Jo Hyun-jae boards MBC’s Hospital Ship for guest appearance

by javabeans

MBC’s upcoming doctors-at-sea drama Hospital Ship has lined up a guest appearance by Jo Hyun-jae (Yong-pal), and while no details have been given about the character other than his name being Jang Sung-ho, the show promises that the spot, while short, “will be significant and have a strong impact” in the show (…uh, does he die?).

Jo was reportedly approached with the offer by the drama’s writer, Yoon Sun-joo. He explained that even before reading the script, he able to readily agree to this appearance because he’d had faith in her prior dramas. Many of the headlines are referring to his guest spot as a “loyalty” appearance due to a connection with the writer, but as far as I can tell they haven’t worked together before: Past dramas from writer Yoon include Hwang Jin-yi and Immortal Lee Soon-shin, both very well-regarded historicals; more recent dramas include Hanbando and Secret Door.

Hospital Ship stars Ha Ji-won as a skilled surgeon who somehow loses her reputation and takes a job aboard the hospital ship, which provides care to under-served island communities. She’s the cold but competent doctor who could use a gentler bedside manner, while her younger colleague, played by Kang Min-hyuk (Entertainer), is the opposite, warm and compassionate. Lee Seo-won (Liar and His Lover) is her opposite in a different way, playing a doctor of Oriental medicine. I like both guys well enough though I can’t help but think Ha Ji-won is way out of their league as an actor; still, she’s certainly the center of the show, so maybe she’s all we really need.

Jo Hyun-jae hasn’t been as active as I’d wish, particularly after expanding his range by going dark and evil in Yong-pal. I think that really opened up a new side to him, and I’d like to see him in more dramas! So fine, I’ll take your measly cameo, if that’s all we can get for now.

Human medical drama Hospital Ship airs on MBC as a Wednesday-Thursday drama beginning August 30.

Via Star Daily News, TV Report

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