Dr. Romantic 3 Episode 13 Recap & Review, Explained

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Dr. Romantic Season 3 Episode 13 Recap

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❤️ Continuing from episode 12 of Dr. Romantic 3, Kang Dong-Ju returns to Doldham Hospital and is welcomed by everyone except Seo Woo-Jin and Cha Eun-Jae who seem to have had some past conflict with him, causing Cha Eun-Jae to avoid Kang Dong-Ju.

Kim Sabu wants Kang Dong-Ju to do what he thinks is right but not cross any boundaries, and also take on the position of acting director of the trauma center. This decision makes Yang Ho-Joon angry as he feels it’s unfair and goes to protest with Park Min-Guk while trying to convince Seo Woo-jin, who has previously argued with Kang Dong-ju, to persuade Kim Sabu to cancel this decision.

❤️During a meeting with core staff members, Kang Dong-ju mentions the principle of differentiating patients based on their injuries which will increase workload for Doldham Hospital. However, Kang doesn’t care about this point which surprises all core medical personnel.

❤️As expected, Doldham Hospital becomes extremely busy while the trauma center remains idle because Kang keeps sending patients directly to emergency rooms instead of referring them first.

The frustration among trauma center staff grows stronger until a few days later when an embolism patient needs urgent surgery in emergency room where Cha Eun-jae is needed despite being rejected by Kang earlier due her breaking rules.

When she hears that the patient’s heart has stopped beating she decides break rules again and enters into surgery room immediately.

❤️Meanwhile several car accident victims are sent over at once requiring attention from multiple doctors including those at the trauma center where there aren’t enough doctors available for all three patients simultaneously.

❤️In one operation led by Kang during which Seo Woo-jin assists him using surgical tools they fail save a patient’s life leading another more complex case needing joint thoracic surgeons’ intervention making it necessary for Kim Sabu seek Cha Eun-Jae’s help.

However, Seo Woo-jin takes the phone from Kang and tells him to focus on the patient in front of him instead of blaming doctors who are trying to save lives. As they argue over this point, Kim Sabu watches them from outside.

Dr. Romantic 3 Episode 13 Review

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Kang Dong-Ju’s return immediately showcased his strong abilities as the former acting director. In the first season of Dr. Romantic, Kang Dong-Ju clashed with Kim Sabu’s philosophy and even got into a physical fight with him.

However, Kim Sabu still recognized his capabilities. I think that Kang Dong-Ju is the most unique among all the doctor characters because he has his own principles and is not confined by Kim Sabu’s framework. This sets him apart from Seo Woo-Jin and Cha Eun-Jae.

The writers of Dr. Romantic 3 have consistently portrayed everyone in the hospital as fully embracing Kim Sabu’s “doctor duty to save people” philosophy and following in his footsteps completely.

They act like clones of Kim Sabu, willing to sacrifice themselves to save patients no matter what, which moves audiences and stirs their blood. Even in recent episodes, when Seo Woo-jin mentioned wanting to be just like him, Kim Sabu hinted that he didn’t want everyone pursuing or identifying with him so closely.

I think this is why initially agreeing to bring on Cha Jin-Man as head of trauma center was a good decision for Kim Sabu; it showed that he didn’t want everyone trying to copy him exactly. And now bringing on Kang Dong-ju as acting director creates another spark between them.

The writers/directors have clearly drawn lines around Kang Dong-ju’s responsibilities so that he can focus on what he needs to do while leaving other tasks for others who are better suited for them. From the beginning when Kang Dong-ju decided to separate trauma center from emergency room duties, nobody accepted it – this was where sparks started flying right away!

We can see that Kang Dong-Ju has a strong attitude towards principles and rules, which is completely different from Kim Sabu’s perspective. If it were Kim Sabu’s philosophy, he would perform surgery wherever the patient needs it, even outside of the hospital without regard for rules. This is why Cha Eun-Jae, who strongly believes in Kim Sabu’s philosophy, was the first to resist this approach. However, what does Kim Sabu plan to achieve with this?

I think it is about balancing between reality and ideals – Kang Dong-Ju and Kim Sabu have completely opposite ideas. I believe that when Kim Sabu brought in Kang Dong-Ju, it was to show everyone the importance of following norms, rules and procedures; these are the rules that must be followed first in medical systems.

It is impossible to create an ideal situation based solely on “romanticism“. The fact that Cha Eun-Jae went to perform surgery at the emergency room but wasn’t there when she was needed at an external trauma center shows us what Kang Dong-Jo wants us all to understand.

Kang Dong-Jo lets us know that some rules are established for a reason; this is also why he knew Seo Woo-jin injured his hand while working at a collapsed accident site and said: “That was really careless.

The most important tool for a surgeon isn’t their scalpel but their hands.” He was actually criticizing Seo Woo-jin for not following regulations by rushing into danger and getting hurt himself – ignoring regulations could cause greater harm as seen with Seo Woo-jin.

However, Is Kang Dong-ju really so amazing? Just dealing with serious injuries caused by car accidents presented him with a huge challenge. I think there were quite a few situations in this episode where they refused to call on Kim Sabu first; these children were trying to find ways of self-growth and independence while dealing with massive injuries.

I think this leadership change also allowed Kang Dong-Ju to learn that Cha Eun-Jae’s decision may be correct – sometimes crossing rigid rules can save lives in time. Human resource mobilization and cooperation, without dividing into “yours” or “mine”, is the real way to “save people”.

This is why Kang Dong-Ju accepted Seo Woo-jin’s help; his appearance was meant to tell us that mutual assistance among doctors is more useful than following rules every time. Not everyone on a medical team can handle danger like Kim Sabu does every time.

Kang Dong-Ju is a character who has always wanted to surpass Kim Sabu in the first season. This is also where Kim Sabu worries about Kang Dong-Ju: “Don’t be too eager to show off because of desire and impatience.”

Therefore, Seo Woo-Jin becomes a replica of Kim Sabu, telling Cha Eun-Jae not to be nervous during surgery and that he will find ways to stop bleeding before Cha Eun-Jae arrives. Seo Woo-Jin becomes someone else’s support just like how Kim Sabu does it. However, Kang Dong-Ju’s thoughts are not entirely without the shadow of Kim Sabu. In fact, Kang Dong-Ju knows that Kim Sabu’s philosophy is correct but “too romantic.”

Therefore, Kang Dong-ju also has his own understanding of philosophy. He once said that Kim Sabu was very arrogant and overconfident but only he could do what he did as himself; others would find it difficult to reach his level.

Thus, Kang Dong-ju’s return challenges the philosophy of Kim Sabu but not completely against him. Instead, he uses his own way to tell everyone that problem-solving doesn’t necessarily have to follow the path set by Kim Sabu.

I think this is why Kim Sabau entrusted everything in the trauma center with Kang Dong-ju using his own methods – Seo Woo-jin: “Is getting scolded necessary when saving people? No matter what rules we follow, we’re just practicing what we learned from KIm sabau.” Kang dong ju: “The only person who can achieve what kim sabau achieved in this world is himself; don’t blindly follow him or you might lose more than your hands next time.” Kang dong ju:”You may become our philosophy but never our goal because then we won’t achieve anything.”

Kim sabau once said: “As long as you understand a person, you can know what he is thinking. Knowing what he is thinking will naturally help you understand the meaning behind his words.”

In episode 13, we can already sense that Kang Dong-ju is about to bring a new wave of change. However, as mentioned earlier, Kang Dong-Ju does not oppose Kim Sabu but believes that his “romantic ideal” needs some restraint and facing reality. Therefore, Kang Dong-Ju practices it in his own way at the trauma center.

I think Kang Dong-Ju himself still carries Kim Sabu’s philosophy of putting patients first but doesn’t exhaust himself like Kim Sabu did. It’s just that Kang Dong-Ju has too much competitive spirit and always wants to surpass Kim Sabau which actually harms the team. Perhaps this time when Kang dong ju returns, it’s also for Kim sabau to teach him a lesson~