Live Up to Your Name[4] (Korean명불허전) is a 2017 historical time travel South Korean television series. It brings Heo Im (a medical scientist from Joseon portrayed by Kim Nam-gil) to present day Seoul, where he meets the surgeon, Choi Yeon-kyung (Kim Ah-joong). The series marks Kim Nam-gil's small screen comeback after four years. It aired on tvN from August 12 to October 1, 2017.[5][6][7]

Live Up to Your Name
Promotional poster
Also known asLive Up to Your Name, Dr. Heo[1]
Hangul
명불허전
Literal meaningDeserving of the Name
Revised RomanizationMyeongbulheojeon
Genre
Created byStudio Dragon
Written byKim Eun-hee
Directed byHong Jong-chan
Starring
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
  • Moon Suk-hwan
  • Oh Kwang-hee
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time70 minutes
Production companyBon Factory Worldwide[3]
Original release
NetworktvN
ReleaseAugust 12 (2017-08-12) –
October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)

Its final episode recorded a 6.907% nationwide audience share according to Nielsen paid platform, making the episode one of the highest rated in Korean cable television history.

Synopsis

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Heo Im (Kim Nam-gil) is a Joseon doctor of Traditional Korean medicine, specializing in acupuncture. He worked at a clinic for the poor during the daytime, and earned a fortune by making secret visits to nobles and high-ranking officials' houses at night. After gaining notoriety for his great skills, he was tasked to help treat the king's migraines. Unfortunately, his anxiety got the best of him and he was charged with treason. Unwilling to accept jail, he escaped capture, but was chased by soldiers. He was eventually cornered into a river and fatally shot by arrows, and fell to his supposed death.

Death never comes and he awakens in modern Seoul-Korea, realizing he has somehow time traveled. Dazed, lost and confused, he runs into Choi Yeon-kyung (Kim Ah-joong), a cardiothoracic fellow surgeon at Shinhae Hospital, and begins an unlikely relationship across time and space.

Cast

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Main

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  • Kim Nam-gil as Heo Im (Child: Moon woo-jin)/ Heo Bong-tak, an acupuncturist who time travels to Seoul 400 years later when he was about to drown.[8]
  • Kim Ah-joong as Choi Yeon-kyung, a female surgeon who goes clubbing after work to relieve stress.[8]

Supporting

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  • Moon Ka-young as Dong Mak-Gae, Heo Im's loyal assistant who has dreams of becoming a doctor just like her boss.
  • Kim Myung-gon as Ma Sung-tae, a renowned but greedy doctor who is the director of a renowned Eastern medicine hospital in Seoul. He is also the grandfather of Yoo Jae-Ha (Yeon-kyung's childhood friend).
  • Um Hyo-sup as Heo Jun, a legendary physician from the Joseon period who was active during the reigns of King Seonjo and King Gwanghae.
  • Ahn Suk-hwan as Shin Myung-hoon, the director of the hospital where Yeon-kyung works and consequently her boss/ Minister of War (Joseon), an unnamed corrupt war minister of the Joseon dynasty during the Imjin War.
  • Maeng Sang-hoon as Yoo Chan-sung
  • Lee Dae-yeon as Professor Hwang, her teacher and superior at the hospital.
  • Oh Dae-hwan as Doo-chil, one of the servants of the corrupt Minister of War of Joseon.
  • Tae Hang-ho as Min Byung-gi, one of the nurses at Yeon-kyung's grandfather's oriental medicine clinic.
  • Kim Byung-choon as Kwon Ji
  • Yoo Min-kyu as Yoo Jae-ha, a young doctor of oriental medicine who is Yeon-kyung's childhood friend and Sung-tae's grandson/ Yoo Jin-oh (Joseon), a nobleman from the Joseon Dynasty who has a beef with Heo Im.
  • Jin Seon-kyu as Yeon-i's father, the father of Yeon-i (one of Heo Im's patients)
  • Yoon Joo-sang as Choi Chun-Sool, a renowned acupuncturist who owns the Haeminseo Oriental Medicine Clinic and is Yeon-kyung's grandfather.
  • Byeon Woo-seok as Heo Jun's assistant
  • Kim Sung-joo as Kim Min-jae
  • Roh Jeong-eui as Oh Ha-ra, a young girl with heart problems whose life is saved by Heo Im.
  • Lee Do-yeop as Oh Ha-ra's father
  • Lee Ga-ryeong as Gisaeng
  • Shin Rin-ah as Yeon-i, a sick girl and one of Heo Im's patients during the Joseon Dynasty.
  • Yeom Hye-ran as Restaurant owner (ep. #4)
  • Hiromitsu Takeda as Sayaka (Joseon)[a] / Kim Chung-seon (Baptized name after Imjin War), a Japanese general who originally commanded the Japanese Right Army for Kato Kiyomasa before defecting to Korea[9] during the Imjin War.[b][10][11]

Ratings

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Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
Nielsen Korea TNmS
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide
1 August 12, 2017 2.715% 2.855% 3.2%
2 August 13, 2017 3.995% 4.536% 3.3%
3 August 19, 2017 4.541% 5.227% 3.6%
4 August 20, 2017 5.998% 6.572% 5.0%
5 August 26, 2017 4.347% 4.659% 3.7%
6 August 27, 2017 5.617% 5.968% 4.7%
7 September 2, 2017 5.541% 6.064% 4.2%
8 September 3, 2017 6.357% 6.712% 4.8%
9 September 9, 2017 5.965% 6.802% 5.3%
10 September 10, 2017 6.520% 7.688% 6.0%
11 September 16, 2017 5.889% 6.636% 5.3%
12 September 17, 2017 6.164% 6.848% 5.0%
13 September 23, 2017 5.590% 6.516% 5.4%
14 September 24, 2017 5.364% 6.142% 3.4%
15 September 30, 2017 4.959% 5.641% 3.9%
16 October 1, 2017 6.907% 7.888% 5.5%
Average 5.404% 6.047% 4.5%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This series 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).

Notes

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  1. ^ On some websites (such as Korea JoongAng Daily), the pronunciation of Kim Chung-seon's original name (i.e. his Japanese name) is Sayaga (with the letter G in place of K)
  2. ^ The reason why Sayaga/Sayaka or Kim Chung-seon defected from Japan to Korea was due to the fact that he doesn't want to kill the innocent people of Joseon, in addition to having always revered the culture of Joseon and China.

References

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  1. ^ Live up to your name, Dr.Heo [최초]김남길X김아중, 조선왕복 메디활극 명불허전 첫 티저 공개 170812 EP.1. YouTube (in Korean). tvN Drama. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  2. ^ Jie, Ye-eun. "Kim Nam-gil, Kim A-joong to star in 'Myeongbulheojeon'". The Korea Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  3. ^ Park, Soo-jeong. "[단독]김남길·김아중, tvN '명불허전' 특급 만남". Ilgan Sports (in Korean). JTBC PLUS, JTBC Content Hub Co., Ltd. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Live up to your name '보고싶었소' 김남길, 다시 김아중 곁으로♥ #껌딱지컴백 171001 EP.16. YouTube (in Korean). tvN Drama. October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Hong, Se-young. "김남길X김아중 '명불허전', 쌍방향 타임슬립…8월 편성 [공식]". Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  6. ^ Park, Soo-jeong. "김남길x김아중, tvN '명불허전' 출연 확정..'비밀의숲' 후속". Herald Pop (in Korean). Herald Corporation. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Shin, Young-eun. "'명불허전' 김남길, 독보적 능청카리스마…"김남길 is 뭔들"". Naver (in Korean). Maekyung. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  8. ^ a b ""Live Up to Your Name" Kim Nam-gil and Kim Ah-joong". Hancinema. Sports Chosun. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Korea JoongAng Daily: Lessons from a Japanese defector
  10. ^ Hancinema: Live up to Your Name - Cast (Korean Drama, 2017, 명불허전)
  11. ^ RPM9 전자신문엔터테인먼트: (ET-ENT 인터뷰) 배우 다케다 히로미츠(Takeda Hiromitsu)! 한국을 정말 사랑하는 아티스트
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