Hur Jun (1999)

The drama had a weak and uninteresting start but it managed to pick itself back up after some time. Some patients' stories didn't blend well with what was going on and it passed off as an interruption. It shares a lot of similarities with Jewel in the Palace (2003) but with a less attractive cast. Not only that but it also shares the same problems Jewel in the Palace (2003) had had. You may refer to my comment there. In comparison, I would nudge this one slightly higher since it had a more raw feeling to it. The drama also had a modern remake back in 2013. There was no specific fundamental issues with the base story to prompt a remake. There were too many identical copy-pasted scenes and jokes, they don't take any creative freedom with the core story/scenes to make the remake worthwhile. Although the remake is longer but this came at the expense of its pace since the extended content was poorly utilized and made it a worse experience overall. A lot of over exaggeration/dramatization and a lot less human. I hoped the remake would have a better written ending but no, it was identical frame by frame to the original. I prefer this version over the remake for its roughness, rawness and concise cut, it makes for a better watch.