Life (South Korean TV series)

Life
Promotional poster
Hangul
라이프
RRRaipeu
MRRaip'ŭ
Genre
Written byLee Soo-yeon[1]
Directed by
  • Hong Jong-chan[2]
  • Im Hyun-wook
Starring
Music byLim Ha-young
Country of originSouth Korean
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producerOh Hwan-min
Producers
  • Min Hyun-il
  • Lee Sung-jin
Camera setupSingle camera
Production companies
Original release
NetworkJTBC
ReleaseJuly 23 (2018-07-23) –
September 11, 2018 (2018-09-11)

Life (Korean라이프) is a 2018 South Korean television series written by Lee Soo-yeon and directed by Hong Jong-chan, starring Lee Dong-wook, Cho Seung-woo and Won Jin-ah.[4] The series aired on JTBC from July 23 to September 11, 2018 and is also available for streaming on Netflix.[5][6][7][8]

Synopsis

At one of South Korea's top medical centers, ideals and interests collide between a patient-centered emergency medicine doctor and the hospital's newly-appointed CEO.

Cast

Main

An emergency medicine specialist.
CEO of Sangkook University Hospital.
A junior pediatric specialist.
Judge at the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and an orthopedic specialist. He is Ye Jin-woo's brother.
Chief of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.
Chief of the Neurosurgery Department and the Director of Sangkook University Hospital.

Recurring

  • Moon Sung-keun as Kim Tae-sang[16]
Chief of the Orthopedic Surgery Department and the Deputy Director of Sangkook University Hospital.
A psychiatrist and the former Director of Sangkook University Hospital.
  • Tae In-ho as Sunwoo Chang[18]
A coordinator at the Transplant Center.
Manager of Sangkook University Hospital.
  • Choi Yu-hwa as Choi Seo-hyun[19]
A reporter for the online newspaper Saegeul21.
Chief of the Cancer Center and former Deputy Director of Sangkook University Hospital.
Chief of the Emergency Department.
  • Jung Moon-sung as Jo Nam-hyung
Chairman of Hwajeong Group.
  • Choi Gwang-il as Jang Min-ki[18]
Chief of the Transplant Center.
  • Woo Mi-hwa as Kim Jung-hee[21]
Chief of the Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department.
  • Park Min-gwan as Ko Young-jae
Chief of the Pediatric Surgery Department.
  • Jung Hee-tae as Seo Ji-yong[22]
Chief of the Ophthalmology Department.
  • Kim Do-hyun as Kang Yoon-mo[23]
Chief of the Plastic Surgery Department.
  • Hwang In-joon as Choi Young-jin
An anesthesiologist.
  • Lee Hyun-kyun as Lee Hyeon-gyun[24]
Director of the Restructuring Team at Sangkook University Hospital.
  • Lee Sang-hee as Kim Eun-ha[25]
A nurse at the Emergency Department.
  • Son Min-ji as Ahn Hyun-i[26]
A nurse at the Emergency Department.
  • Han Min as Park Jae-hyuk[27]
An emergency medicine resident.

Extended

  • Lee Kyu-sung as Kyu-sung
  • Oh Hye-won as Mrs. Jung
A member of the Health Insurance and Assessment Committee.
  • Yoo In-soo as Choi Woo-jin
A resident at the Cancer Center.
  • Park Ji-yeon as Lee So-jung[28]
A nurse at the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.
  • Nam Gi-ae as the mother of Jin-woo and Sun-woo
  • Shin Sung-min as the driver

Production

The first script reading was held on March 29, 2018 at the JTBC building, in Sangam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.[4]

Original soundtrack

Life
OST
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released2018 (2018)
GenreSoundtrack
Language
Label

Part 1

Released on July 23, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Home"Brand Newjiq
  • Han Kwan-hee
  • Song Young-min
  • Park Sang-joon
Ha Dong-kyun3:46
Total length:3:46

Part 2

Released on August 6, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Close Your Eyes"
  • Jeong Jun-ho
  • March
  • Kim Ah-reum
Somebody's TaleSojin (Girl's Day)3:32
Total length:3:32

Part 3

Released on August 20, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Silence"
  • The Name
  • Choi Sung-il
  • Min Yeon-jae
  • The Name
  • Choi Sung-il
Soyou3:31
Total length:3:31

Part 4

Released on August 27, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Going Home (귀가)"Jo Kyu-chanJo Kyu-chanJeon Woo-sung (Noel)3:51
Total length:3:51

Part 5

Released on September 3, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Bye"ZUWANZUWANZUWAN3:17
Total length:3:17

Part 6

Released on September 11, 2018
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Fine (잘 지내요)"Jung Seung-hwanLee Jin-ahJung Seung-hwan3:43
Total length:3:43

Viewership

Life : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)
SeasonEpisode numberAverage
12345678910111213141516
1993108110721036100110409341137112211741051117410851155115113321096
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Media Research.[29]
Average TV viewership ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
AGB Nielsen[30]
Nationwide Seoul
1 July 23, 2018 4.334% 5.232%
2 July 24, 2018 4.971% 5.631%
3 July 30, 2018 4.601% 5.308%
4 July 31, 2018 4.493% 4.906%
5 August 6, 2018 4.328% 5.158%
6 August 7, 2018 4.466% 5.460%
7 August 13, 2018 4.116% 4.906%
8 August 14, 2018 4.591% 5.509%
9 August 20, 2018 4.538% 5.728%
10 August 21, 2018 5.150% 6.353%
11 August 27, 2018 4.532% 5.586%
12 August 28, 2018 5.310% 6.483%
13 September 3, 2018 4.920% 5.894%
14 September 4, 2018 5.093% 6.403%
15 September 10, 2018 4.751% 5.759%
16 September 11, 2018 5.561% 6.795%
Average 4.735% 5.694%
Special July 17, 2018 1.525% 1.7%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2018 6th APAN Star Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Cho Seung-woo Nominated [31][32]
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Lee Dong-wook Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Yoo Jae-myung Won
Best Screenwriter Lee Soo-yeon Won
2nd The Seoul Awards Best Drama Life Nominated [33]
Best Actor Cho Seung-woo Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Moon So-ri Won

References

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  2. ^ 홍종찬 감독, JTBC 드라마 '라이프' 연출 확정(공식). TenAsia (in Korean). February 26, 2018. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. ^ 씨그널엔터테인먼트, JTBC 드라마 '라이프' 계약 체결. The Asia Business Daily (in Korean). March 21, 2018. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  4. ^ a b 조승우·이동욱 '라이프', 대본 리딩부터 빈틈없다…이미 완성형 캐릭터. MBN (in Korean). April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "'Antigen-antibody reaction' between Lee Dong-wook, Cho Seung-woo". Kpop Herald. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
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  7. ^ "'Life' takes viewers behind-the-scenes of hospital". The Korea Times. July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "Netflix picks up JTBC medical drama 'Life'". Korea JoongAng Daily. August 4, 2018. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
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  22. ^ 정희태, JTBC '라이프' 합류…안과 센터장役. TenAsia (in Korean). April 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
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  28. ^ 에스더블유엠피 on Instagram: "박지연 배우님 '낭만닥터 김사부'에 이어 JTBC 의학드라마 '라이프'에 출연하게 되었습니다 👏🏻 배우 이동욱님 조승우님 등 화려한 라인업으로 박지연 배우님 어떤 모습을 보여주실지 많이 기대해주세요 😁 . #배우박지연 #SWMP #에스더블유엠피 #박지연 #메디컬드라마 #오늘도열일 #불금 #JTBC #이동욱 #조승우 #드라마라이프 #라이프".
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  33. ^ Sung, Jung-eun (September 28, 2018). 더서울어워즈` 드라마·영화 부문별 후보 공개...이병헌·조승우·손예진·김남주 `쟁쟁`. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.