Resident Playbook
2025 South Korean television series
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Resident Playbook (Korean: 언젠가는 슬기로울 전공의생활) is a 2025 South Korean television series created by Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung, written by Kim Song-hee, directed by Lee Min-soo, and starring Go Youn-jung, Shin Si-ah, Kang You-seok, Han Ye-ji, and Jung Joon-won. It is a spin-off of the 2020–2021 series Hospital Playlist, and depicts the life and friendship of university hospital professors and doctors. It aired tvN from April 12, 2025, to May 18, 2025, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST). It is available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
| Resident Playbook | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | Wise Resident Life[1] |
| Hangul | 언젠가는 슬기로울 전공의생활 |
| Lit. | A Life of a Resident That Will Be Wise Someday |
| RR | Eonjenganeun seulgiroul jeongongui saenghwal |
| MR | Ŏnjen'ganŭn sŭlgiroul chŏn'gongŭi saenghwal |
| Genre | Medical drama |
| Created by | |
| Written by | Kim Song-hee |
| Directed by | Lee Min-soo |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 70-90 minutes |
| Production company | Eggiscoming |
| Original release | |
| Network | tvN |
| Release | April 12 – May 18, 2025 |
| Related | |
| Hospital Playlist (2020–2021) | |
Synopsis
Set at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center, the series follows the hospital lives and turbulent friendships of young obstetrics and gynaecology residents who proudly enter the unpopular department in an era of low birth rates.
Cast and characters
Main
- Go Youn-jung as Oh Yi-young[2]
- A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident.
- Shin Si-ah as Pyo Nam-kyung[3]
- A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident
- Kang You-seok as Um Jae-il[4]
- A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident and former K-pop idol
- Han Ye-ji as Kim Sa-bi[5]
- A first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident
- Jung Joon-won as Ku Do-won[6]
- A fourth-year and chief resident of obstetrics and gynaecology.
Supporting
People in the Jongno branch of Yulje Hospital
- Lee Bong-ryun as Seo Jeong-min[7]
- A professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
- Lee Chang-hoon as Ryu Jae-hwi[8]
- A professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
- Son Ji-yoon as Kong Gi-seon[9]
- A professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
- Lee Hyun-kyun as Jo Jun-mo[10]
- A professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
- Seo Yi-seo as Park Joon-seok[11]
- Fourth-year resident in emergency medicine.
- Lee Do-hye as Ki Eun-mi
- Third-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology. A former resident at the Main Branch of Yulje Medical Centre.
- Hong Na-hyun as Cha Da-hye
- Second-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology.
- Kim Hye-in as Myung Eun-won[12]
- Second-year fellow in obstetrics and gynecology. A former resident at the Main Branch of Yulje Medical Centre.
- Yoo Hyun-jong as Park Moo-kang
- Second-year resident in pediatrics.
- Kim Yi-joon as Ham Dong-ho
- Third-year resident in anesthesia.
- Cha Kang-yoon as Tak Gi-on[13]
- An intern in obstetrics and gynecology.
- Kwon Young-eun as Choi Yoon-jung
- A nurse in the operating room.
- Park Ha-eun as Hong Min-joo
- A nurse in the pediatrics department.
- Choi Yoon-ji as Lee Chae-ryeong
- A nurse in the obstetrics and gynecology department.
Family
- Jung Woon-sun as Oh Joo-young[14]
- Yi-young's older sister and Seung-won's wife.
- Jeong Soon-won as Koo Seung-won
- Do-won's older brother and Joo-young's husband.
Special appearances
- Ra Mi-ran as doctor, massage therapist and bank teller. (Ep. 1)
- Ahn Eun-jin as Chu Min-ha (Ep. 2; 12)[15]
- A fellow doctor in obstetrics and gynecology at the Songdo branch of Yulje Medical Center. She got promoted into professor and got transferred at the Jongno branch.
- Ha Yoon-kyung as Heo Sun-bin (Ep. 3)
- A fellow doctor in neurosurgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Moon Tae-yoo as Yong Seok-min (Ep. 3)
- A professor in neurosurgery at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Jung Kyung-ho as Kim Jun-wan (Ep. 4)[16]
- A professor of cardiothoracic surgery from the main branch of Yulje Medical Center, who became chief of the CS department.
- Jung Moon-sung as Do Jae-hak (Ep. 4 (voice only); Ep. 11)[17]
- A fellow doctor in cardiothoracic surgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Yoo Yeon-seok as Ahn Jeong-won/Andrea (Ep. 5)[16]
- A professor of pediatric surgery at the main branch and the son of the founder of the hospital.
- Bae Hyun-sung as Jang Hong-do (Ep. 6)[17]
- A resident doctor at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Kim Jun-han as Ahn Chi-hong (Ep. 7)[16]
- A professor in neurosurgery at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Kwak Sun-young as Lee Ik-sun (Ep. 7)[18]
- A soldier and Lee Ik-jun's younger sister.
- Sung Yoo-bin as Hong Gi-dong (Ep. 7)
- Pyo Nam-kyung's ex-boyfriend.
- Shin Hyun-been as Jang Gyeo-ul (Ep. 8)[17]
- A fellow doctor in general surgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Na Yeong-seok as Jang Young-seok (Ep. 9)[19]
- A producer, father of Mo-ne and Ma-ne.
- Jae-il's former member and one of the member of "Hi-Boyz".
- Jae-il's former member and one of the member of "Hi-Boyz".
- Jo Jung-suk as Lee Ik-jun (Ep. 10)[16]
- A professor of general surgery at the Main branch of Yulje Medical Centre
- Jeon Mi-do as Chae Song-hwa (Ep. 10)[16]
- A professor of neurosurgery at the main branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Kim Dae-myung as Yang Seok-hyeong (Ep. 12)[16]
- A professor in obstetrics and gynecology at the main branch of Yulje Medical Center.
- Kang Shin-il as Im Dong-ju (Ep. 12)
- A senior professor in obstetrics and gynecology at the Jongno branch of Yulje Medical Center.
Production
Development
In 2023, director Shin Won-ho had reportedly started working on a new project, a spin-off to Hospital Playlist (2020–2021) and contacted several actors and held auditions in secret.[21] Later, Shin's new work was denied to be neither prequel nor spin-off of Hospital Playlist as contrast from a media report.[22]
The series was another collaboration of Shin and writer Lee Woo-jung, who produced the Reply series and Hospital Playlist series, directed by Lee Min-soo, as well as written by Kim Song-hee, an assistant writer of Reply 1988 and Hospital Playlist. Eggiscoming managed the production.[23]
Casting
On July 5, 2023, Go Youn-jung was reportedly cast as the female lead of Resident Playbook.[24] She was confirmed to appear for the series two months later.[25]
On September 20, 2023, Shin Si-ah was cast as other female lead and confirmed it a day later.[26][27] On September 22, Kang You-seok was reportedly cast as the male lead of the series and confirmed it three days later.[28][29] Jung Joon-won was also cast as another male lead and confirmed his appearance three days later.[30][6]
Go, Shin, Kang, Jung, along with Han Ye-ji completed the main cast line-up of the series.[5]
Filming
In May 2023, it was reported that principal photography would begin in the second half of 2023.[21] After two months, the filming was scheduled to start in October later that year.[31]
Postponement
In February 2024, many doctors, residents, and interns had resigned and suspended their studies to protest a South Korean government proposal to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 every year from 2025, setting the quota to 5,058.[32][33][34] Due to this medical strike, the series suffered from it.[35] tvN announced that depending on the situation the broadcast date could be delayed.[36] In March 2024, it was reported that the series was postponed to the second half of 2024, with exact date yet to be determined.[37] In September 2024, as the series has been delayed several times it was decided to be cancelled this year until further notice.[38]
Original soundtrack
| Resident Playbook | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | May 18, 2025 |
| Language |
|
| Label |
|
| Producer | Ma Joo-hee |
The Resident Playbook original soundtrack produced by Ma Joo-hee was released on May 19, 2025, by Studio MaumC, Egg Is Coming and Stone Music Entertainment.[39]
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Start!" | The O | The O | Lee Know, Seungmin, I.N (Stray Kids) | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Start!" (Inst.) | The O | 3:47 | ||
| Total length: | 7:34 | ||||
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Amateur" (아마추어) | Hong Jin-young | Hong Jin-young | Mido and Falasol[a] | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Amateur" (아마추어; Inst.) | Hong Jin-young | 4:04 | ||
| Total length: | 8:08 | ||||
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Someday It's Time to Shine" (언젠가 눈부시게 빛날 테니 (언눈빛)) |
| Lee Jun-hyung | Mido and Falasol | 4:49 |
| 2. | "Someday It's Time to Shine" (언젠가 눈부시게 빛날 테니 (언눈빛); Inst.) | Lee Jun-hyung | 4:49 | ||
| Total length: | 9:38 | ||||
Part 9
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "When the Day Comes" (그날이 오면) | Galactika * |
| Tomorrow X Together | 3:41 |
| 2. | "When the Day Comes" (그날이 오면; Inst.) |
| 3:41 | ||
| Total length: | 7:22 | ||||
Part 10
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [40] | |||
| "Start!" | 2025 | —[c] | Part 1 |
| "Sunny Day" | —[d] | Part 2 | |
| "On Such a Day" (그런 날) | —[e] | Part 3 | |
| "Amateur" (아마추어) | 108 | Part 4 | |
| "Breath" (숨) | —[f] | Part 5 | |
| "Forever" (영원해) | 41 | Part 6 | |
| "It's You" (너인데) | —[g] | Part 7 | |
| "Someday It's Time to Shine" (언젠가 눈부시게 빛날 테니 (언눈빛)) | 173 | Part 8 | |
| "When the Day Comes" (그날이 오면) | 39 | Part 9 | |
| "A Race" (달리기) | 96 | Part 10 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||
Release
As of July 2023, Resident Playbook was scheduled to air in March 2024.[31] In January 2024, tvN announced Resident Playbook as part of its 2024 drama line-up.[23] The next month, tvN confirmed the series' broadcast the first half that year.[45] It was originally scheduled to air in May after Queen of Tears, but was postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing medical strike in South Korea.[38] It was also supposed to stream on Netflix.[46]
The series ultimately premiered on tvN on April 12, 2025, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:10 (KST).[47]
Viewership
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
| 1 | 1.094 | 1.065 | 1.261 | 1.396 | 1.277 | 1.540 | 1.423 | 1.682 | 1.674 | 2.089 | 1.812 | 2.152 | 1.538 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[48] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | April 12, 2025 | 3.680% (1st) | 4.365% (1st) |
| 2 | April 13, 2025 | 3.986% (1st) | 4.477% (1st) |
| 3 | April 19, 2025 | 4.475% (1st) | 5.065% (1st) |
| 4 | April 20, 2025 | 5.135% (1st) | 5.761% (1st) |
| 5 | April 26, 2025 | 4.821% (1st) | 6.069% (1st) |
| 6 | April 27, 2025 | 5.531% (1st) | 5.876% (1st) |
| 7 | May 3, 2025 | 5.310% (1st) | 5.979% (1st) |
| 8 | May 4, 2025 | 5.972% (1st) | 6.389% (1st) |
| 9 | May 10, 2025 | 6.214% (1st) | 7.103% (1st) |
| 10 | May 11, 2025 | 7.491% (1st) | 8.450% (1st) |
| 11 | May 17, 2025 | 6.627% (1st) | 7.620% (1st) |
| 12 | May 18, 2025 | 8.142% (1st) | 8.630% (1st) |
| Average | 5.615% | 6.315% | |
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2026 | Best New Actor | Jung Joon-won | Pending | [49] |
| Best New Actress | Shin Si-ah | Pending |
Notes
- Original song by Lee Seung-chul, released in 2012.
- Original song by Yoon Sang, released in 1996.
