Pursuing an old dream and understanding the excitement does not always equate to the corresponding challenges is the biggest takeaway from Doctor Cha.
The series provides a meaningful reminder that rediscovering self-worth and regaining self-esteem are gifts that we can give ourselves without permission from other people.
- Main Leads: Uhm Jung Hwa | Kim Byung Chul |
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- K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: Romance is a Bonus Book | Crash Course In Romance |
abbyinhallyuland watched Doctor Cha on Netflix
Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 & 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 & 12 | 13 & 14 | Finale Week Highlight + Series Review |
Doctor Cha Finale Week Highlights
Jeong-suk’s liver situation is looking bleak and she needs to have surgery as soon as possible.
Both In-ho and Dr. Kim offer themselves to become her donor but she refuses their offer.
Mulling over his wrong choices, In-ho signed the divorce paper and insists on giving his liver to his wife. Dr. Kim performs the surgery successfully.
Meanwhile, Seung-hee finds a new passion in managing a hospice hospital.
After surgery, Jeong-suk politely turns down Dr. Kim’s intention to be together and devotes her time to living life to the fullest.
Three years after, In-ho is seen helping Seung-hee with surgery requests involving the elders in her hospital. He also attends to Jeong-suk’s request to lend a hand when she does volunteer work for the elderly.
Jeong-suk has since become a Family Medicine specialist while running a restaurant serving healthy dishes in a new neighborhood with her mother. Aside from learning new skills, and doing what she’s best at, she also devotes her time to making a difference and choosing to see the beautiful things in life.
Doctor Cha Quick Plot Recap
Doctor Cha navigates the story of a housewife of 20 years whose near-death encounter pushed her to aspire in continuing her halted career in medicine.
She then applies as a first-year resident at the Department of Family Medicine where her husband and son also work.
Unaware that her husband is having an affair with his first love who is also working in the same hospital, she makes a decision to fully love herself and give love to people who really matters to her and are really genuinely caring to her.
Doctor Cha Series Highlights
Encouraging Life Lessons
Stunningly captured lessons on thriving despite life setbacks made the focal character of Doctor Cha shine.
Cha Jeong-suk strongly asserted the idea that claiming a personal dream you put on hold should never have an expiration date. Albeit the harsh realities she had to endure, she did not let them ruin her desire to enjoy the true meaning of life.
Apart from that, her compassion to understand loved ones who caused her pain is admirable and a reminder that relationship endings can also take a mature course. Just like how she has a harmonious relationship with In-ho after the divorce.
Ending on a pragmatic and happy note, the series showed the flawed characters redeem themselves to leave encouragement that past mistakes can never take the pain away. But acknowledging and opting to change is the best thing you can do to compensate for it.
Protecting self-worth is another resonating message in the story as we saw most of the characters unfortunately unable to be at peace with their definitions of happiness.
Just like how Jeong-suk in the process of being a mother and a wife has set aside thay she also has her own life to live. Similarly, Seung-hee has chosen a secret relationship to a married man blinded to the idea that she needs In-ho to feel complete.
Inspiring Messages On Keeping Functional Relationships
Lucky for Jeong-suk, her sincerity and attitude toward communicating her emotions have helped her rediscover her passion and purpose.
Doctor Cha underlines the importance of having trusted friends and building new connections that matter. It also gives the opposing scenarios of parent-child relationships that we should be mindful of.
As seen in the opportunities that In-ho’s mother missed while raising In-ho and how Jeong-suk’s admirable merits can be credited to how she was nurtured with love and proper guidance by her mother.
We also see the blessing of friendship given to Jeong-suk who has a reliable and trusted bestie in the narrative. The scene in the last episode where she included a moment to meet her before her surgery speaks about how to properly value lifetime friendship.
It is important to let our friends know that we are thankful for their support and love.
Doctor Cha Series Musings
Consistently sprinkling the series with ample career, life and love lessons, Doctor Cha prescribes purposeful healing to its viewers. If you have problematic friends who struggle to accept that there are marriages or relationships that are not worth saving, this series can enlighten them to the idea that endings do not equate to bitterness, but new beginnings.
Jeong-suk’s decision to turn down Doctor Kim might hurt the viewers rooting for her to claim a new love. But since day 1, the series has been moving to a life-rebooting story that does not involve romance.
Often mistresses are pictured to have this unreasonable belief that pulling we-are-in-love cards is acceptable. In the case of Seung-hee, armed with the truth that she is In-ho’s first love, it made her more blind to understand that her relationship is still deemed unacceptable by societal and moral standards.
Thankfully, just like In-ho, she claimed a noteworthy saving grace that can inspire people in the same predicament to be brave in taking one decision at a time to change a life that can still be salvaged.
Notably, Doctor Cha has been raising typical problems a woman faces. Jeong-suk has also embodied the tenacity and vulnerability of women to choose self-sacrifice as it is an innate attitude, especially for mothers.
We also see her calm and collected despite facing a streak of setbacks. Conquering the odds to work on her forgotten dream, from there, she rediscovered her own happiness as a person.
“I’m grateful for everything I’m able to see because I’m alive. So, I believe that I’m happy at this moment as it is.” – Cha jeong-suk
Be inspired to commit to personally made happiness like Cha Jeong Suk in Doctor Cha! International fans can watch it on Netflix!
Photos: JTBC Drama
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