The King's Doctor

"Horse Doctor" redirects here. For a physician who treats animals, see Veterinarian.

The King's Doctor (Korean: 마의; Hanja: 馬醫; RR: Ma-ui; lit. Horse Doctor) is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. 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.^[1]

The King's Doctor
Promotional poster
Also known as	Horse Doctor The Horse Healer
Genre	Historical Medical drama
Written by	Kim Yi-young
Directed by	Lee Byung-hoon Choi Jung-gyu
Starring	Cho Seung-woo Lee Yo-won
Composers	Kim Jun-seok Jung Se-rin
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	50
Production
Cinematography	Kim Young-cheol Kim Hyeong-geun
Running time	70 minutes
Production companies	Kim Jong-hak Production AStory
Original release
Network	Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Release	October 1, 2012 (2012-10-01) – March 25, 2013 (2013-03-25)

Korean name
Hangul	마의
Hanja	馬醫
Revised Romanization	Ma-ui
McCune–Reischauer	Maŭi

Filmed at MBC Dramia in Gyeonggi Province,^[2] The King's Doctor was directed by Lee Byung-hoon, known for his previous works Hur Jun, Jewel in the Palace, Yi San and Dong Yi.^[3] This marked the first television drama for actor Cho Seung-woo in his 13-year film and stage career.^[4]

Plot

The life of a Joseon-era low-class veterinarian specializing in the treatment of horses, who rises to become the royal physician in charge of the King's health.^[5]

Cast

Main characters

• Cho Seung-woo as Baek Kwang-hyun^[6]
  • Ahn Do-gyu as young Kwang-hyun
• Lee Yo-won as Kang Ji-nyeong^[7]
  • Roh Jeong-eui as young Ji-nyeong/Young-dal
• Son Chang-min as Lee Myung-hwan
• Yoo Sun as Jang In-joo
• Lee Sang-woo as Lee Sung-ha
  • Nam Da-reum as young Lee Sung-ha
• Lee Soon-jae as Ko Joo-man
• Han Sang-jin as King Hyeonjong
• Kim So-eun as Princess Sukhwi
• Jo Bo-ah as Seo Eun-seo

Supporting characters

• Kang Ki-young as Horse Doctor
• Kim Chang-wan 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 as Queen Inseon
• Lee Hee-do as Choo Ki-bae
• Maeng Sang-hoon as Oh Jang-bak
• Ahn Sang-tae as Ja-bong
• In Gyo-jin as Kwon Suk-chul
• Jang Hee-woong [ko] as Yoon Tae-joo
• Yoon Bong-gil [ko] as Park Dae-mang
• Choi Beom-ho [ko] as Jo Jung-chul
• Shin Gook as Shin Byung-ha
• Ahn Yeo-jin [ko] as Court Lady Kwak
• Lee Kwan-hoon [ko] as Ma Do-heum
• Lee Ga-hyun as Queen Myeongseong
• Joo Jin-mo as Sa-am
• Uhm Hyun-kyung as So Ka-young
• Park Hyuk-kwon as Baek Seok-gu
• Hwang Young-hee as Baek Seok-gu's wife
• Yoon Hee-seok as Seo Doo-shik
• Kim Young-im [ko] as Jo Bi
• Oh Eun-ho [ko] 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
• Lee Sook [ko] 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
• Jeon Heon-tae [ko] as doctor at royal horse stable
• Kim Ho-young as Oh Kyu-tae
• Na Jae-kyun [ko] as First Secretary
• So Hyang as Kyu-soo
• Jung Dong-gyu as Shim Moon-kwan
• Kim Tae-jong [ko] as Ji-pyung
• Lee Jong-goo as Lee Myung-hwan's stepfather
• Yang Han-yeol as young Ji-nyeong's friend
• Oh Jung-tae [ko] as Doo-mok
• Kang Shin-jo [ko] as Guru Uigeumbu
• Shin Joon-young as Byun
• Kim Ik-tae [ko] as Joseon's officer
• Choi Eun-seok as Joseon's officer
• Ki Yeon-ho [ko] as Joseon's officer
• Park Gi-san as Joseon's officer
• Song Yong-tae [ko] as Joseon's officer

Guest appearances

• Jung Gyu-woon as Crown Prince Sohyeon
• Kyung Soo-jin as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Kang clan
• Sunwoo Jae-duk as King Injo
• Choi Deok-moon as King Hyojong
• Kwon Tae-won [ko] as Kim Ja-jeom
• Jang Young-nam as Do-joon's wife and Kwang-hyun's mother
• Seo Hyun-jin as So-yong Jo, later Gwi-in Jo
• Jo Deok-hyun [ko] as Lee Hyung-ik
• Song Min-hyung [ko] as Boo Tae-soo
• Lee Hee-jin as Woo-hee
• Im Byung-ki [ko] as Soo-bo, Woo-hee's older brother
• Yoon Jin-ho [ko] as Choi Hyun-wook
• Park Young-ji [ko] as Hong Yoon-shik
• Kang Han-byeol as little crown prince, later King Sukjong
• Jung Yoon-seok as the child (ep 8)

Episode ratings

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

Original broadcast date	Episode	Average audience share
		TNmS Ratings[8]		AGB Nielsen[9]
		Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area	Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area
2012-10-01	01	10.0% (15th)	11.7% (8th)	8.7% (16th)	9.1% (17th)
2012-10-02	02	12.5% (9th)	13.1% (7th)	9.7% (15th)	10.7% (10th)
2012-10-08	03	5.9% (NR)	6.9% (NR)	6.6% (NR)	7.6% (NR)
2012-10-09	04	9.2% (17th)	9.2% (19th)	10.0% (12th)	11.0% (11th)
2012-10-15	05	11.7% (14th)	13.4% (5th)	10.4% (13th)	12.1% (8th)
2012-10-16	06	12.5% (7th)	12.6% (6th)	12.9% (6th)	13.9% (5th)
2012-10-22	07	15.0% (3rd)	16.1% (3rd)	14.3% (4th)	15.6% (3rd)
2012-10-23	08	15.3% (5th)	16.9% (4th)	14.3% (5th)	16.9% (3rd)
2012-10-29	09	13.1% (4th)	14.8% (4th)	13.4% (3rd)	15.2% (3rd)
2012-10-30	10	14.0% (9th)	16.0% (5th)	13.5% (7th)	15.1% (5th)
2012-11-05	11	14.5% (5th)	16.0% (4th)	14.7% (4th)	15.9% (4th)
2012-11-06	12	15.5% (4th)	17.1% (4th)	15.4% (4th)	16.8% (4th)
2012-11-12	13	13.8% (9th)	14.0% (5th)	14.6% (4th)	16.4% (4th)
2012-11-13	14	16.4% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	16.8% (4th)	18.5% (3rd)
2012-11-19	15	15.7% (5th)	17.9% (4th)	17.8% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)
2012-11-20	16	16.7% (4th)	17.4% (4th)	18.1% (3rd)	20.3% (3rd)
2012-11-26	17	17.0% (4th)	19.1% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2012-11-27	18	17.8% (4th)	19.9% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-03	19	19.1% (4th)	21.4% (3rd)	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2012-12-04	20	18.7% (2nd)	21.7% (1st)	17.8% (2nd)	19.1% (1st)
2012-12-10	21	17.6% (3rd)	19.7% (1st)	16.0% (4th)	17.5% (2nd)
2012-12-11	22	17.4% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	17.4% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)
2012-12-17	23	17.5% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)	19.0% (3rd)
2012-12-18	24	18.0% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	18.9% (3rd)	20.6% (2nd)
2012-12-24	25	17.2% (3rd)	19.3% (3rd)	17.1% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)
2012-12-25	26	20.2% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	19.1% (3rd)	19.9% (3rd)
2013-01-01	27	18.1% (3rd)	20.0% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.4% (3rd)
2013-01-07	28	18.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)	16.6% (3rd)	17.7% (3rd)
2013-01-08	29	20.3% (3rd)	22.1% (2nd)	18.3% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
2013-01-14	30	18.9% (3rd)	21.1% (3rd)	18.1% (3rd)	19.5% (3rd)
2013-01-15	31	20.5% (3rd)	23.0% (2nd)	19.2% (3rd)	20.4% (3rd)
2013-01-21	32	19.4% (3rd)	21.3% (2nd)	20.1% (3rd)	21.8% (3rd)
2013-01-22	33	20.7% (3rd)	22.9% (2nd)	20.0% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-01-28	34	19.4% (3rd)	22.2% (2nd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.1% (3rd)
2013-01-29	35	21.5% (3rd)	24.4% (2nd)	21.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)
2013-02-04	36	22.8% (3rd)	24.8% (2nd)	22.4% (3rd)	24.2% (2nd)
2013-02-05	37	24.2% (2nd)	26.7% (2nd)	23.7% (3rd)	25.8% (2nd)
2013-02-11	38	20.8% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.3% (3rd)	20.7% (3rd)
2013-02-12	39	19.5% (4th)	22.2% (3rd)	20.3% (2nd)	22.7% (2nd)
2013-02-18	40	21.2% (3rd)	24.1% (2nd)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-02-19	41	19.7% (3rd)	22.5% (2nd)	18.1% (4th)	19.0% (4th)
2013-02-25	42	20.6% (3rd)	23.3% (3rd)	19.6% (3rd)	22.0% (3rd)
2013-02-26	43	20.0% (3rd)	21.5% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)	21.9% (3rd)
2013-03-04	44	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)	18.4% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-05	45	18.8% (3rd)	20.5% (2nd)	18.5% (4th)	20.4% (2nd)
2013-03-11	46	19.6% (3rd)	21.7% (3rd)	18.8% (3rd)	20.6% (3rd)
2013-03-12	47	18.9% (4th)	21.0% (4th)	19.4% (3rd)	21.4% (3rd)
2013-03-18	48	18.0% (5th)	20.5% (4th)	18.8% (3rd)	20.9% (3rd)
2013-03-19	49	17.9% (5th)	19.6% (5th)	19.1% (4th)	21.1% (3rd)
2013-03-25	50	17.2% (4th)	18.4% (5th)	17.8% (4th)	20.2% (3rd)
Average		17.3%	-	17.1%	-

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2012	MBC Drama Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)[10]	Cho Seung-woo	Won
		Best Drama	The King's Doctor	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Cho Seung-woo	Won
			Son Chang-min	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama	Lee Yo-won	Nominated
			Yoo Sun	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama	Han Sang-jin	Nominated
			Lee Sang-woo	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Project Drama	Kim Hye-sun	Nominated
		Best New Actress	Kim So-eun	Won

International broadcast

Country	Channel	Series premiere	Title
Japan	NHK[11][12]	2013	馬医 (Umai)
Vietnam	SCTV Phim tổng hợp	October 2013	Ngự y của hoàng đế
Mongolia	Channel 25	November 2013	Морины эмч (Morinii emch)
Sri Lanka	Rupavahini	November 2013	ඉසිවර වෙදැදුරු (Isiwara Wedaduru)
Cambodia	Cambodian Television Network	December 2013	ពេទ្យសេះម្ចាស់ស្នេហ៍ (Pet Seh Mchas Sne)
Indonesia	Indosiar	November 2014	King's Doctor
Philippines	GMA Network	June 2015
Turkey	TRT 1	2013