Friday, March 29, 2024
FILM&DRAMA

Heo Jun episode 37 The Punishment

heojun3717 Heo Jun is punished for setting up his own clinic at home (which is against the law). The punishment is very severe – too severe for his crime really. Dr Yang clearly wants to get rid of him. But Heo Jun does not give up so easily and is determined to finish the punishment even if it means crawling to the finishing line. 

Heo Jun is accused of setting up his own clinic at home which is against the law. But he only did this because there were patients dying who couldn’t get into the welfare clinic. And he didn’t accept any payment from the patients. But STILL he is punished severely by Lord Yang: he has to walk 1000 times between the inner gate and the government office and each time read the king’s writing which is written in hanja on the buildings. But apparently nobody can do this 1000 times. It’s IMPOSSIBLE. So Dr Yang is setting him up to fail and perhaps just wants to see how many laps he will complete before he quits!

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Heo Jun is given his punishment to the enjoyment of his enemies

Heo Jun begins his punishment. After 365 laps he looks grim and is already staggering along. He gets a nosebleed. 🙁 (The distance must be very far?) Dr Kim tries to step in to help Heo Jun but Lord Yang won’t listen. (Why is he being so strict? Perhaps he really does want to get rid of Heo Jun.) After 700 laps Heo Jun collapses but he refuses to give up. He pick himself up and continues. Do Ji looks on in disbelief. Oh Gun begs Do Ji to do something to stop the punishment but Do Ji coldly says he can do nothing. (This is probably true. But even if he could do something, he probably wouldn’t! 🙁 ) Meanwhile, oblivious to Heo Jun’s plight, patients are lining up to see him at his house! But Heo Jun does not return home.

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Heo Jun completes his first lap

The next morning after a good night’s sleep Lord Yang arrives looking refreshed to the morning meeting and smugly asks how many laps Heo Jun completed last night (before giving up). But the answer shocks him. Heo Jun hasn’t finished yet! He’s been going all night and is now crawling up the steps! Lord Yang can’t believe it and rushes over to investigate.

Sure enough Heo Jun is still completing his punishment. But he collapses again after 999 laps. As he lies on the ground he prays to his teacher, Dr Yoo, for strength to complete the punishment. He is determined to finish because he doesn’t believe he has done anything wrong – he just tried to be a good doctor.

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Heo Jun prays to his teacher for strength to finish the punishment

Heo Jun manages to crawl up the steps one last time and finish the 1000 lap walk. And he’s won because as soon as he completes the last lap, Lord Yang immediately changes the law allowing doctors to treat patients out of hours at home as long as they don’t charge a fee. (how big of him!) He will also send more doctors to the welfare clinic now that he has heard how bad things are there. Heo Jun is rushed to hospital by piggy back. The disgruntled workers who tattle-tailed about Heo Jun ‘breaking the law’ congratulate themselves on having stopped Heo Jun trying to change the hospital.

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Lord Yang changes the law after Heo Jun finishes his punishment and collapses

Heo Jun has to stay in hospital and Oh Gun simply tells his family that he is working extra nightshifts so that’s why he can’t come home for a while. Ye Jin eagerly volunteers to nurse Heo Jun back to health. 😉 But while they are alone together at night Sir Lee comes looking for Ye Jin in her residence. Another nurse shows him to the hospital where he sees Heo Jun and Ye Jin together. He storms out clearly convinced that there must be something going on between them.

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Oh Gun tells the family that Heo Jun is working. Ye Jin nurses Heo Jun back to health

As Heo Jun recuperates, there’s an outbreak of measles and lots of children are brought to the hospital. Heo Jun’s son and Koo Ilsu’s daughter also get sick. But there’s a long queue to get into hospital and they have to wait in line. Da Hee refuses to bribe the doorkeepers and she refuses to use her husband’s name to jump the queue. (she knows he wouldn’t approve) But Koo Ilsu and Yang Tae find Heo Jun and ask him to treat them first. Of course Heo Jun refuses and this upsets them and shocks EVERYONE else. (except his wife.) But when Heo Jun finally treats his son, he is emotional. But he points out that he can’t treat his own family differently to other patients.

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An outbreak of measles causes chaos at the hospital

Suddenly there’s trouble over at the palace. The King’s consort Gong Bin has gone into labour a month early. Do Ji is in a panic because his neck is on the line since he is in charge of her health. But it’s not looking good. Another problem is that it’s the nurses that assist during the birth – not the doctors – so the doctors have little experience and are pretty much helpless here. Lord Yang wants to call Hong Choon – a nurse at the welfare clinic (who Oh Gun now has a crush on). But she was demoted from the palace after ‘making a mistake’ so they can’t officially call for her. But when Gong Bin becomes unconscious Do Ji rushes to ask Hong Choon what to do. She refuses to help – she is still upset about her demotion. Over at the welfare hospital a seriously ill patient is brought into the hospital too …

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There is pressure on the Lord Yang to treat Gong Bin. Do Ji rushes to find Hong Choon

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It’s annoying to see all the smug expressions of the jealous doctors as Heo Jun is punished. But it’s very satisfying to see the smug expressions wiped away when Heo Jun achieves the impossible and finishes his punishment! Oh to be so strong-willed. 😕 

I was a bit perplexed by the decision not to tell Heo Jun’s family that he is sick. I understand that they don’t want to worry the family. But if I were Da Hee and I later found out that my husband wasn’t working nights as I had been told but was actually seriously ill and another woman (who clearly has feelings for him) Ye Jin was with him all night alone nursing him back to health ….I would be FUMING. I don’t understand why Oh Gun didn’t at least tell Da Hee the truth. She could have gone to the hospital to see him and stay with him too. This scene seemed too contrived – made so that Sir Lee could walk in and ‘catch’ Ye Jin with ‘another man’. But she was only innocently looking after Heo Jun when Sir Lee walked in. There was nothing dodgy going on. What did he expect to see? I think he over-reacted storming out like that. He knew she was looking after a patient.  

 

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