Dr. Romantic 3 Episode 15 Recap & Review, Ending Explained

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Dr. Romantic Season 3 Episode 15 Recap

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Continuing from episode 14 of “Dr. Romantic Season 3”, a forest fire breaks out while the staff at the trauma center are on strike and protesting. The officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare are also present for inspection, but Kang Dong-Ju refuses to plead with them to come back to work at the trauma center, even mocking Park Min-Guk for being tricked by Ko Kyung-Sook.

Seo Woo-Jin goes to persuade everyone in the break room by empathizing with their position during the strike and encouraging them to think about what they have lost while standing up for their dignity and rights. Regardless of their choices, they should respect each other. Soon after, a large group of patients is brought into the trauma center causing chaos until all medical personnel return immediately giving great assistance.

On another side, Lee Sun-Woong cannot see burns due to his color blindness which greatly affects him as he quickly leaves the scene. Kang Dong-Ju discovers that general patients are now being treated at the trauma center following Seo Woo-Jin’s suggestion according to regulations.

Oh Myung-Sim tells Kang Dong-Ju that it is important to do things right and not just be a hero; instead, one should be a leader who can unite everyone without blindly demanding obedience since cooperation among colleagues is essential in hospital work.

Cha Eun-Jae determines that paramedic cases require joint surgery but she refuses to perform it with Kang Dong-Ju prompting Oh Myung-Sim’s intervention asking Cha Eun-jae for patience despite finding someone willing sign an operation consent form only later discovering it was a child’s relative.

Seo Woo-jin worries about Dr.Nam’s workload regarding anesthesia when Shin Hye-jin arrives on-site providing support while Lee Sun-Woong hides blaming himself until Kim Sabu comforts him saying although he has weaknesses and flaws he has worked hard to become someone who has never made a mistake in the operating room, so he should believe in his past efforts.

While the hospital is busy treating patients and performing surgeries, they are unaware that during surgery, Chang’s condition worsens while outside the wind direction changes causing the fire to head towards the hospital within minutes.

In this situation, Kim Sabu decides to perform surgery on Chang first and quickly contacts Park Min-Guk for preparation. Jung In-Soo is scolded by an angry patient who had been waiting too long but tries to persuade him calmly to evacuate immediately only to be met with medical violence.

A nurse joins in rebuking this immoral behavior of blaming paramedics and medical personnel for their sense of duty and sacrifice as if it were expected or taking others’ sacrifices for granted which causes the patient to apologize silently and cooperate with evacuation.

Kim Sabu’s operation is successful but Kang Dong-Ju feels regretful since it was both their team’s first operation at this location as well as its last one. This also greatly affects Kim Sabu; however, it is beyond his ability to solve.

Dr. Romantic 3 Episode 15 Review & Explained

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 “Our rights are always forced to be compromised after the patients’ injuries and illnesses. Our urgent voices are often seen as selfish demands by others. At times like this, we may wonder what we have been dedicating ourselves to. We feel hurt, lose motivation, and doubt ourselves. I understand all of these feelings, but at least we can continue to fight on. Without us, those severely injured patients who will soon arrive would not be able to receive treatment and have no future ahead of them.”

Currently, it seems that everyone in the hospital is a copy of Kim Sabu with Seo Woo-Jin being the most similar one in “Dr.Romantic 3”. In my opinion, Kim Sabu did not intend to forcefully turn Kang Dong-Ju into a trauma center director because he knew that Kang’s competitive personality was not his ideal successor for the position.

To be honest, I now think that Kim Sabu brought Kang Dong-Ju here so that everyone could realize that regardless of who leads the trauma center team, it is their “romantic spirit” as healthcare professionals that drives them forward.

Especially at the beginning of this episode when Seo Woo-Jin rushed into the rest area and convinced everyone there with her words -the scriptwriters cleverly designed her lines- compared with Yang Ho-Joon’s attitude towards their strike; viewers could see how Seo Woo-Jin empathized with everyone’s emotions while giving them a choice instead of commanding orders like Kang Dong-Ju did based on hierarchy.

“Dr.Romantic 3” has been discussing issues related to systems and institutions throughout its episodes. There are many ways people express dissatisfaction towards such systems or institutions; Oh Myung-Sim said: “After all our struggle is against an unreasonable system rather than against patients themselves.”

However, don’t let this stop you from speaking up for yourselves! If people cannot speak up for themselves, then society is truly sick. You should express your opinions with confidence. I will do my best to fill the gaps left by those who are absent.”

She embodies the idea of acknowledging flaws in a system but making different choices and providing emotional support as another form of support. In conclusion, Oh Myung-Sim represents Seo Woo-Jin’s argument that regardless of everyone’s choices, mutual respect and understanding are essential instead of confrontation.


I think that although Kim Sabu’s Plan A was Kang Dong-Ju, he may have brought Kang Dong-Ju in to create a spontaneous atmosphere and form a team where everyone can fulfill their responsibilities.

In the episode, Seo Woo-Jin kept questioning Kang Dong-Ju but he didn’t get angry or blame Seo Woo-Jin for being wrong. Instead, he seemed to understand something. This is why Oh Myung-Sim told Kang Dong-Ju that what they needed was not a hero but leadership that could unite them and coordinate with each other.

Kim Sabu also wanted Kang Dong-Ju to understand his own problem of not being able to integrate into the team. The scene where Lee Sun-Woong felt guilty about not being able to see burns due to color blindness was designed by the writer as an echo of the importance of teamwork in an emergency center. Everyone is part of this team and seeking help and support is also a kind of courage and teamwork spirit.

In the paramedic surgery scene, all important doctors were present including Kim Sabu, Kang Dong-ju, Seo Woo-jin, and Cha Eun-jae. When Seo Woo-jin said “I’ll help you shorten it by five minutes,” it symbolized cooperation among different roles within “one team.” No one was a leader; everyone had only one goal: saving lives.

At the end of this episode, Oh Myung-Sim finally expressed her dissatisfaction after holding back for so long. Although she did not participate in the strike action herself, she agreed with those who bravely spoke out against injustice because society cannot continue like this.

Oh Myung-Sim said: “The paramedics lying there just now were injured while trying to save you! Some suffered ruptured intestines or livers or broken bones; some even lost their lives! We prioritize treating critical patients first – do you find that unfair? Why do you always take our dedication and sense of mission for granted? How can you be so cruel as to treat others’ sacrifices as a matter of course?”

Oh Myung-Sim’s roar was both touching and funny. Although the dream of the emergency center was burned down, Seo Woo-Jin said that they should be grateful that they could continue to fight on.