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Dr. Lee Nak Joon, who penned the webtoon, that inspired The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call, reveals the characters' background details.
The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call follows Baek Kang Hyuk (Ju Ji Hoon), a genius surgeon who has performed surgeries even in the most chaotic conflict zones. He takes on the mission of leading the underfunded and sidelined Trauma Team at a university hospital. The K-drama is currently the top show on Netflix (non-English category).
On February 4, a video was released on the YouTube channel Doctor Friends, in which Lee Nak Joon talked about the plot and character details that were not included in the drama.
Talking about Baek Kang Hyuk's background, he said, "The reason Baek Kang Hyuk joined the mercenary unit is that PMC (private military company) doctors and U.S. military surgeons are [among] the world's best trauma surgeons. He went there to learn, but due to his exceptional senses and physical abilities, he ended up being deployed to the field and even participating in rescue operations. Because he worked there and had a lot of influence, he provided medical services for the civilians in the area. "
He added, "I wrote this [webtoon] in 2019, and at that time, I set his annual salary at $2 million. In today's money, that's about 3 billion won. In the drama, it's portrayed as [he worked in the mercenary unit for] one year, but in the original work, he served for four years, so he earned over 10 billion won. On top of that, he is also set to be good in stock investments, so he's at a position where he doesn't even need to earn a salary. The money coming in from his own investments amounts to several hundred million won every month."
Lee Nak Joon also spoke about Yang Jae Won (played by Choo Young Woo in the drama), saying, "Even though he wears luxury suits, he said that it was the first time he had his passport stamped when boarding a plane. Yang Jae Won's parents won a lottery when he was a medical resident, and the land they had bought ended up going into redevelopment project. They became wealthy and even own a building in Gangnam. So, since they became rich when he was a resident, he has never actually spent money [freely]."
He added, "But rich people are rich people. That's why his mother buys him luxury suits. It's not because he's a mama's boy, but because he has never spent that kind of money." He also explained the relationship between Han Yu Rim's (played by Yoon Gyung Ho) daughter and Yang Jae Won. "Jae Won was her tutor, and since he seems like a decent person, Han Yu Rim already considered him a prospective son-in-law. However, Jae Won has no interest in that regard and simply sees Han Yu Rim's daughter as an adorable younger sibling."
