20-05-2025
Scrubbing in: ‘Hospital Playlist' fan favourites return for cameos in K-drama spinoff ‘Resident Playbook'
Ha Yoon-kyoung as Heo Seon-been and Moon Tae-yoo as Yong Seok-min
Above Going up! 'Hospital Playlist' couple Heo Seon-been and Yong Seok-min make a brief appearance in the Yulje universe K-drama spin-off. (Photo: screencap from 'Resident Playbook', Netflix)
In a funny moment in the hospital elevator, first-year resident Pyo Nam-kyung (Shin Si-ah) has deluded herself into thinking that Hospital Playlist 's Yong Seok-min (Moon Tae-yoo) has a crush on her. However, viewers quickly learn that he still only has eyes for Heo Seon-been (Ha Yoon-kyoung). Jung Kyung-ho as Kim Jun-wan
Above The first 99 cameo features Jun-wan. (Photo: tvN)
The first of the 99s to make a cameo in Resident Playbook is none other than cardiothoracic surgeon Kim Jun-wan (Jung Kyung-ho). In Episode 4, he stops by Jongno Yulje (subtly flexing a wedding ring) to support his longtime friend and colleague Seo Jung-min (Lee Bong-ryun), offering both medical expertise and emotional support. In the episode, first-year resident Oh Yi-young also gets a sharp taste of Jun-wan's trademark sassy, no-nonsense mentoring style. Yoo Yeon-seok as Ahn Jeong-won
Above Ahn Jeong-won is still 'Daddy Long Legs'. (Photo: tvN)
A tipsy Oh Yi-young bumps into Ahn Jeong-won (Yoo Yeon-seok), the second 99 to make a Resident Playbook cameo, during a team dinner with her fellow residents. Fortunately, she redeems herself later in the episode when she's entrusted with handing over a recently orphaned young girl to Jeong-won—a poignant moment, especially for fans who know his secret identity as 'Daddy Long Legs' in Hospital Playlist , a nickname he earned as a benefactor of underprivileged patients.
Don't miss: Hospital Playlist: 12 Reasons It's the Healing Drama We All Need Right Now Bae Hyeon-song as Jang Hong-do
Above Bright young actor Bae Hyeon-song returns as Jang Hong-do. (Photo: tvN)
In his cameo in Episode 6, Jang Hong-do (Bae Hyeon-song) is all grown up and apparently part of the same tennis league as Resident Playbook 's Um Jae-il (Kang You-seok). Far from the clueless intern he once was in Hospital Playlist , Jang Hong-do has matured into a confident doctor who not only answers Jae-il's medical questions with ease but even quizzes him, just as his seniors once did.
See also: Meet the future of K-drama: 5 breakout actors you need to know Kwak Sun-young as Lee Ik-sun and Kim Joon-han as Ahn Chi-young
Above Sadly, no tissue magic tricks this time. (Photo: tvN)
When a visit to the ER brings alarming news, Lee Ik-sun's (Kwak Sun-young) heart drops. Luckily, Ahn Chi-young (Kim Joon-han) is on hand to clear things up. To everyone's relief, including the viewers', it all turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. The moment quickly takes a comedic turn, and the pair even manage to squeeze in an inside joke about tissue and pigeons, a fun nod that true fans of the original drama will appreciate. Shin Hyun-been as Jang Gyeo-ul
Above Naturally, bread was involved. (Photo: tvN)
It turns out Hospital Playlist 's bread-loving Jang Gyeo-ul (Shin Hyun-been) not only tutored Um Jae-il in high school, but she's also his dream girl and 'first love', and the reason he pursued a career as an OB-GYN. When she stops by and checks in on her former pupil over coffee and bread (of course), Jae-il shoots his shot with her once again but gets turned down, just as Gyeo-ul, to Jae-il's dismay, receives a call from her boyfriend Anh Jeong-won. PD Na Yung-suk and 'Hospital Playlist' director Shin Won-ho
Above PD Na makes a cameo. (Photo: tvN)
Above 'Hospital Playlist' and 'Reply' series director Shin Won-ho (Photo: tvN)
Famous variety show producer Na Young-suk and Shin Won-ho, director of all three Reply series, Prison Playbook and both seasons of Hospital Playlist , make cameo appearances in Resident Playbook as members of a TV crew developing a fictional minidocu series set in a hospital titled Wee-Oh-Wee-Oh . Cho Jung-seok as Lee Ik-jun and Jeon Mi-do as Chae Seong-hwa
Above Bringing back that IkSong couple magic in the K-drama spin-off (Photo: tvN)
Episode 10 features the long-awaited cameo of fan-favourite couple Lee Ik-jun and Chae Seong-hwa. When Lee Ik-jun lands himself in yet another accident involving super glue, he turns to his friend and colleague Seo Jung-min for help. Aware that Seong-hwa is also at the hospital, Jung-min ropes her in for backup. Soon fans are basking in the familiar IkSong chemistry that made them so beloved in the original series—though Kong Gi-sun (Son Ji-yoon), who's harboured a crush on Ik-jun since med school, can't help but feel a pang of envy.
Later in the episode, Ik-jun takes Seong-hwa around the deserted corridors of the outpatient clinic where viewers discover that Oh Yi-young and Ku Du-won (Jung Jun-won), and budding couple Kim Sa-bi (Han Je-ji) and Um Jae-il, have sneaked away to steal some privacy. Jung Moon-sung as Do Jae-hak
Above He's not a real estate fraudster. (Photo: screencap from 'Resident Playbook', Netflix)
While at the real estate agent's office in Episode 11, Oh Yi-young and Ku Du-won bump into Do Jae-hak (Jung Moon-sung), who is trying to sell his house before the arrival of his second child. Ever the optimist, Jae-hak offers to show them his place, only for Yi-young to instantly peg him as a potential scammer. The mix-up is a hilarious and ironic throwback, given Jae-hak's own brush with real estate fraud back in Hospital Playlist . Kim Dae-myung as Yang Seok-hyeong and Ahn Eun-jin as Chu Min-ha
Above The final 99 cameo (Photo: screencap from 'Resident Playbook', Netflix)
It's only fitting that the last of the 99s, OB-GYN Yang Seok-hyeong (Kim Dae-myung), makes his full cameo in the finale of a spin-off centred on first-year OB-GYN residents. While he was briefly mentioned in Episode 2, he finally shows up in person in the last episode, helping Pyo Nam-kyung (Shin Si-ah) deliver a baby on New Year's Day.
His wife, Chu Min-ha (Ahn Eun-jin), returns for her second cameo—this time as the newly appointed OB-GYN professor at Jongno Yulje Hospital, beating out Myeong Eun-won (Kim Hye-in) for the role and setting the K-drama up for a possible second season.
