Title: 힐러
English title: Healer
Genre: Thriller, Romance, Comedy, Drama
Episodes: 20
Network: KBS
After having come back from a trip to Korea over the Christmas break and stumbling across this amazing drama. I couldn’t wait until the series finished airing for me to get my hands on it!!
In all honesty, I’ve never watched a Ji Chang Wook drama before…I KNOW!! Shame on me but, like Lee Jong Suk, Ji Chang Wook is one of those actors that you only really stumble over (by accident in Empress Ki). When I learnt he would be involved in an action melodrama…I fan girl fainted!!
I don’t usually find many dramas that make me want to marathon the entire series, but when I do, I know that absolutely everyone has to at least give it a try.
A word of warning…DON’T start this series unless you have a lot of time on your hands, or miles of self restraint. I found myself STILL watching this at 3 in the morning just because it was getting to a good part (which happens a lot in this drama).
Over the 2014/2015 holiday period, there was an increase in dramas where main characters had multiple personalities, medical dramas or even now, were based on vampires. Healer breaks away from that a little bit, although Healer (played by Ji Chang Wook and character name Seo Jeong Hoo/Park Bong Soo) creates multiple personas as part of his job. Let’s break down the three main characters:
SEO JEONG HOO (서정후)
Codenamed Healer
Other Names: Park Bong Soo
Armed with high-tech devices, intelligence and martial arts skills, he is the leader in courier messenger services.
His dream is to save enough money to buy his own island in the South Pacific.
Having no other social contacts aside from ahjumma, his hoobae and the chicken delivery service, he led a very lonely existence until he met her.
From the first meeting, his life was no longer just about himself and he starts to learn things that change his future and shed light on the past.
KIM MOON HO (김문호)
A well known, ‘Star’ reporter envied by others as part of the 1% elite of the industry.
He feels a great sense of guilt over a tragedy from his childhood and sets out to find the truth about the incident.
Known for his bluntness and ideals about seeking to expose the truth, his faith in family and ideals of justice will be put to the test.
Will he find a sense of peace after he has met her? Or will things only get worse…
CHAE YONG SHIN (채영신)
A reporter at ‘Someday News’ who idolises Kim Moon Ho and dreams of becoming a legendary reporter just like him.
She chases after stories like a stalker and even through all the rigours and hardships of her job, will always keep a bright and smiling face.
As events unfold and become more dangerous. Her life is placed in the hands of a man she has never met.
As bit by bit, her past is revealed, so too is the connection between these three characters.
Just how are Healer, Kim Moon Ho and Chae Yong Shin connected to each other. To what lengths will the enemy go to keep this connection hidden.
The thing that I love most about this drama…is that there is no viable love rival and the main characters don’t spend a good 3/4 of the drama with misunderstandings between them.
Any misunderstandings that DO appear are solved within the episode. You don’t spend half the drama ready to punch a hole in the wall, because Yong Shin has decided to be petty about some supposed wrong doing that Healer may or may have not done.
At 20 Episodes, there is just enough deviation from the main plot line to keep the viewer interested at all times and yet not become too confused with multiple new characters being introduced.
The action scenes in this drama are quite different to the ones you may imagine in action exclusive genres. The style is more similar to parkour or, free running. There’s a lot more scaling buildings, roof running and tumbling than hand to hand combat. It’s refreshing, and also nice to know that quite a lot of the stunts were pulled off by Ji Chang Wook himself. Obviously the more rigorous scenes were done by a stunt double, but he did as much as he physically could.
Here’s a BTS:
IMO - Time4Drama 