ENA ‘Doctor Somboy’ screen capture

Actor Hong Min-gi has made a complete transformation into Hyun Chi-yeon, an ultra-elite public health doctor, in the drama ‘Doctor Somboy’. With striking looks and a sexy intellect, he radiates a powerful presence and signals a scene-stealing turn.

The new ENA Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Doctor Somboy’ is a medical human romance that follows public health doctor Do Ji-ui, who sets foot on the notorious island ‘Pyeondong-do’ that everyone avoids, and the secretive nurse Yuk Ha-ri. Hong Min-gi takes on the role of ‘Hyun Chi-yeon’, an ultra-elite public health doctor who has both flawless looks and a sexy brain, perfectly inhabiting a cold yet intellectual character of the ‘coldly handsome’ type and beginning his full-fledged run.

In episodes 1-2, which aired on the 1st and 2nd, Hyun Chi-yeon left a strong impression from his very first appearance, exuding a singular aura. Revealed as the owner of the sports car tearing through the streets of Pyeondong-do, he instantly seized attention, and, stepping out of the staff residence bathroom just after a shower, had an intense first face-off with fellow public health doctor Do Ji-ui (played by Lee Jae-wook). In this scene, Hong Min-gi showed off a solid, flawless physique and exploded with striking visuals, and even in front of the flustered Do Ji-ui, he did not waver, introducing himself with swagger and radiating an extraordinary presence.

As an uncompromising, cool-headed ‘elite doctor’, Hyun Chi-yeon drove the tension of the story without filter. Regarding the island’s practice of habitually requesting house calls even for patients who are fully able to travel, he called it “irrational” and declared, “I will refuse house calls,” which left nurse Hwang Shin-hye (played by Joo In-young), the power broker of the clinic, reeling. His icy insistence on strict principles formed a perfect contrast with the easygoing oriental medicine doctor Yong Ju-cheon (played by Kim Yoon-woo) and the bumbling Do Ji-ui, doubling the fun of the drama.

With breathless emergency cases battering the Pyeondong Clinic and the addition of high-spec new face nurse Yuk Ha-ri (played by Shin Ye-eun), immersion deepened, and a twist was caught when the ever-icy Hyun Chi-yeon gave a slight smile at the sight of Ha-ri, piquing the curiosity of viewers.

Hyun Chi-yeon’s unflinching ‘straight-ahead charm’ shone in pitch-black darkness. When Do Ji-ui and Yuk Ha-ri set out on a house call, lost their way, and wandered the mountains late into the night, Hyun Chi-yeon made a dashing entrance on a quad bike like a savior. In particular, he drew unexpected laughs with his decisiveness as he coolly left Do Ji-ui behind and set off caring only for Yuk Ha-ri. While riding the bike, he casually asked Ha-ri, “Do you really not remember me?”, and through the ensuing flashback it was revealed that there is a hidden connection between the two, heightening curiosity about what comes next.

While Do Ji-ui, who had arrived first at the destination restaurant, and Park Chun-sik (played by Woo Hyun), who bore a grudge against him, were holding a drinking-capacity showdown as an initiation, Park, drunk, shattered a mirror and suffered a serious hand injury, creating an emergency. When the alcohol-impaired Do Ji-ui tried to suture it himself, Hyun Chi-yeon sharply put on the brakes, saying, “Treatment while intoxicated is prohibited and can lead to major problems later,” imprinting once again his image as a thoroughgoing stickler for rules.

At the end of the broadcast, a shot captured Hyun Chi-yeon watching with an enigmatic gaze as Do Ji-ui and Yuk Ha-ri once again headed out together on an urgent house call, driving curiosity to a peak about how this cold, icy heartthrob’s feelings and the currents around him might shift in the episodes to come.

Hong Min-gi proved his singular presence from the first week, not only with flawless looks but also by delicately expressing the character’s chic and cool-headed appeal. Attention now turns to the big and small incidents he will face, the changes in his emotions, and the feats he will achieve as a doctor within the unfamiliar setting of Pyeondong-do.

The ENA Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Doctor Somboy’, which highlights Hong Min-gi’s visual transformation and tightly wrought acting, airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 p.m.