Time Slip Dr. Jin is another fantasy time-travel series where a modern physician is transported to Korea’s past. This time though, the doctor is a brain surgeon played by Song Seung Hun. Dr. Jin Hyuk’s brilliant at what he does, but he lacks a sense of compassion. His girlfriend, Yoo Mi Na played by Park Min Young, who’s also a doctor, has a very soft heart. She goes out of her way to volunteer her services at a clinic for those less fortunate, but he really doesn’t understand why. When he refuses to operate on the father of one of her patients because “he’s too far gone already,” they get in a serious fight that results in her getting into a very bad car accident.
He’s haunted by that argument, not only because it caused her to get in the accident in the first place, but because he isn’t willing to admit for a second that she’s “too far gone” and might not survive the surgery. She does barely manage to pull through, but she lapses into a coma state and no one knows if or when she’ll wake back up. After the surgery, he’s trying to get some alone time to work through all of his overwrought emotions, when he surprises one of his previous patients who’s trying to jump off the roof with a bunch of medical supplies.
Assuming that the man must still be out of his head– since he’s recently had brain surgery, and all– Dr. Jin tries to keep that patient from jumping, but falls off the hospital roof himself. When he wakes up, he gets embroiled in a sword fight, and is forced to run for his life. Dr. Jin falls off a cliff, and is just barely rescued by Prince Lee Ha Eung played by Lee Bum Soo, who Jin mistakes for a travelling merchant. Taking pity on the mad-man, Prince Ha Eung tells him he’s somehow landed in the Joseon era, before continuing on his way. Already the black sheep of the royal family, the prince is not willing to risk his neck for a crazy person.
Even worse for Dr. Jin, the local authorities, led by Kim Kyung Tak (played by Hero Jae Joong) assume he was associated with bandits they were fighting and put out a warrant and reward for his arrest. Now he’s on the run in 1800’s Korea, with no money, no friends, and no idea how to get back. While Jin’s trying to hide from the patrols, he runs into a young man with a dangerous head wound. Concerned that the young man will die without treatment, he forgets about his predicament for a bit and asks the way to the young man’s house. Jin’s totally shocked when the young man’s sister looks exactly like Mi Na. Her brother is in a bad way though, so he immediately starts to try to convince them to allow him to operate. He saves the young man’s life, but his methods are gruesome, and Mi Na’s look-alike turns him in to Kyung Tak– who, as it turns out is her fiance, anyway. Jin ends up in jail with no idea how to prove his innocence.
Now, I’ve stated in a previous review that I actually slightly prefer Faith (another time travelling doctor series that came out the same year), but this show has unique strengths as well. First off, they have Dr. Jin stick to what he knows for the most part, which means that he is trying to perform brain surgeries. This is both a plus and a minus, because it does mean you have to be willing to watch him open someone’s skull with a chisel and hammer. He didn’t actually bring “fancy” tools like a bone saw with him. So in that regard his 1800’s surgeries are uncomfortably graphic and squirm-worthy.
Secondly, other than the initial time travelling incident, this show is much less of a fantasy. There’s no one who can shoot fire out of their hands, and no magic going on. Other than one possible soothsayer, there’s nothing overtly supernatural going on at all, other than the fact that Dr. Jin is there in the first place.
Thirdly, it actually deals with some of the widespread diseases of the time, such as Cholera, so that again feels very realistic.
Lastly, in this show, Dr. Jin’s actions can actually can change the flow of history. He saves people who wouldn’t have normally been saved, and there are far-reaching (and sometimes horrible) consequences. He ends up having to ask himself whether he’s actually doing good by saving lives, or if he’s just endangering more lives by throwing historical events off course.
The supporting cast in this show is also absolutely excellent, even if I can’t go through them all here without giving out some serious spoilers, including Lee So Yeon, Jin Yi Han, Kim Eung Soo, and Jung Eun Pyo.
Still highly recommended, and a lot of fun to watch with many plot twists and turns as well.
Please support the Korean cast and crew by watching Time Slip Dr. Jin at official sites. You can find it here:
Time Slip Dr. Jin aired in Korea on MBC.
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