305. A Poem a Day 시를 잊은 그대에게 (2018) Korean

Lee Yoo Bi, Lee Joon Hyuk, Jang Dong Yoon, Seo Hyun Chul, Lee Chae Young

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

A beautiful slice of life drama that can make even this poetry hater appreciate the poems. Probably because each poem was so poignant and healing as it was read, at first by just Bo Young (Lee Yoo Bi) but then by each of the characters. Because while this was primarily about Woo Bo Young, each character mattered and it was about all of the health professionals as they went about their daily lives in the hospital, with their own set of worries and pains.

The fact that it was a medical drama held me back for a bit, because I have an aversion to hospital dramas, with their super high stakes, with the surgeries every episode, all life and death. It just doesn't appeal to me. I have a hard time caring about surgical dramas. But this one appealed to me a lot because it wasn't about the surgeries, it was about the recovery, as it focused on a team of physical therapists and a couple of radiologists. This fit in really well with the poetic theme of healing. It was all about the struggles and hardships of life, with all the deep emotional struggles as well. Looking at people who don't have hope because they may never walk again, or no matter what they do they can only barely pay the bills. It was heartwarming and you just end up loving everyone, because they were all relatable and beautifully human.



I especially liked how we learned about everyone in a very natural way, just how Bo Young would have come to know them. They slowly opened as circumstances allowed. This meant that each character would have their own pace at how we got to know them, depending on their personality. So obviously we knew who Bo Young was, being the romantic she was, with her heart on her sleeve. We also got to know that Poo Butt Min Ho (Jang Dong Yoon) well right away, because his emotions were all over the place, as he was very self-centered. But with people like Dr. Ye (Lee Joon Hyuk), who remained a mystery for longer because he was more closed off, hiding his emotions, like an adorable Robot Muffin Doctor.

I also like how all the characters got pretty even coverage. There really were no hateful characters, because we always got to see where they were coming from. Maybe they had twins at home, or they they had a tragic love past, etc. I really enjoyed how they all supported each other and were like real coworkers, who you both love and hate, and have to deal with whether you love or hate them. The friendships and bromances that developed were just precious. And just like real life, there wasn't always a solid resolution. It was beautiful and painful, just like good poetry.