''The King's Doctor'' (; lit. ''Horse Doctor'') is a 2012

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring

Cho Seung-woo Cho Seung-woo (; born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films ''The Classic (2003 film), The Classic'' (2003), ''Marathon (2005 film), Marathon'' (2005), ''Tazza: The High Rollers'' ...

and

Lee Yo-won Lee Yo-won (; born April 9, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Seondeok in the eponymous hit period drama. Career Lee Yo-won was a sophomore in high school when she won a modeling contest and first ...

. 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. Filmed at MBC Dramia in

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, ''The King's Doctor'' was directed by Lee Byung-hoon, known for his previous works '' Hur Jun'', ''

Jewel in the Palace ''Jewel in the Palace'' () is a 2003 South Korean Sageuk, historical drama television series directed by Lee Byung-hoon. It first aired on Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, MBC from September 15, 2003, to March 23, 2004, where it was the top p ...

'', '' Yi San'' and '' Dong Yi''. This marked the first

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

for actor

in his 13-year film and stage career.

Plot

The life of a

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses, who rises to become the royal physician in charge of the King's health.

Cast

Main characters

as Baek Kwang-hyun ** Ahn Do-gyu as young Kwang-hyun *

as Kang Ji-nyeong **

Roh Jeong-eui Roh Jeong-eui (; born July 31, 2001) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in the film '' Phantom Detective'' (2016), '' 18 Again'' (2020), '' Our Beloved Summer'' (2021–2022) and ''Hierarchy'' (2024). Early life and educatio ...

as young Ji-nyeong/Young-dal * Son Chang-min as Lee Myung-hwan *

Yoo Sun Wang Yoo-sun (; born February 11, 1976), known professionally as Yoo Sun, is a South Korean actress. She is best known for the popular family Korean drama, drama ''My Too Perfect Sons'', as well as the films ''Black House (film), Black House'', ...

as Jang In-joo *

Lee Sang-woo Lee Sang-woo (; born February 13, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He rose to fame in the 2007 television drama ''First Wives' Club'', and has since played leading roles on '' The Road Home'' (2009), '' Don't Hesitate'' (2009), '' Life Is Beautif ...

as Lee Sung-ha ** Nam Da-reum as young Lee Sung-ha *

Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor. Lee made ...

as Ko Joo-man * Han Sang-jin as King Hyeonjong *

Kim So-eun Kim So-eun (; born September 6, 1989) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in 2009 in the popular Korean drama, television drama ''Boys Over Flowers (2009 TV series), Boys Over Flowers''. She has since starred in ''Happiness in the Wind'' ...

as Princess Sukhwi * Jo Bo-ah as Seo Eun-seo

Supporting characters

Kang Ki-young Kang Ki-young (; born October 14, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He is well-known for his supporting roles in a number of popular Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language ...

as Horse Doctor *

Kim Chang-wan Kim Chang Wan (; born February 22, 1954) is a South Korean singer, actor, and writer. Early life and education Kim along with his younger brothers Kim Chang-hoon and Kim Chang-ik, began composing music during their mid-teens, and formed the ...

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 Kim Hye-sun (; born September 28, 1969) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading role in the television drama ''First Wives' Club'' (2007–2008). Career Kim Hye-sun began modeling when she was in middle school. While a ...

Queen Inseon Queen Inseon (; 30 January 1619 – 20 March 1674), of the Deoksu Jang clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Ho, King Hyojong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1649 until her husband's death in 1659, after ...

*Lee Hee-do as Choo Ki-bae *

Maeng Sang-hoon Maeng Sang-hoon (born October 29, 1960) is a South Korean actor from the Sinchang Maeng clan. Filmography Television series Film References External links * * * 1960 births Living people South Korean male television ...

as Oh Jang-bak *Ahn Sang-tae as Ja-bong *

In Gyo-jin In Gyo-jin (; born August 29, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in various television dramas. Career In was born in Jochiwon, Yeongi County, South Chungcheong Province (now Sejong City). He studied Engli ...

as Kwon Suk-chul * as Yoon Tae-joo * as Park Dae-mang * as Jo Jung-chul *Shin Gook as Shin Byung-ha * as Court Lady Kwak * as Ma Do-heum *

Lee Ga-hyun Lee Ga-hyun (born Kwak Ga-hyun on May 18, 1988) is a South Korean actress. She has won the Jin title of the 2013 and she was also a contestant of the . Filmography Television series Film References External linksLee Ga-hyunat Daum ...

Queen Myeongseong Queen Myeongseong (; 3 June 1642 – 11 January 1684) of the Cheongpung Kim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Yeon, King Hyeonjong, the 18th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1659 until ...

* Joo Jin-mo as Sa-am *

Uhm Hyun-kyung Uhm Hyun-kyung (; born November 4, 1986) is a South Korean actress. She first appeared in '' Rainbow Romance'' in 2005. In her recent years, Hyun-kyung became notable for playing the evil and two-faced villain A villain (also known as ...

as So Ka-young *

Park Hyuk-kwon Park Hyuk-kwon (; born July 11, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Park began his acting career in 1993 as a member of the theater troupe Sanulrim. He later became a well-regarded supporting actor in films such as '' Chaw'' (2009) and '' Secret Reu ...

as Baek Seok-gu * Hwang Young-hee as Baek Seok-gu's wife * Yoon Hee-seok as Seo Doo-shik * as Jo Bi * 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 * 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 * as doctor at royal horse stable *Kim Ho-young as Oh Kyu-tae * as First Secretary *So Hyang as Kyu-soo *Jung Dong-gyu as Shim Moon-kwan * as Ji-pyung *Lee Jong-goo as Lee Myung-hwan's stepfather * Yang Han-yeol as young Ji-nyeong's friend * as Doo-mok * as Guru Uigeumbu *Shin Joon-young as Byun * as Joseon's officer *Choi Eun-seok as Joseon's officer * as Joseon's officer *Park Gi-san as Joseon's officer * as Joseon's officer

Guest appearances

Jung Gyu-woon Jung Gyu-woon (; born June 28, 1982) is a South Korean actor. Career Jung Gyu-woon made acting his debut in 2004 with the mobile drama ''Five Stars''. He first gained notice in 2008 when he took two contrasting roles — as a crazy young executi ...

Crown Prince Sohyeon Crown Prince Sohyeon (, 5 February 1612 – 21 May 1645) was the first son of King Injo of Joseon Dynasty. Sohyeon was a hostage in the Manchu court at Shenyang, by the terms of the peace treaty concluded after War in 1636. He moved to Be ...

* Kyung Soo-jin as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Kang clan * Sunwoo Jae-duk as King Injo * Choi Deok-moon as King Hyojong * as Kim Ja-jeom *

Jang Young-nam Jang Young-nam (; born November 25, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as an acclaimed actress in theater, then transitioned to supporting roles on television and film, notably in works by director Jang Jin. A member of Jang J ...

as Do-joon's wife and Kwang-hyun's mother * Seo Hyun-jin as '' So-yong'' Jo, later ''Gwi-in'' Jo * as Lee Hyung-ik * as Boo Tae-soo * Lee Hee-jin as Woo-hee * as Soo-bo, Woo-hee's older brother * as Choi Hyun-wook * as Hong Yoon-shik * Kang Han-byeol as little crown prince, later King Sukjong *

Jung Yoon-seok Jung Yoon-seok (; born April 30, 2003) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Young Actor award in 2009 SBS Drama Awards for his role in '' Temptation of Wife''. Early life and education Born to Korean-Chinese parents, Jung began his acting c ...

as the child (ep 8)

Episode ratings

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

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

References

External links

''Horse Doctor'' Official MBC website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King's Doctor, The MBC TV television dramas Korean-language television shows 2012 South Korean television series debuts 2013 South Korean television series endings Television series set in Joseon South Korean medical television series South Korean historical television series Television series by Kim Jong-hak Production Television series by AStory