[HanCinema's News] Namkoong Min Well-suited for Role on "Doctor Prisoner"

Many factors can be attributed to "Doctor Prisoner"'s impressive rise in the ratings. Fashion sense is one of them. In addition to hairstyles, Namkoong Min's choice of suits has also come under scrutiny and is a popular Internet search term.

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The comparison is most obvious when Namkoong Min's character, the suave, ambitious Yi-je, is contrasted with that of his fellow doctor, Min-sik. Played by Kim Byung-chul, we can see how the older man's outfit also implies ambition - but unlike Yi-je's, not quite so neatly.

Observe how Min-sik's more complex suit is often loose fitting, and suffers from wrinkles. Such details are only obvious upon closer inspection, but then that's the idea. People who seem strong are never as powerful they want us to think. Yi-je excels at finding weaknesses like this. It's a large part of what makes him a good doctor.

Yi-je's suit is, by contrast, very basic. It's only a two piece suit. But it's always painstakingly neat and well-pressed. If at times Yi-je seems like he's getting in over his head, the suit is a reminder that even Yi-je knows he has limits, and prioritizes doing one simple task extremely well over doing multiple tasks haphazardly, even at the cost of glory.

Indeed, this same concept is at work for the entire drama. Yi-je's rather counterintuitive plan to prove himself involves working in a prison, after all, which is not exactly a high prestige position, even if it is a dangerous one.

Written by William Schwartz