# Hospital Ship (병원선) (TV series)
**Hospital Ship** (병원선) is a 2017 South Korean medical drama broadcast by MBC, in which doctors in their thirties serve remote island communities from a floating hospital ship. MBC's official page credits the director as Park Jae-bum (박재범) and the writer as Yoon Sun-joo (윤선주), with [Ha Ji-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/ha-ji-won) (하지원), [Kang Min-hyuk](https://www.edgepedia.org/kang-min-hyuk) (강민혁), [Lee Seo-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-seo-won) (이서원), Kim In-sik (김인식), and Kwon Min-a (권민아) starring.[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) The series ran for 40 episodes from August 30 to November 2, 2017, airing Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 as two roughly 35-minute episodes per day.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 병원선[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Network and run | MBC, 40 episodes, August 30 – November 2, 2017, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) • [3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) |
| Writer / director | Written by Yoon Sun-joo (윤선주); MBC credits director Park Jae-bum (박재범)[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) |
| Leads | Ha Ji-won as surgeon Song Eun-jae; Kang Min-hyuk (CNBLUE) as internist Kwak Hyun[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) • [3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) |
| Premise | Doctors aboard a hospital ship with limited equipment serve islands lacking medical infrastructure[3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) |
| Ratings | Episode 1: 10.8% (TNmS) / 10.6% (AGB) nationwide; peak about 13.0% AGB (episode 8); finale 7.4% / 8.6%[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Awards | Ha Ji-won, Best Actress (miniseries) at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Japanese broadcast | 病院船～ずっと君のそばに～ on BS TV Tokyo; TV Hokkaido rebroadcast from August 11, 2023[4](https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/byouinsen/intro/) • [5](https://www.tv-hokkaido.co.jp/cinema/byouinsen/1_180.php) |
## Plot and characters
MBC's synopsis frames the series as "a humble clinic on the sea" (바다 위의 소박한 진료소), a coming-of-age medical drama about doctors who board a hospital ship to treat island villages that lack medical infrastructure.[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) • [3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) The producers specified that the ship carries limited medical equipment and no emergency surgical equipment, because its doctors are recent graduates fulfilling military service as public health doctors.[3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005)
**Main roles.** Ha Ji-won plays Song Eun-jae (송은재), a perfectionist surgeon who, per the synopsis, "holds skill instead of tears"; Yonhap noted it was her first doctor role, at age 39. Kang Min-hyuk, then 26, plays the volunteering internist Kwak Hyun (곽현), whose father is called the "Korean Schweitzer." The synopsis also names Kim Jae-geol (김재걸), a Korean-medicine doctor.[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) • [3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) The supporting cast includes Lee Seo-won, Kim In-sik, Kim Kwang-kyu, Jung Kyung-soon, Lee Han-wi, Kwon Min-a, and Jang Seo-won.[3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) The Japanese licensed edition adds the character Cha Joon-young (차준영), a dentist, alongside Kim Jae-geol as the public-health doctors who draw the hospital ship as their worst assignment.[5](https://www.tv-hokkaido.co.jp/cinema/byouinsen/1_180.php)
**Later plot themes.** Near the finale the drama incorporated contemporary medical issues: a conglomerate's telemedicine venture threatening the ship's operation, patients marginalized by money and power, and doctors who did their best for a life but became entangled in a medical lawsuit. In the story, Song Eun-jae and Kwak Hyun faced a lawsuit after aiding an emergency childbirth, and the ship's operation was suspended amid a dispute with Doo-sung Group chairman Jang Tae-joon (장태준), played by Jung Dong-hwan (정동환).[6](https://www.spotvnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=172706)
## Production
**Origin and research.** Writer Yoon Sun-joo, previously credited with *Hwang Jin Yi*, *The Great King Sejong*, and *The Gate of Secret* (비밀의 문), conceived the series after seeing a documentary about hospital ships seven years earlier. In August 2015 she boarded the real hospital ship Chungnam 501 (충남 501) at Daecheon and stayed aboard for about a month to research; trips to the islands for clinics typically took two to three hours. She framed the island as a symbol of isolation, hoping the drama would offer solidarity and comfort to people "floating like islands."[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/212190) • [3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) The production received medical consultation from Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital (순천향대학교 부천병원).[7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/212190)
**Filming and casting.** The drama was filmed on location in Geoje (거제시), where a conventional ship was converted into the hospital ship set; Ha Ji-won said she rented an apartment on Geoje for the shoot.[3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) The first script reading was held on July 6, 2017 at MBC's Sangam station; per AsianWiki, Choi Jin-hyuk was first offered the lead male role but declined before Kang Min-hyuk was cast.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
## Broadcast and reception
The series premiered on August 30, 2017 at 10 p.m. as MBC's new Wednesday-Thursday drama, taking over the timeslot from *Man Who Dies to Live* (죽어야 사는 남자); it was followed by *I'm Not a Robot* on December 6, 2017.[3](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
**Ratings trajectory.** Per TNS Media Korea and AGB Nielsen tables compiled by AsianWiki, episode 1 scored 10.8% (TNmS) and 10.6% (AGB) nationwide. The peak came early, at about 13.0% AGB nationwide for episode 8 on September 7, 2017 (11.8% TNmS). Episodes 21–22 on October 4 fell to the run's low, about 5.5–6.8% depending on the agency, and the finale on November 2 scored 7.4% (TNmS) / 8.6% (AGB) nationwide.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) In its first week the drama ranked second on the Content Power Index (CPI) for August 28 to September 3, 2017, with a score of 257.5.[8](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170912003200315)
**Positioning among medical dramas.** Yonhap noted that the series differentiates itself from prior Korean medical dramas by taking place on a floating hospital ship that travels around islands lacking health care facilities.[8](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170912003200315) A 2023 viewer review on the AsianWiki page judged the series entertaining but well below *Dr. Romantic*, while finding the hospital-ship premise interesting; this is a single audience review rather than a published critical consensus.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
## By the numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Premiere (episode 1, Aug 30, 2017) | 10.8% TNmS / 10.6% AGB nationwide[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Peak (episode 8, Sept 7, 2017) | about 13.0% AGB nationwide; 11.8% TNmS[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Run low (episodes 21–22, Oct 4, 2017) | about 5.5–6.8% nationwide[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Finale (Nov 2, 2017) | 7.4% TNmS / 8.6% AGB nationwide[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
| Content Power Index (Aug 28–Sept 3, 2017) | second place, score 257.5[8](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170912003200315) |
| Awards | Ha Ji-won, Best Actress (miniseries), 2017 MBC Drama Awards (Dec 30, 2017); Kwon Min-a, Hallyu Star Award, 10th Korea Drama Awards (Oct 2, 2017)[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship) |
The shape of the run is a strong start that decayed through the middle and partially recovered at the end: the premiere drew about 1.5 times the finale's TNmS figure, and the low point in early October was about half the premiere rating.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
## International distribution and legacy
The series was licensed for Japanese broadcast by BS TV Tokyo under the title 病院船～ずっと君のそばに～ (Hospital Ship: Always by Your Side). The Japanese page describes Ha Ji-won taking her first doctor role after a 20-year career and Kang Min-hyuk of CNBLUE in his first dual lead role.[4](https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/byouinsen/intro/) TV Hokkaido aired episode 1, "病院船に導かれし者" (Those Guided to the Hospital Ship), on August 11, 2023, showing the series still circulating on Japanese television six years after its Korean run.[5](https://www.tv-hokkaido.co.jp/cinema/byouinsen/1_180.php)
**Director credit.** MBC's official program page lists the director solely as Park Jae-bum, while AsianWiki lists two directors, Park Jae-bum and Kim Sang-woo.[1](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
## References
1. [병원선 (Hospital Ship) :: MBC Global Media](https://content.mbc.co.kr/program/drama/3077729_64284.html)
2. [Hospital Ship – AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Hospital_Ship)
3. ['메디컬드라마의 새로운 무대 개척'…하지원 주연 '병원선', 연합뉴스 (Yonhap), August 28, 2017](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20170828002700005)
4. [番組紹介｜韓ドラ☆ 病院船～ずっと君のそばに～｜ＢＳテレ東](https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/byouinsen/intro/)
5. [病院船 : TVh テレビ北海道](https://www.tv-hokkaido.co.jp/cinema/byouinsen/1_180.php)
6. ['병원선'이 전한 '생명선'의 존재 이유, 스포티비뉴스](https://www.spotvnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=172706)
7. [윤선주 작가가 3년만의 차기작으로 <병원선>을 결정한 이유!, iMBC](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/212190)
8. [New medical series 'Hospital Ship' ranks second on weekly TV chart, Yonhap News English, September 12, 2017](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170912003200315)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Medical, legal, and workplace series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license