life on the line

to risk other people's careers?

I'm trying to save the life of an eight-year-old patient.

If you do that surgery,

I'm really going to fire you.

Do you think anyone will take part?

Please.

Subtitle translation by: Jenny Kim