White Tower (2007)

Okay-ish

You may think it's a medical drama like any other medical one but it leans heavily on the business/political aspect while being in a hospital setting. So don't expect the typical medical formula of patients/cases every few episodes.

There was a scene where every single doctor and personal in the hospital gathering to watch one operation, who's running the hospital then? The drama failed to keep hold of my attention since it didn't have any interesting elements other than the male lead being a semi bad guy. Some plot lines left unfinished or untouched like the infidelity one. The ending and the last two episodes felt forced to provoke some emotions and leave a stronger lasting impression by the viewers since all the prior episodes were lacking.

The drama had one of the weakest performances I've seen from Lee Sun Kyun. Keep in mind if you wanted to watch it that the remaster version, although it looks slightly better, it chops off scenes from every single episode.

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There is one thing you should know watching (Behind The) White Tower. Contrary to 95% of TV shows and movies, the main character, who's perspective we follow the most, is the antagonist. You don't quite realise it until the second half, but it's subtly stated through the election process. At first glance, we may see Chief Lee as the antagonist. Authority figures usually are in medical dramas. However if you look closely, every reason he has to be against Dr Jang Joon Hyuk is just. He is abhorrently arrogant, does have a tendency to choose his reputation over the patients and he was indeed a bad influence on his Juniors. Even during the election, Chief Lee was pushed into making an unethical choice to abstain from voting. All while keeping the politics of it all, somewhat clean. Relying on faith and connection's opposed to Jang Joon Hyuk, who bullied and bribed his way to the role. The difference is small but clear in hindsight. Our hero is the villain. And not an anti-hero either. Like I said, he is abhorrently arrogant again. And once he got the chief position, that only got worse and we went on a drama journey of right.

At heart, this is a social commentary on the struggle of doctors having to choose their ethics over the harsh system they are supposed to adhere to. The idea that you shouldn't admit a mistake to protect the reputation of yourself and the hospital, even just a little bit. The inner fight to choose a side is strong for anyone, and it's explored heavily through Dr Yeom Dong Il, an intern in the surgery department. But that aside, the political elements are vastly interesting as well. The idea of cliques and past relationships having so much effect. Choi Do Young - our conscience opposed to Jang Joon Hyuk - is plagued by that idea. No matter his values, he is expected to stick by Jang Joon Hyuk and his version of the truth. We see small elements of that in Vice-Director Woo (Played by Kim Chang Wan). He is on the side of Chief Lee, previously being wronged by Dr Jang but due to being friends with an ally of Dr Jang, he had to abandon that dislike to further his career. This brings many different, little threads to the table, giving this drama so much depth that you'd think on first viewing. That's thanks to masterful writing and direction (Lee Ki Won and Ahn Pan Seok respectively)

The acting perfectly complemented the subtlety of the show. I'm not quite sure where I heard this, but I once heard someone praise Kim Chang Wan’s acting for this very drama and I never thought anything of it but within a few screens, I remembered that statement. His sly facial expression, the movements in his eyes when he was plotting. Kim Chang Wan isn't the show's biggest character, plot wise, but he's fascinating to watch perform. He was quite mesmerising in any scene. He was one of many who were excellent in White Tower. Kim Myung Min as Jang Joon Hyuk, the ever reliable Lee Sun Kyun as Choi Do Young, Song Sun Mi as Lee Yoon Jin. The names I can list off tenfold.

It took me a while to find White Tower on the Internet, but that struggle was well worth it. It was an engrossing drama that had very interesting medical, ethical and political elements while very little tropes you can see elsewhere. Lee Yoon Jin and Choi Do Young are described as being very similar in this show by other characters. Both have a strong sense of justice. So, you'd expect there to be some romance between the two, right? That's not what transpires. Choi Do Young is a happily married man, who doesn't think of any other thoughts. Nor does Lee Yoon Jin. They are simply friends (through his wife) and want to help the bereaved Kwon family. Isn't that refreshing? That's what White Tower brings. Just a well rounded, excellent drama through and through.

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