We read manhwa mostly to entertain ourselves. After all, there is no beating a good break from all the chaos our current world is throwing at us. What’s a better escape than putting everything down and immersing ourselves in a good story? But while that’s the primary purpose, sometimes we get to learn something new. That happens a lot of times in medical manhwa.
But no matter how much educational stuff we can gather from a medical manhwa, it’s useless if it isn’t fun to read. There must be a good balance of interesting narrative and kernels of new knowledge, which these 10 titles have achieved.
Doctor, Live Again
Doctor, Live Again follows the story of a doctor who unfortunately met his untimely end during a medical mission. But instead of seeing his creator, he found himself stuck in the body of a young child. However, it wasn’t just that. He was in the middle of an accident with bodies strewn all over the place. Being a medical practitioner by heart and soul, he couldn’t simply abandon them, especially with someone still having a chance of survival. He immediately went to work and ultimately saved a life. That’s when he realized he wasn’t just turned into a child, he was transported in the world of a novel he used to read.
Much more interestingly, that novel was set in a world of martial arts, including Qi manipulation and other techniques. Now, he could combine the powers of modern medicine with the ancient martial arts techniques to alter the events o🐟f the novel.
Witness Dr. Jin’s medical and martial abilities through .
The Divine Surgeon
The Divine Surgeon pretty much flows in the same vein as Doctor, Live Again. Unlike Dr. Jin, however, Dr. Han Jinsoo sꩵuffered a far more brutal first life. He faced numerous prejudices 🐎during his third year of residence, with his direct superior messing things up for him over and over again. When he was ultimately murdered, he was given a chance to reincarnate for having accumulated plenty enough good deed points. Predictably, he took the offer and took on the body of young Hua Fu.
While Doctor, Live Again is set in a martial arts fantasy novel, Divine Surgeon is set in the ancient past, specifically the Three Kingdoms period. As such, his knowledge on both modern medicine and history are of use. And even though it’s supposed to be set in the real past, it also include the use of internal force. It’s just not as prevalent as in Doctor, Live Again. You can follow the divine surgeon’s procedures through .
Life of a Quack Healer
Kang Seunghyeon was just a typical guy. That was until he woke up to find himself and a number of others in the mysterious continents of Azeul, which heavily resembles a fantasy video game. They were even assigned classes, with Seunghyeon being given the Healer class. The catch, however, was that he didn’t have a single healing skill in his arsenal. With healing others the only way for him to acquire more skills, he must utilize what knowledge he has of modern medicine to treat the injured and the sick.
Life of a Quack Healer is a medical manhwa that isn’t necessarily medically focused. It does showcase common medical knowledge, as Seunghyeon is still a healer, but it doesn’t delve deep. Even so, it offers an entertaining read. Seunghyeon is one sly main character who knows how to trick others to his benefit, though he doesn’t necessarily exploit them. See what I mean by checking out Life of a Quack Healer on .
The Ghost Doctor
Unlike the first two manhwa, The Ghost Doctor isn’t set in a fantasy world. It’s set in the real world, though it does have a supernatural element. This manhwa stars the high school student Lee Mujin, who found himself entangled in the medical world at a young age.
After getting into a scuffle, he found himself in a hospital. But since he didn’t have much, he escaped the hospital and picked up a mystical scalpel along the way. That same scalpel made a ghost of a legendary surgeon appear in front of him, and both were then stuck to each other. Interestingly, it wasn’t all that bad. Using Aclé’s medical knowledge and Mujin’s bravery, these two would save as many lives as they could.
Read their godly combination through .
The Legendary Beasts Animal Hospital
The medical field isn’t just limited to human ailments. Naturally, our furry friends also face a long list of illnesses and injuries. That’s why veterinary medicine is just as important as human medicine. The question, however, is to what length does veterinary medicine apply. Do normal procedures ease beasts from legends and mythos as well? That’s exactly what The Legendary Beasts Animal Hospital will answer.
The plot is centered around Ahyoung, the young director of her own animal hospital. While the title sound lucrative, business wasn’t always good. In fact, Ahyoung was struggling to even make ends meet. That’s why when she received an unusual patient, a literal dragon, she bit the bullet and accepted her. Indeed, high risk; high reward. The said dragon was a big tipper, and she started accepting the rest of them.
Join 𝐆Ahyoung as she save these mythical beasts on .
Perfect Surgeon
AI has become a controversial topic, especially as it starts to take over human jobs. But as much as it is hated, the use of AI in our daily lives is becoming more and more prevalent. With the rise of its utilization, there is a constant fear of technology, specifically AI, eventually lording over us a la Terminator. On the other hand, there is also a possibility of AI assisting humans to further ourselves. Perfect Surgeon is a medical manhwa that banks on that idea.
It follows Jang Hyunjun who was forced to halt his medical studies due to his mother’s condition. He had to work at a skin clinic to cover the cost of her treatment. But after a freak accident during a test for an AI named Ronnie-1, the AI took shelter in his brain, using his brain synapses as a power source. As a medical AI, Ronnie fed Hyunjun medical knowledge in real time. It could even diagnose rare conditions based on what it could observe using Hyunjun’s eyes. Best of all, Hyunjun wasn’t dependent on it. He utilizes it as a tool to further himself as a doctor, much like how Tony Stark has JARVIS as an assistant.
Get to know Hyunjun and Ronnie on Perfect Surgeon via .
Doctor Player
Let’s go jump back into a fantasy world. However, it isn’t about a modern guy being sent into some new world. Instead, we have Raymond who lived in a world of swords and magic. He was also an illegitimate son of the king, so life wasn’t going easy on him. His only chance to live a decent one was by becoming a healer. The problem, however, was that he had abysmal healing abilities. He couldn’t do even the most basic healing skills, and even his colleagues looked down on him. However, things changed when he somehow acquired a system.
This system would provide him knowledge on “medical science,” which he can use to supplement his lack of healing skills. But since it wasn’t a known practice, there was the problem of it being labeled heretic and immoral. Well, good thing Raymond wasn’t a pushover. Like Life of a Quack Healer‘s Seunghyeon, Raymond knows how to fight back, making him an easy character to love.
Join Doctor Player‘s Raymond as he learns medical science via .
Doctor Elise
Doctor Elise is a medical manhwa that brings its readers on a rollercoaster ride through two timelines. After dying for the first time, the main character found herself in the modern world. She spent her second life making up for the sins she committed during her first life. Her way of repentance was saving numerous lives as a surgeo♉n, which she was actually gifted at.
But just as she achieved professor status, she met her second demise. She then found herself back into the body of her original self — the noblewoman Elise De Clarence. But equipped with knowledge of both her first and second lives, she was se♒t to straighten her nasty image while also seeking to live the life of a surgeon once mor𒁃e.
You can follow the eponymous surgeon’s treatments through .
Baby Pharmacist Princess
Baby Pharmacist Princess quite frankly doesn’t have the most alluring titles. But surprisingly, it does deliver what it states. The main character, Yoon Chaeri, got stuck in a videogame as the slow-witted Princess Cherishe after being forcefully transported into that world. In order to return to her original self, she must repay the debts forced upon her and become an heir to the throne. The problem was sent to the body of the four-year-old Cherishe with no established means of earning money.
Chaeri is also well aware of that, so she is always prepared to maximize her arsenal. That means utilizing her cuteness to get what she wants. While that would usually be considered some cute fan service, it becomes comedic as the manhwa keeps reminding us that Chaeri is a full-grown adult trying to act like a cute toddler. In addition, this manhwa also doesn’t have too much technical medical stuff, so it’s perfect for a casual read.
Marvel at young Cherry’s cuteness while laughing at Chaeri’s attempts to act cute on .
Trauma Center: Golden Hour
While all the magic and fantasy add glimmer to the story, they aren’t necessary to make a good medical manhwa. Sometimes all it takes is a genius doctor dead set on prioritizing saving lives above all else. Better yet if that said doctor has the guts to trample corrupt medical systems and higher-ups who only give a damn about self-interest. If that piqued your interest, then look no further as I’ve simply described Doctor Baek Ganghyeok of Trauma Center: Golden Hour.
He was a veteran surgeon who forged his medical skills on the battlefield, quite literally. After numerous persuasion attempts, he agreed to go back to Korea and assume the professor position at Hanguk University Hospital’s trauma center. However, what greeted him was far from an ideal trauma center. It was understaffed and pretty much neglected despite the budget supposedly allocated to it. ꩲEven so😼, Dr. Baek won’t let any patient die on his watch.
Be part of Dr. Baek’s mission to save his patients by reading Trauma Center: Golden Hour on .
Published: Jan 18, 2025 10:24 am