Life (2018)

Not for everyone, but it was for me.

This was refreshing. It just jumped right into it. You quickly realize there will be no hand-holding and very little leading.

Different. That's how I would describe the experience of watching this. It was a serious drama. Not in the way of intense romance, love triangles, physical fights, or big twists though. In fact, I didn't feel as if they shoe-horned in anything unnecessarily. I wasn't able to point out anything that was added in to drag out the runtime. It uses its time to seriously show the difficulty/horror of being a health care worker and the challenges and in-fights between hospital owners and staff, as well as carefully thread a message that becomes clear only at the end.

What sticks with me even now is the uncomfortableness they managed to make me feel by showing the "bad guy" show some humanity. I felt this "wrongness" from it, as if he didn't have the right to. But that is how people are. They aren't as easy to categorize into good and evil as we would like them to be.

And, the message. The ending isn't satisfying. It doesn't have a true "conclusion" as it were. It seems to say, "This is what life is." You get by, you face a fight, you manage to get your head above water, you find something to brighten your day, and the cycle repeats. One stumbling block is dealt with, only for another to come down the road. We struggle and we smile, alone and with others.

Did some part of me want the easy satisfying ending with a pretty bow on top? Of course. But it was a realistic ending. And one I didn't mind. Because, this is life.

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More Drama Than There Really Is

The one thing that sticks out is how every small thing is a big thing in this drama. Administration and doctors are many times at odds with each other because admin oversees the money making aspect of healthcare while doctors just want to treat their patients to the best of their ability.. This sometimes leads to disagreements on how a hospital is run because it may curtail the way a doctor works. In this drama, however, this daily minutiae is life and death--and that isn't quite believable. Add a suspicious death and that raises the stakes, except maybe it was more of a red herring.

We spend episode upon episode watching the ML walk all over the hospital eavesdropping and inserting himself here and there. You don't get a sense of the characters because there is little backstory on them except for the main leads. I found myself caring little about the characters, but kept watching. At about episode 13, the drama got better. All of the sudden the writing seemed to improve and we finally started seeing a warmth that was missing in the first part of this 16 episode drama.

I enjoyed the ending much more than the beginning because it had very little to do with the happenings at the hospital. Perhaps if the focus had been more on the people rather than the hospital bureaucracy, I might have enjoyed it more. Bureaucracy doesn't make for a good drama. People do. Seems like they figured it out in the end.

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This is one of the few K-Dramas in a while that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed without any caveats. One of this drama’s biggest strengths lies in its brilliant casting, with many of the actors, main and supporting, delivering vivid portrayals of their characters. “Life” is a drama that stands out from the crowd not only because of its acting but also because its storyline is consistently strong and impeccably paced. Some reviews have mentioned an issue with pacing (only in a few episodes) but stick with this gem and it rewards you in spades for your loyalty.

I’m often drawn to stories that explore contemporary social issues, especially when those topics include the abuse of power and classism. At the heart of this drama is a power struggle in a hospital between ambitious doctors, many of whom believe ethics shouldn’t be conditional, and a new president with capitalist values. The relationship between both camps is hampered by a difference in values which becomes the running theme of a storyline that sees interests and ideals regularly collide.

One of the more memorable lines in the series which encapsulates this difference is delivered in an exchange between Dr Ye Jin Woo and President Go. In the scene the doctor berates his boss for his apathy, telling him that “hospitals…aren’t the equivalent of expensive sports cars, they aren’t places regular people can’t dream of entering.” I’m not normally a huge fan of medical dramas, but the characters in this series captured my attention. And held it.

I enjoyed the maturity of the storytelling because it’s character driven and doesn’t rely on erecting facile binaries between characters that eclipse their authenticity.

Jo Seung Woo as President Go is particularly memorable for his perfectly understated yet captivating performance. His character arc in the course of the 16 episodes is compelling, (as are his beautiful eyes) particularly as he begins to feel the influence of the doctors’ principled stance and disenchanted with the demands of the corporation he serves. His interactions with Dr Lee No Eul reveal his humanity but also the challenges that come with the position he occupies.

The relationship between Dr Ye Jin Woo and his paraplegic younger brother, Ye Sun-Woo, is the core of this drama and a heart-warming testament to just how wonderful it is to have a supportive sibling in your life. Ye Sun Woo’s determination to challenge the well-intended, but nonetheless annoying, infantalization of his disability is admirable. I enjoyed watching him fight for his independence as his grappled with facing an unresolved childhood trauma.

This drama series exemplifies why I enjoy Korean dramas so much. The acting is so seamless and realistic that it feels more like a feature film than a drama series. Its examination of how prioritising capitalist values can come at the expense of the ethical parts of running a business was totally captivating.

Life is DEFINITELY worth watching.

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Medical drama that is more like a political mystery

This one is a slow burner with a interesting plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The way the character where written was amazing. Slowly you will be entangled in their lives and know things about them. There amazing everyday scenes where they talked as actual humans even if they where talking about big matters. Characters weren't actually evil, just gray, because there is evil and good in every one of us.

My only issue with this one was that I think it took many episodes for me to actually trust characters. I didn't really feel strongly about the characters until like episode 4 or so. Like it was hard to get into the mindset of one character.

+ extra points for showing how mentally ill people and paralyzed people can still live a successful normal life (= normalizing it)

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THE NAIL THAT STICKS OUT IS BOUND TO GET HAMMERED DOWN

Watching this drama was the equivalent of walking along a very thin length of tightrope over churning waters while balancing a fragile egg in a spoon in one hand. When I completed the first episode, I knew that there would be no looking back after this.

There was a certain surgical precision to Life. Intense moments that explored corporate politics and the dark underbelly of the healthcare system were delivered with all the exactness of a knife against flesh, all the while remaining clean precise. There was a nice balance, too, between moments of sadness and happiness. Dark waters and clear skies. Life and death. All integral parts of a working hospital, and all part of why this drama was just so damn good.

The study of corruption within the healthcare system and how bureaucracies operate within hospitals was probably one of my favorite aspects of the show. In fact, I almost wish we got to see more of this but I am still satisfied with how the show was wrapped up! This show is primarily dialogue-driven, so there isn't a lot of action scenes, but I personally found the conflict between management and the doctors just as thrilling as any action sequence. I also really enjoyed how some scenes explored the technical side of what it's like working in a hospital and the kinds of experiences that employees working in different departments go through. It really shows all different kinds of aspects of hospital life.

Another thing that I thought was really well-done was the casting of the main roles and the acting! The veteran actors really did carry the show. I especially enjoyed watching Lee Dong Wook, Jo Seung Woo, and Moon So Ri at work. They did a spectacular job!

And finally, the characters and the relationships between characters were. So. Freaking. Good!!! All the characters were dynamic and interesting to watch - I never got bored for a single second when the focus shifted from one character to another. The relationships, too, were extremely organic and a lot of them had such great chemistry with each other as well. I didn't think the romance was overdone at all and it added such a nice touch to the overall story.

I suppose my only complaint is that I wish we could have gotten to see Dr. Ye and Mr. Gu butt heads more, seeing as if I thought they would have more of a rivalry between them, but I still really like how the show left things between them. I also wish the ending hadn't been left so open-ended, but I still liked the overall feeling of hope it left within me as I was watching those final moments, and I'm sure I had such a goofy grin plastered on my face by the time the final credits were rolling.

Overall, I do not think this is your typical hospital drama, but I still consider it a masterpiece.

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After finding out that the writer of Stranger and also the Male Lead in Stranger were going to be in this drama, plus the addition to Lee Dong Wook who I know is a very good actor. I knew I was into a very good drama just from all those factors alone. When starting the show I thought it was just going to be about Jin Woo fighting against injustice ( Which you could say it was ), but infact this story was about many things; the power struggle between the doctors and Hwajeong, the relationships between the characters and also the mental health of others.

This wasn't my first drama for alot of the actors in this drama so I knew what to expect with the actors and also the writing since it's made by a trustworthy writer. Every character in this show had a play in the story no matter how big it was.

With the Main character in my eyes, Jin Woo. He basically represents the set of people who are not in a high position and who are also vunerable to people high on the ladder and shows us what to do. I really liked his character in this story because he wasn't overly cocky nor too much of a push over. His relationships throughout the show were fun to watch and I liked to see how they developed throughout the drama. His relationship with his brother was truly beautiful in my opinion it's how all relationships with brothers should be. The last scene between the brothers honestly nearly made me cry because how touching it was because Seon Woo really like the ocean so to just see them having fun was nice to see. Jin Woo romance in this was also cute to watch although it's not the main focus, it gave both us and Jin Woo a breather from all the politics happening in the hospital, I really like the actor who play Seo Hyun which was Jin Woo's love intrest and I've seen her in only one past drama so I will definatly watch more of her stuff. Also the imaginary Seon Woo which Jin Woo made in his head was also quite sad to see because even though it's Seon Woo on the outside, everything he said was just what Jin Woo was thinking even if he didn't say it outloud or in his head, Seon Woo basically told him. I also like how he confided in Seo Hyun about the Seon Woo in his head and she accepted it and asked to meet him so that probably removed a huge weight of his chest.

Now with the second Main character with was Goo Seung Hyo, I actually really liked his character, one reason was because I got to see a didfferent side of teh actor who played Hwang Si Mok in Stranger who was a pretty 2D charater due to him not feeling emotions. Seung Hyo was basically the proxy antogonist in this show, I say proxy because he begins to changed ever soo slightly due to the introduction of Lee No Eul in which was the first person he became intrested in. He acted all tough all tough and acted like nothing affected him but on the inside he is actually soft and care about things and that's what No Eul saw in him and that's why she started to like him. I'll admit at first I wasn't a fan of thier ship because I felt bad for Seon Woo but as time went on I started to like the ship ( Only took me 16 episodes to realise that and I wished I liked it from the start).

The OST in the show was quite standard as nothing particually stood out to me but I did enjoy it as it added to the scenes.

Overall I really enjoyed this drama as it was a nice switch up from the Romace Drama which I allways watch as Romance is my favourite genre. This show and Stranger made me appreciate non-romance center based plots and I will definetly watch more of shows like these where they focus more on the world building rather than the Relationship between the two leads.

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Same writer of stranger. Honesty I like the plot of life than the stranger but the problem is the development of the story.

The plot of stranger is typical. There's so many kdrama about corrupted prosecutor while the story of life is new in kdramaland because it tackle the situation of the doctors and the management of the hospital.

Stranger-ordinary plot but good development
Life-something new but lack of development

LIKE:
1.JO SEUNG WOO is enough to watch this drama
2.there's no good or bad just a selfish human being
3.Moon so ri and Yoo jae myung are the seasoning of the drama
4.the plot is really fresh to watch

DISLIKE:
1.Lee Dong wook character. Hehe..
2.Won jin-A character started with a strong personality but ended with a dependent character.
3.lack of story development and conclusion

IT'S BETTER IF:
1.more focus about the problem of the hospital than to their personal life
2.more fundamental issue of the hospital and doctors
3.more solid conclusion of what the story want to give to the audiences.

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Slow but worth it. Just do it for the characters.

It wasn’t supposed to be drama for me. I had it on my list for a very long time but always postponed it choosing something different. I was just not in a mood for a medical drama so I’ve always found reason not to watch it. Firstly I’ve put it on my list because Lee Dong Wook was in it. Yes, I choose dramas based on who plays in it, sue me. But it seemed to not be enough. Until…

Yes, until I’ve figured out that Cho Seung Woo plays there as well, which totally bought me at this point. I have soft spot for this man and I watch everything with him since I’ve seen him in Sisyphus, what can I do.

Do you know when they teach you not to judge a book by it’s cover? I’ve did exactly that. I’ve just assumed that this is medical drama and I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I don’t know where this comes from, but medical series usually just bore me to death. That’s partially the reason I’ve still haven’t watch Hospital Playlist, even though everyone praises it for how good it is. But not for me. I think it’s just because I’ve watched so many episodes of Dr. House and ER in my time that I’ve just reached my limit for medical series.

But we’re getting off topic here.

So my first impression was wrong, this is not medical drama. I swear, you can count on one hand how many times action is actually patient related. There was even one scene when during doctors meeting one of them admitted that it was a long time since they’ve discussed patients health. Because it all comes down to politics. Hospital politics, but still. And the power play between doctors and new hospital director is very strong here. Usually is one against the other but soon we see that the sides are not really that obvious. The border between them changes often, we see character that was one on one side is suddenly on the other.

At first I was really not sure about this drama. I’ve found it pretty slow, with not interesting characters. But suddenly, character development occurred and oh my, it was a ride. The characters we thought were obvious, suddenly turned out to be absolutely not as we thought they were. And the crown example is Goo Seung Hyo (played by Cho Seung Woo), new hospital director. At the beginning he seems like a 100% bad guy, the one that comes to your hospital and wants only profits and good results. Corporate head that doesn’t get that doctors are here to save lives not sell supplements and make the quarterly plans. But soon we discover that his behaviour is not really that sided. We discover that the doctors are not su pure either. And when covering of patients deaths come to the public attention, more humane face of Goo Seung Hyo is visible. He may be a corporate head, but making the hospital profitable also means working according to the rules. So what’s happening with Seung Hyo is true character development. Our attitude towards him changes not because he has a sudden change of heart (although at one point it partially happens) but because we get to know him better. He behaves the same but now we know his motivations a little bit. We know his soft spot for animals and weird living situation with his parents (luckily explained later, but still pretty weird). He has an asshole of a boss but wants to do something good for the hospital, but is bound by corporate rules. I think that even Cho Seung Woo said (although I really don’t remember in which interview) something like Goo Seung Hyo is big for little ones, and small for the big ones. And I totally agree, he knows who to fight and who to bow to. The problem arises when it’s the one person he needs to do both to. He kind of finds himself between the rock and a hard place.

The thing is that Seung Hyo turns out not to be the worst that happened to the hospital and we’ll soon find out what really is.
What I also really loved about this drama is how subtle romantic motives are here. They may as well not be here and we wouldn’t notice but they make a nice breather from all of this political games. Plus you really hope something good finally happens to the main characters.

But I have to admit, the pace of the plot here is really slow. And you can feel it, the drama is not action packed, for most of the times, there’s no action at all. But if you like political drama, with a lot of suspense that might be something for you.

I’ve admired characters and how they were portrayed. I mean, with cast like this, I wouldn’t expect anything less than that, but we really have bunch of great and well known actors here. Like just to get some examples, Lee Kyu Hyun, playing Ye Sun Woo was just amazing in his role, the character himself was pretty complex but I think that actor just did a great job. And Yoo Jae Myung, playing Joo Kyung Moon, I mean I expect only the best from this man, after his roles in Iteawon Class and Stanger, just to name a few, but he always somehow manages to surprise me with his portrayal of the character.

So to wrap it up somehow. This is a slow drama with great characters so if you’re into that stuff, you’ll certainly like this one.

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what story?

there is no story here, it feels like some weird slice of life that tries to pretend to be something more

ok, pros
+medical part well done
+inner hospital politics well done, at least according to my mother, who is a doctor
+the acting from Cho Seung Woo and his character, Gu Sung Hyo, was awesome
+some other actors did quite well too
+the soundtrack was sometimes great, sometimes too in your face, sometimes too absent, but overall did its job

cons
-no story, countless side plots that don't account to anything
-LDW and LKH both outside their element, their acting was off and unconvincing
-not to mention the story of both brothers was awfully cringe, stretched out, and felt like it came from a different drama
-awful romance for main lead, too
-no tension, the antagonist conglomerate can't even threaten anyone properly and the the main villain has charisma of angry chihuahua
-preachy and moralizing tone

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a different kind of medical drama, that will blow you away

first I would like to start by saying this drama deserves more than an 8.1 rating on this site and the main characters are two main leads, the female leads aren't really main characters, but as side characters, they are quite vital to the story. even the other characters are tremendously important.

at first, I thought this would be medical drama, where the hospital is corrupted by higher-ups and a talented hero doctor would save it with his awesome skills. this is the most typical hospital dramas you see a lot. but this is completely different. it shows about hospital management conflicts where it shows how cruel a capitalistic world is by using a corrupted hospital.

my favourite character is koo Seung Hyo played by Cho Seung woo. incredible acting skills and his character is so refreshing and a very new type in kdrama world. We always see in any kdrama , the bad people as clearly bad persons, hero as good person, but this drama simply shows everyone as human being. both male leads aka main characters of shown as good and bad, that you will realise, if you are in their place, even you would do the same.

a must watch, don't expect romance a lot, although, in the end, there will be couples paired, the drama focuses a lot of two male leads and more on cho seung woo's character, which seems the true main character of the show, even though he starts his screen time from 2nd episode, he steals the show away.

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I thought CROSS would run away by being my favorite medical drama of the year but this one threw a hard jab and won (so far).it's definitely not your typical medical drama. There were less operation room BS but more on the business politic issues. Right from the bat I could sense a STRANGER (secret forest) vibes written all over it and turns out it was in fact written by the same writer. Highly recommended. One of the best made drama this year, if not of all time.

pros
1. high quality drama. one of those well crafted series that rivals some of Hollywood's finest shows

2. great tension build up. most writers suffer from filler syndrome but this one had enough juicy topics to keep the thrill rolling

3. great character build up as well especially with Cho Seung Woo's character, I love how each episode kept on shedding layers of his personality

4. Yum hye ran. I always love characters with sense of humor especially in a serious drama like this. just when things start to feel dull we can always rely on her to give us a good laugh

5. I liked the equal amount of exposure shown between work and their personal stories although I much prefer watching their lives outside of the hospital

6. there's no clear villain in this series, which I love. as the show progress, you will find yourself siding with different characters because all of them have valid reasons for what they're fighting for. I truly believe that the true antagonist here is the people's greed for power/authority
7. this had one of the few best endings in a drama I've seen so far

8. that underwater scene was purely magical it got me in a trance. it was heartbreaking but beautiful as well that it got me teared up

cons
1. the business politics bored me TBH especially when they're talking about numbers and other technical stuffs (which happened a lot throughout the series)

2. I'm all for melodrama and melancholia but a lot of times I felt like the writer tried way too hard to milk some tears out of the viewers

3. I don't like how Lee Kyu hyung's character was portrayed in the show. he doesn't need to be looked down on. it's one thing to get pitied on because of having a physical incapability but the guy has serious self pity issues as well. I wished the writer made him look strong and confident, that would've sent a much better message to everyone like him

4. I'm not gonna lie, although I'd complimented the great tension build up of the show, somehow the second half of the series felt dragged and became too seemingly slow for an already slow-paced drama

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It's vibe is similar to stranger

I watched stranger (S1&2) first before watching life ( reason for the headline)
It is interesting (but it is a bit boring somentimes - maybe it is bcoz I am not a fan of serious dramas)
The actors did a great job. They played the characters so well that *speechless*
Cho seung woo is really good at acting. I hated his character but rooted for him at the same time. His chemistry with won ji nah was✨
I liked Lee kyu hyung in prison playbook and I was suprised to see his serious acting in this drama. (He can pull off any character)
Moon so ri's character OSH is really annoying at the start but her character development is so good. (Btw Look forward to goo seung hyo's, oh se hwa's and Joo Kyung Mo's lunch scene)
Lee dong wook and won ji nah also did a great job. I loved LDK's character bcoz he was a rebel and WJN's character bcoz she didn't believe in rumours and believed that everyone has a good heart.
For a drama without romance, there are 3 couples that I shipped.
Ending is really satisfying and any other ending would have made it boring
If you want to see a medical-political-no romance but romantic-drama then this is perfect for you

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