SBS Medical Drama Dr. X: Age of the White Mafia
Sparks On-Screen Medical Inaccuracies and Real-World Backlash
The SBS Friday-Saturday drama Dr. X: Age of the White Mafia
premiered to a 14.9% viewership rating by its second episode, according to news.nate.com reports. While the 12-part medical dark hero series starring Kim Ji-won captured immediate commercial attention, it simultaneously triggered intense debate over medical authenticity. Viewers and medical professionals criticized specific procedural errors depicted on screen, prompting the drama’s on-site medical advisor, emergency medicine professor and author Nam Kung-in, to address the controversy on social media.
Nam Kung-in Details On-Site Advisory Role and Production Realities
Nam Kung-in shared behind-the-scenes photographs and reflections on his personal social media account regarding his first television advisory experience. He described the immense physical labor required by the production crew, noting that the opening scene of the first episode was filmed at 3 A.M. on a freezing winter morning with water trucks soaking the streets of Sewoon Sangga.
However, viewers quickly flooded the post with questions regarding the show’s clinical accuracy. Critics pointed out severe discrepancies, such as sending a patient with a reduced inguinal hernia to the emergency room via an ambulance for emergency surgery, failing to monitor blood pressure during anesthesia without providing epinephrine, and depicting a 300-joule defibrillator shock administered to a cardiac arrest patient.
When a viewer asked if he actually served as the medical advisor, Nam replied directly: Yes, I was the on-site advisor. If medically incorrect parts appear, you can see it as the advisor fighting with the production team and the advisor losing.
Emergency Physician Criticism and Real-World Healthcare Strains
The backlash extended beyond casual viewers. Another commenter, identifying as an on-site emergency medicine specialist, sharply criticized the decision to lend medical credibility to a series titled White Mafia.
The specialist argued that releasing a drama critical of physicians is deeply inappropriate given current healthcare pressures, including emergency room bottlenecks, newly passed legislation, and police raids on pediatric emergency rooms. The critic asserted that an active emergency physician working on the front lines should have declined the advisory role due to media influence on public perception of doctors.
Broadcasting Schedule and Commercial Reception
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding its medical accuracy, Dr. X: Age of the White Mafia
maintains strong broadcast momentum. The 12-episode series airs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:50 P.M., continuing to draw high viewership numbers even as debate persists among medical professionals over its portrayal of hospital environments.
Worth a look