The King's Doctor

Korean name
Hangul	마의
Hanja	馬醫
Revised Romanization	Ma-ui
McCune–Reischauer	Maŭi

*The King's Doctor*
The King's Doctor
	Promotional poster
Also known as	Horse Doctor; The Horse Healer;
Genre	Historical; Medical drama;
Written by	Kim Yi-young
Directed by	Lee Byung-hoon; Choi Jung-gyu;
Starring	Cho Seung-woo; Lee Yo-won;
Composers	Kim Jun-seok; Jung Se-rin;
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	50
Production
Cinematography	Kim Young-cheol; Kim Hyeong-geun;
Running time	70 minutes
Production companies	Kim Jong-hak Production ; AStory
Original release
Network	Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Release	October 1, 2012 –; March 25, 2013

The King's Doctor (Korean: 마의; Hanja: 馬醫; RR: Ma-ui; lit. Horse Doctor) is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to March 25, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 50 episodes. The historical/period epic drama commemorated MBC's 51st anniversary.^[1]

Filmed at MBC Dramia in Gyeonggi Province,^[2] The King's Doctor was directed by Lee Byung-hoon, known for his previous works Hur Jun, Jewel in the Palace, Yi San and Dong Yi.^[3] This marked the first television drama for actor Cho Seung-woo in his 13-year film and stage career.^[4]

Plot

The life of a Joseon-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses, who rises to become the royal physician in charge of the King's health.^[5]

Cast

Main characters

Cho Seung-woo as Baek Kwang-hyun^[6]
- Ahn Do-gyu as young Kwang-hyun
Lee Yo-won as Kang Ji-nyeong^[7]
- Roh Jeong-eui as young Ji-nyeong/Young-dal
Son Chang-min as Lee Myung-hwan
Yoo Sun as Jang In-joo
Lee Sang-woo as Lee Sung-ha
- Nam Da-reum as young Lee Sung-ha
Lee Soon-jae as Ko Joo-man
Han Sang-jin as King Hyeonjong
Kim So-eun as Princess Sukhwi
Jo Bo-ah as Seo Eun-seo

Supporting characters

Kang Ki-young as Horse Doctor
Kim Chang-wan as Jung Sung-jo
Jeon No-min as Kang Do-joon, Kwang-hyun's father
Choi Su-rin as Joo In-ok
Kim Hye-sun as Queen Inseon
Lee Hee-do as Choo Ki-bae
Maeng Sang-hoon as Oh Jang-bak
Ahn Sang-tae as Ja-bong
In Gyo-jin as Kwon Suk-chul
Jang Hee-woong [ko] as Yoon Tae-joo
Yoon Bong-gil [ko] as Park Dae-mang
Choi Beom-ho [ko] as Jo Jung-chul
Shin Gook as Shin Byung-ha
Ahn Yeo-jin [ko] as Court Lady Kwak
Lee Kwan-hoon [ko] as Ma Do-heum
Lee Ga-hyun as Queen Myeongseong
Joo Jin-mo as Sa-am
Uhm Hyun-kyung as So Ka-young
Park Hyuk-kwon as Baek Seok-gu
Hwang Young-hee as Baek Seok-gu's wife
Yoon Hee-seok as Seo Doo-shik
Kim Young-im [ko] as Jo Bi
Oh Eun-ho [ko] as Hong Mi-geum
Oh In-hye as Jung Mal-geum
Seo Beom-shik as Kang Jung-doo
Im Chae-won as Lee Myung-hwan
Na Sung-kyun as Park Byung-joo
Lee Sook [ko] as Choi Ga-bi
Heo Yi-seul as Park Eun-bi
Yoo In-suk as farmer
Han Choon-il as doctor at royal horse stable
Jeon Heon-tae [ko] as doctor at royal horse stable
Kim Ho-young as Oh Kyu-tae
Na Jae-kyun [ko] as First Secretary
So Hyang as Kyu-soo
Jung Dong-gyu as Shim Moon-kwan
Kim Tae-jong [ko] as Ji-pyung
Lee Jong-goo as Lee Myung-hwan's stepfather
Yang Han-yeol as young Ji-nyeong's friend
Oh Jung-tae [ko] as Doo-mok
Kang Shin-jo [ko] as Guru Uigeumbu
Shin Joon-young as Byun
Kim Ik-tae [ko] as Joseon's officer
Choi Eun-seok as Joseon's officer
Ki Yeon-ho [ko] as Joseon's officer
Park Gi-san as Joseon's officer
Song Yong-tae [ko] as Joseon's officer

Guest appearances

Jung Gyu-woon as Crown Prince Sohyeon
Kyung Soo-jin as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Kang clan
Sunwoo Jae-duk as King Injo
Choi Deok-moon as King Hyojong
Kwon Tae-won [ko] as Kim Ja-jeom
Jang Young-nam as Do-joon's wife and Kwang-hyun's mother
Seo Hyun-jin as So-yong Jo, later Gwi-in Jo
Jo Deok-hyun [ko] as Lee Hyung-ik
Song Min-hyung [ko] as Boo Tae-soo
Lee Hee-jin as Woo-hee
Im Byung-ki [ko] as Soo-bo, Woo-hee's older brother
Yoon Jin-ho [ko] as Choi Hyun-wook
Park Young-ji [ko] as Hong Yoon-shik
Kang Han-byeol as little crown prince, later King Sukjong
Jung Yoon-seok as the child (ep 8)

Episode ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.

Original broadcast date	Episode	Average audience share
		TNmS Ratings^[8]		AGB Nielsen^[9]
		Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area	Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area
2012-10-01	01	10.0% (15th)	11.7% (8th)	8.7% (16th)	9.1% (17th)
2012-10-02	02	12.5% (9th)	13.1% (7th)	9.7% (15th)	10.7% (10th)
2012-10-08	03	5.9% (NR)	6.9% (NR)	6.6% (NR)	7.6% (NR)
2012-10-09	04	9.2% (17th)	9.2% (19th)	10.0% (12th)	11.0% (11th)
2012-10-15	05	11.7% (14th)	13.4% (5th)	10.4% (13th)	12.1% (8th)
2012-10-16	06	12.5% (7th)	12.6% (6th)	12.9% (6th)	13.9% (5th)
2012-10-22	07	15.0% (3rd)	16.1% (3rd)	14.3% (4th)	15.6% (3rd)
2012-10-23	08	15.3% (5th)	16.9% (4th)	14.3% (5th)	16.9% (3rd)
2012-10-29	09	13.1% (4th)	14.8% (4th)	13.4% (3rd)	15.2% (3rd)
2012-10-30	10	14.0% (9th)	16.0% (5th)	13.5% (7th)	15.1% (5th)
2012-11-05	11	14.5% (5th)	16.0% (4th)	14.7% (4th)	15.9% (4th)
2012-11-06	12	15.5% (4th)	17.1% (4th)	15.4% (4th)	16.8% (4th)
2012-11-12	13	13.8% (9th)	14.0% (5th)	14.6% (4th)	16.4% (4th)
2012-11-13	14	16.4% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	16.8% (4th)	18.5% (3rd)
2012-11-19	15	15.7% (5th)	17.9% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)
2012-11-20	16	16.7% (4th)	17.4% (4th)	18.1% (3rd)	20.3% (3rd)
2012-11-26	17	17.0% (4th)	19.1% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2012-11-27	18	17.8% (4th)	19.9% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-03	19	19.1% (4th)	21.4% (3rd)	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2012-12-04	20	18.7% (2nd)	21.7% (1st)	17.8% (2nd)	19.1% (1st)
2012-12-10	21	17.6% (3rd)	19.7% (1st)	16.0% (4th)	17.5% (2nd)
2012-12-11	22	17.4% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	17.4% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)
2012-12-17	23	17.5% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)
2012-12-18	24	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-24	25	17.2% (3rd)	19.3% (3rd)	17.1% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)
2012-12-25	26	20.2% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)	19.9% (3rd)
2013-01-01	27	18.1% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.4% (3rd)
2013-01-07	28	18.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	16.6% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)
2013-01-08	29	20.3% (3rd)	22.1% (2nd)	18.3% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2013-01-14	30	18.9% (3rd)	21.1% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2013-01-15	31	20.5% (3rd)	23.0% (2nd)	19.2% (3rd)	20.4% (3rd)
2013-01-21	32	19.4% (3rd)	21.3% (2nd)	20.1% (3rd)	21.8% (3rd)
2013-01-22	33	20.7% (3rd)	22.9% (2nd)	20.0% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-01-28	34	19.4% (3rd)	22.2% (2nd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.1% (3rd)
2013-01-29	35	21.5% (3rd)	24.4% (2nd)	21.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)
2013-02-04	36	22.8% (3rd)	24.8% (2nd)	22.4% (3rd)	24.2% (2nd)
2013-02-05	37	24.2% (2nd)	26.7% (2nd)	23.7% (3rd)	25.8% (2nd)
2013-02-11	38	20.8% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)
2013-02-12	39	19.5% (4th)	22.2% (3rd)	20.3% (2nd)	22.7% (2nd)
2013-02-18	40	21.2% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-02-19	41	19.7% (3rd)	22.5% (2nd)	18.1% (4th)	19.0% (4th)
2013-02-25	42	20.6% (3rd)	23.3% (3rd)	19.6% (3rd)	22.0% (3rd)
2013-02-26	43	20.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	21.9% (3rd)
2013-03-04	44	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-05	45	18.8% (3rd)	20.5% (2nd)	18.5% (4th)	20.4% (2nd)
2013-03-11	46	19.6% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-12	47	18.9% (4th)	21.0% (4th)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-03-18	48	18.0% (5th)	20.5% (4th)	18.8% (3rd)	20.9% (3rd)
2013-03-19	49	17.9% (5th)	19.6% (5th)	19.1% (4th)	21.1% (3rd)
2013-03-25	50	17.2% (4th)	18.4% (5th)	17.8% (4th)	20.2% (3rd)
Average		17.3%	-	17.1%	-

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2012	MBC Drama Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)^[10]	Cho Seung-woo	Won
		Best Drama	The King's Doctor	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Cho Seung-woo	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Son Chang-min	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama	Lee Yo-won	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama	Yoo Sun	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Han Sang-jin	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Lee Sang-woo	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama	Kim Hye-sun	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Kim So-eun	Won

International broadcast

Country	Channel	Series premiere	Title
Japan	NHK^[11]^[12]	2013	馬医 (Umai)
Vietnam	SCTV Phim tổng hợp	October 2013	Ngự y của hoàng đế
Mongolia	Channel 25	November 2013	Морины эмч (Morinii emch)
Sri Lanka	Rupavahini	November 2013	ඉසිවර වෙදැදුරු (Isiwara Wedaduru)
Cambodia	Cambodian Television Network	December 2013	ពេទ្យសេះម្ចាស់ស្នេហ៍ (Pet Seh Mchas Sne)
Indonesia	Indosiar	November 2014	King's Doctor
Philippines	GMA Network	June 2015
Turkey	TRT 1	2013