Five young, college students met in medical school and formed a band to help them relieve the stress of studying, Now, 20 years later, they are all talented surgeons in their respective fields, working at the same hospital.  Their friendship has endured years of hard work and long hours.  They even continue to get together for band practice over the weekends when they are all free.  Together they treat patients and live life, with the love and understanding that comes from decades of being friends.

Kim Dae Myung  as Jang Suk Hyung

Jang Suk Hyung is the OBGYN.  Known by all his friends as Bear, he is shy and socially akward.  He was married for a short time, but they divorced due to stress between his wife and mother.  Now, he lives back at home with his mother, calls her to ask what he should have for lunch, and spends his time watching tv on his phone.  After his marriage fell apart, he avoided dating all together, but the outgoing resident in his department, Chu Min Ah, sets her sights on him and sets out to win his heart.  It takes awhile, but eventually she convinces him to start dating.

♥ Rosa and Ju Jong Su

The relationship between Rosa and Jong Su is one of my favorites in this series.  Growing up together, their friendship is like a well-oiled machine.  And it provides a fun fore-shadowing to the kind of relationship that could await the fab-five down the road.  I will admit that I would have loved to see a romantic spark between these two, but it's almost irrelevant.  They are planning to live and travel together, they share meals, and take care of each other.  Regardless of the label, these are all signs of a healthy and rewarding relationship that will endure through the rest of their years.  

♥ OST (Band)

Am I the only one who looked forward to the band number for each episode?  Finding ways to tie the song into the larger theme of the episode that week just made it all the more fun.  You could just feel the enthusiasm from the cast members as they made eye contact and sang their hearts out.  I know it was a lot of extra work for the actors having to add band practice to their filming each week, but I think the result was fabulous.  And judging from the appearance of some of the songs, like "Aloha" on the music charts, I think it's safe to say that there were lots of fans who would agree.  

Really Long Episodes

It is a trademark with this production team to have extra long episodes, and I have to say that even with their long run time, I always hate to see them end.  But that being said, I have to acknowledge that not everyone has that much time to sit down and enjoy a kdrama episode.  Also, especially during the second season, "Hospital Playlist" really embraced the "slice of life" genre.  Meaning episodes were filled with tiny, seemingly inconsequential moments that might have benefitted from a bit more editing.  Wherever you stand on this issue, I think it bears repeating that 90+ minute episodes are well over the average.  

Third Season

Early on, it was announced that the plan was to have three seasons of "Hospital Playlist" over three years.  Don't get me wrong, I really hate multi-season kdramas, BUT it seemed like season two left us with enough loose ends to warrant a final season.  I have to wonder if the cast all signing on for a variety show together left them just too busy to commit to another season.  And I wouldn't want them to overextend themselves.  Still, there are stories I'm left curious about, partly because they were brought up.  How will Suk Hyung's mother react when she actually meets Min Ah?  When will Jung Won finally get to propose to Gyeo Wool? And now that Ik Jun knows about them, will Jun Wan finally come clean about his relationship with Ik Soon?

"Hospital Playlist" ends the way many slice of life dramas do;  lots of happy endings with a few bittersweet moments and some dangling loose ends.  So let's just run down our leads.  Ik Jun and Song Hwa have finally started dating and I have no doubt they will be together for many years.  Jung Won dropped a surprise bomb by telling his friends that he is going to the US for a year to study more.  The good news is that he will be going with Gyeo Wool.  Jun Wan goes to see Ik Soon, and the two re-enact the first time he went to see her when they started dating.  They hug and I think it's safe to say, they are back together.  Suk Hyung told his mom that he is dating Min Ah, and convinced her that Min Ah is the only reason he is staying in Korea, instead of going to the US.  Rosa and Jong Su are carrying out Rosa's life long dream to walk the Camino de Santiago.  And Je Hak and his wife have a healthy baby girl, and his wife's chemo seems to have been successful.  Even though there is no commitment for a third season, with the bond between this amazing cast, I still have hopes that we will hear more about these characters somewhere down the line.