Heo Jun episode 11 Dr Heo Jun?

Heo Jun’s reputation as a skilled doctor spreads and patients start lining up to see him. Unfortunately, Do Ji and Mum hear about this too and are not pleased. He is summoned to the hospital and interrogated over what he’s been doing. But what starts off badly ends up in promotion as once again Heo Jun shows that he really does have some skills! 🙂  

Two parents have brought in their critically ill daughter begging Heo Jun to heal her. The patient tried to commit suicide by hanging and her body is lifeless. Nothing Heo Jun tries seems to work and the patient’s father grabs Heo Jun in a panic convinced that he has killed his daughter. But then Heo Jun suddenly remembers something and sends Yang Tae to go and find a rooster! He kills the rooster (with his teeth! Blood everywhere) and drips the blood from the dead bird into the patient’s mouth. Then (yes, there’s more) he orders Yang Tae to make a mixture of rooster poo (yes, POO) and alcohol. (goodness! 😕 ) and he blows the concoction up the patient’s nose. (Don’t ask!) But still the patient is unresponsive.

The patient’s parents watch in despair as Heo Jun tries to save their daughter

But wait. Not so fast. She’s alive! And as the patient starts to recover we learn that she tried to commit suicide because she has a terrible, a VERY TERRIBLE and DEBILITATING DISEASE….. wait for it, yes, the lady has …. well, B.O! 😳 (so in Joseon this was worth committing suicide over? ) She was supposed to get married, but was too embarrassed.

But have no fear, Heo Jun has a cure – a little unconventional possibly, but anyway here goes: between 3 and 5 o’clock in the morning cover the arm pit hair with pork, and drink liquorice root (Not a cure I’ve heard of, but  I might have to give it a go. Why waste money on deodorant?). The family take his advice and leave. But Heo Jun refuses to accept the rings they offer him as payment for the treatment. And then he sends Yang Tae to apologise to the people they had to steal the rooster from!

Heo Jun miraculously manages to save the patient

Heo Jun falls asleep at the clinic (probably after being up most of the night treating patients.) Dr Yoo turns up and sees him sleeping but says nothing. Oh Gun has realised that Heo Jun knows a lot and asks him how to treat a patient with a fever who is not getting any better. Heo Jun tells him to throw cold water over him! It works!

Oh Gun asks Heo Jun to help him with a patient even though Oh Gun has been at the clinic for 10 years! 

Heo Jun’s patient’s parents tell everyone what he did and the word spreads. He treats more patients – sucking out pus with his mouth, and thinking up cheap prescriptions as the patients have no money. He won’t accept money but people start bringing things to thank him – like live chickens and sesame oil.

But miserable Koo Ilsu’s wife doesn’t like to see anyone else doing well and is peeved that Heo Jun may start getting rich if his fame continues. So she mentions to Dr Yoo’s wife that Heo Jun is pretending to be a doctor. The other workers hear about this from other sources too and quickly tell Do Ji the same thing. But Do Ji can’t believe it because he doesn’t think Heo Jun has ‘any skills’. (Oh, Do Ji 🙄 ) 

Koo Ilsu’s wife and Heo Jun’s coworkers all try to get him in trouble

Heo Jun is only treating the poor patients who can’t afford to pay, but still Dr Yoo’s wife is worried that he is taking patients (money) from them. When he gets to the clinic, the workers are waiting for him and beat him up to punish him. Do Ji and his mum interrogate Heo Jun. But in the middle of it all, Dr Yoo and Ye Jin turn up. Dr Yoo is angry too when he hears what’s been going on but for a completely different reason to his wife. He’s worried about the patients since Heo Jun is not a qualified doctor. He tells Heo Jun to bring his patient records and prescriptions to him. Everybody smirks thinking Heo Jun is in for it. Only Ye Jin looks on with dismay.

Dr Yoo is impressed with Heo Jun’s answers

Heo Jun rushes home to pick up the prescriptions not realising that Da Hee is in pain and going into labour. Da Hee hides her pain from him. But she collapses after Heo Jun rushes off back to the clinic with his papers. He gets interrogated while his wife struggles at home in labour. But luckily, and to everyone else’s annoyance, Dr Yoo is impressed with Heo Jun’s answers and promotes him to herb warehouse manager! The others are not going to like that!

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I think it’s already clear that from now on Heo Jun will put his work before anything else – even after his baby is born. But Da Hee seems to be the ideal Joseon wife –  she supports her husband completely asking for nothing and she has no ambitions of her own. (I still think he shouldn’t have got married though.) Already he has got a good reputation for healing the sick, and it’s starting to cause more problems for him. But isn’t it still so true today that people don’t like to see other people succeed. Why is that?