Resident Playbook: Growth at the Heart of Life and Death
by Sydney Reyes
In the place where life, death, and everything in between coexist, Resident Playbook (2025) takes us back to the Yulje Hospital universe in the form of young blood. Moving on from the original, established doctors of Hospital Playlist (2020-2021) we now follow the journey of four first-year residents of the OB-GYN department in Yulje Hospital’s second branch. Oh Yi-young (Go Youn-jung), Pyo Nam-kyung (Shin Si-ah), Um Jae-il (Kang You-seok), and Kim Sa-bi (Han Ye-ji) are an energetic and passionate bunch of rookies eager to learn what it means to work in women’s health. Resident Playbook is a classic slice-of-life drama that turns the mundane lives of these hospital workers into poetry.
As part of the Wise Life series, created by Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-Jung, this series features a more passive take on the slice-of-life genre, where audiences jump around various situations in the hospital and are not in control of what we witness. Simple editing styles help anchor viewers to the true-to-life nature of the show. It’s a leisurely-paced stroll along the different stories of Yulje, yet we still get to see the humor and joy in these simple moments. This style is what makes the Wise Life series stand out. Resident Playbook lives up to these characteristics, still containing that magic. Reliving the feeling I had when watching Hospital Playlist a few years ago reignited my warmth for this universe—it felt like coming home. This familiarity is a good thing. It proves to us that Resident Playbook may be a new installment, but remains steadfast in the Wise Life series’ original purpose of spotlighting the journeys of kind and hardworking doctors.
The only way the magic of Resident Playbook and the Wise Life series can be brought to life is through the people. The various dynamics between characters, as well as the chemistry between them, are truly the roots of the show’s beauty. It is in how the characters bicker, fight, interact, and most importantly, learn from each other that makes Resident Playbook enjoyable and emotional. It also sheds light on several secondary characters who we can’t help but love, too, from nurses to senior doctors and interns. Every change in scene is exciting, even if none of the leads are present. No matter which character is on screen, you know them enough to become eager to find out what encounters and adventures will occur. The series exhibits a lot of the hospital ecosystem; the different dynamics between staff make for interesting anecdotes and a fun watch. Yi-young adapts Professor Seo’s (her teacher) mannerisms, senior residents buy coffee for an overworked Jae-il, nurses work with residents to placate a mother in labor, and interns get scolded for getting the names of patients wrong.
Resident Playbook’s use of dichotomies also provided the narrative with more depth. We witness these doctors deliver life, yet we also see patients pass away from cancers of the female reproductive system. They even play with irony in the form of Oh Yi-young’s older sister, Ju-yeong, as she struggles to conceive, while other mothers simultaneously have ultrasounds, consultations, and births, providing insight into the different journeys mothers can have. Resident Playbook does not shy from showing both extremes of life that have us cheering along with their wins, and misty-eyed at the losses.
As we journey with the quartet over the course of their first year, their growth—and the entire hospital’s growth—is inspiring to watch. We don’t only see the rookies slowly become more sure of themselves, but we also see many characters change and form deeper friendships with each other. Professors open their hearts to the residents and accept them as mentees, interns make friends in the departments they wish to join, deserved promotions are in tow, and the dear first-years find a family in each other. Through the highs and lows, the surgeries, sleepless nights, and shared fears over the reign of terrifying professors, the residents slowly become wiser and closer. It is heartwarming to see how they learn from each other and apply this to becoming better doctors. We see the less emotional Yi-young and Sa-bi start to soften towards their patients, and in turn, Nam-kyung and Jae-il realize the importance of working hard and remaining studious as residents. By the end of the series, the growth we see in every corner of the hospital shows the importance of personal development and successfully creates characters you can't help but root for.
Through Resident Playbook, a lot of us Hospital Playlist fans returned to our comfort universe and met the new people there. Though, you may want to keep an eye out for familiar faces to see how they are doing now. The series’ narrative is simple but there is never a dull moment. Resident Playbook lives up to the caliber of its predecessor, continuing to highlight the beauty in the everyday lives of these doctors. It emphasizes that little things make all the difference—getting encouragement from your colleagues, having a meal with them after a rough day, forming inside jokes together, or watching their compassion for their patients. It’s the mundane moments that make you feel part of the magic.