South Korea · Drama · 2026
Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia
Binge Brief
- SBS confirmed the premiere date of 9 October 2026, in its Friday and Saturday 9:50 pm KST slot.
- Netflix streams the series as Doctor X: Mafia in White.
- It remakes TV Asahi's Japanese series Doctor-X, which ran from 2012 to 2021.
- Kim Ji Won, Lee Jung Eun, Son Hyun Joo and Kim Woo Seok were confirmed as the leads on 18 November 2025.
- Filming began on 4 December 2025.
Synopsis
Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia is SBS's Korean remake of Doctor-X, the Japanese medical series TV Asahi ran from 2012 to 2021. It premieres on 9 October 2026 in SBS's Friday and Saturday 9:50 pm slot and streams on Netflix, where it is titled Doctor X: Mafia in White. SBS bills it as a medical noir about a surgeon who proves what it means to be a doctor through skill alone.
That surgeon is Gye Su-jeong (Kim Ji Won), a freelancer with no hospital of her own. She is sent to Guseo University Hospital by a doctor-dispatch agency to fill a gap in its surgery department, and the staff soon call her the mad dog of the operating room. According to Wikitree she refuses overtime, ward rounds and staff dinners, and SBS's promotional text describes her as someone who knows neither failure nor compromise.
The agency that places her is run by Jang Hee-sook (Lee Jung Eun), a shrewd boss with a clear eye for money. Tenasia described her as morally flexible and willing to treat patients as business. At the hospital, branch director Bu Seung-gwon (Son Hyun Joo) is trying to rebuild a struggling institution and is caught between corruption and his duty as a doctor, which puts him in direct conflict with Su-jeong.
Kim Woo Seok plays Park Tae-kyung, an intern from a wealthy hospital family whose good nature has never been tested; his life gets complicated once he starts working beside her. Above them all sit chairman Gu Bon-pyeong (Choi Gwang Il) and Kim Chang-su (Jung Suk Yong), chairman of the regional medical association, the power brokers behind the hospital's hierarchy.
Lee Jung-rim directs from a script by Pyeon Seong-geun, and Studio S, Studio Dragon and HighZium Studio produce. Filming began on 4 December 2025. The press has reported a run of 12 episodes.
Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia cast
Themes and messages
Skill against the system. SBS frames the series around a surgeon who proves what a doctor is through skill alone, set against a hospital Starnews described as ruled by a rotten hierarchy.
Medicine as business. Both sides of the story treat care as a transaction: the dispatch agency rents out surgeons for profit, and the hospital's chairman and the medical association chairman trade in influence.
The satisfying payback. Starnews called it a cider medical dark hero story, using the Korean slang for drama that delivers a refreshing win over the corrupt, and Wikitree placed it in SBS's line of such dramas.
Frequently asked questions
When does Doctor X K-drama start?
On Friday 9 October 2026. SBS airs it on Fridays and Saturdays at 9:50 pm Korean time, a date the network confirmed in August 2026.
Is Doctor X K-drama a remake?
Yes. It is the Korean version of Doctor-X, the TV Asahi series about freelance surgeon Michiko Daimon that ran in Japan from 2012 to 2021. The Korean story moves to the fictional Guseo University Hospital.
Where can I watch Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia?
In Korea it airs on SBS. Outside Korea Netflix streams it under the title Doctor X: Mafia in White, with a subscription.
Who is in the Doctor X K-drama cast?
Kim Ji Won plays surgeon Gye Su-jeong, Lee Jung Eun plays agency head Jang Hee-sook, Son Hyun Joo plays hospital director Bu Seung-gwon and Kim Woo Seok plays intern Park Tae-kyung. Choi Deok Moon, Kim Young Min and Lee Sung Wook are among the supporting cast.
How many episodes does Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia have?
12, according to allkpop and Wikitree. SBS has not published an episode list yet.
Who plays Gye Su-jeong in Doctor X?
Kim Ji Won. Her character is a genius freelance surgeon who refuses overtime, rounds and staff dinners, nicknamed the mad dog of the operating room.
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