Heo Jun Review

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The Heo Jun series aired on MBC in 2000. It recounts the life of a court physician during the reign of King Seonjo.

The story begins with Heo Jun (Jeon Gwang-Ryeol) as the son of a magistrate and his concubine. Hence, his social status is considered to be low and he turns to smuggling in order to make a living. He is caught and faces punishment but his mother intervenes and his father gets him out of jail and tells him to move to a remote area. While he’s preparing to leave he meets Dahee (Hwang Su-Jeong), the daughter of a governmental official who is being framed by other officials. Her father dies and Jun comes to her aid and conducts a funeral. She is of the Noble class so their match is not one made in heaven, but it’s love at first site. She’s taken back to her family home and Jun relocates with his mother to Gyeongsang Province.

He meets Dr Yoo (Im Hyeon Sik), an accomplished physican who runs a hospital and was unofficially known as the best doctor in Korea. A very demanding person, he allows Jun to start working at the bottom of the ladder, where immediately there is conflict with the other workers at the hospital. Dr Yoo’s son, Doji (Kim Byeong Se), is learning the medical trade from his father and has aspirations of becoming a Royal Physician. As Heo Jun increases his medical knowledge they become in conflict with each other, which is highlighted throughout the series.

While working at the hospital Heo Jun meets Yejin (Jang Seo Hee), Dr Yoo’s adopted daughter. Yejin recognizes Jun’s potential and starts teaching him about medicine. She is very attracted to him for his humility and caring. Complicating matters is the fact that Doji is in love with Yejin which creates additional conflict with Jun and Doji’s mother (Park Jeong Su)

Meanwhile, Dahee gives up her nobility status and comes in search of Jun. She finds him in Gyeongsang and they marry.

As Doji strives for his goal to enter the court, Dr Yoo begins to recognize his ambitions and turns to Jun who displays more of a caring attitude toward the common people.

Doji takes the governmental exam but is not selected because his father had proven himself to be a superior doctor than the Royal Physician. This creates animosity between Doji and Dr Yoo. He tries the exam again and gets into the court.

Jun continues to progress and eventually goes to take the national exam but gets waylaid in treating poor patients on the way to the capital. This impresses Dr Yoo as to his character and as Dr Yoo discovers he has incurable cancer instructs Jun to dissect his body when he dies. Jun makes the first detailed drawings if the internal human body. The following exam cycle, Jun scores the highest and enters the court but prefers to work at the public hospital.

The dynamic interpersonal relationships between the doctors, Jun’s family and Doji’s mother and the struggles of Jun’s mother and Dahee kept me riveted to see what would happen next. Jun’s past also caught up to him when a police officer recognized him from his smuggling days which generated more problems for Jun.

Eventually, Joeson is invaded by the Japanese and Jun rescues the medical library and goes on to write a definitive medical book for the common people, which earned him the title as “Father of Korean Medicine”.

Eventually, Jun contracts the plague while treating an outbreak and dies.

The whole series explores a wide range of topics such as class struggles, political intrigue, lust for power and humanitarianism. The sub plots are intertwined in a way the viewer never gets bored. The music is haunting and the supporting cast is excellent, although there are a couple of the supporting cast members that can be very annoying.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Korean historical dramas and specifically those who enjoyed Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace)