The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call


The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call is a 2025 South Korean medical comedy television series written by Choi Tae-kang, directed by Lee Do-yoon, and starring Ju Ji-hoon, Choo Young-woo, Ha Young, Yoon Kyung-ho and Jung Jae-kwang. It is based on the web novel Trauma Center: Golden Hour by Hansanleega and Hongbichira, which was serialized into a Naver Webtoon in 2019. The series follows the journey of Baek Kang-hyuk, a brilliant trauma surgeon who joins a struggling university hospital. It was released on Netflix on January 24, 2025.

Synopsis

Baek Kang-hyuk arrives at a university hospital where the trauma team is struggling to keep up. His arrival shakes things up as he possesses exceptional surgical skills honed through experience in conflict zones worldwide. His unorthodox methods and unshakable confidence initially create friction with the established team. Little by little, he earns their respect and guides them in developing into a leading trauma unit.

Cast and characters

Main

Supporting

  • Kim Eui-sung as Choi Jo-eun
  • Kim Won-hae as Hong Jae-hun
  • Kim Sun-young as Kang Myeong-hui
  • as Agnes Song
  • as An Jung-heon
  • as Ma Tae-rim
  • as Nurse Kim
  • Park Jung-yoon as Han Ji-young
  • Kim Youn-jeong as Nurse Hong
  • as Hwang Seon-u
  • Lee Jung-in as Joo Hyung-wook
  • Jo Jae-young as an emergency medical resident
  • Oh Jung-woo as an emergency medical intern
  • Bang You-in as Nurse Bang
  • Park Gwan-woo as an emergency room nurse 1
  • Jang Yoo-jung as an emergency room nurse 2
  • Kwon Hye-min as an emergency room nurse 3
  • Jo Hoon as a helicopter crew
  • as a helicopter pilot
  • Kim Seo-joon as a helicopter co-pilot

Special appearance

Production

Development

In 2022, Lee Nak-jun, also known by his pen name Hansanleega, an otolaryngologist, YouTuber and web novel writer, appeared as a guest on the February 7 episode of KBS Cool FM's Park Myung-soo's Radio Show. He stated that they already signed a contract for the drama rights of his web novel Trauma Center: Golden Hour and thought of Gong Yoo and Kim Nam-gil to star in the series. In September 2024, the web novel has recently been decided to be made into a drama and was developed under the working title Severe Trauma Center: Golden Hour. The series is written by Choi Tae-kang, directed by Lee Do-yoon, and produced by Studio N and Mays Entertainment.
In September 2025, it was reported that the second and third season of the series would have a simultaneous production but Netflix refuted it and stated that nothing has been confirmed.

Casting

In September 2022, Ju Ji-hoon was considered to be the lead actor of the series. In January 2023, Ju's agency Blitzway Studios confirmed that they received the offer and are reviewing it. In April 2023, Choo Young-woo has been cast and his agency, J,Wide-Company stated that he considered to appear. The cast lineup namely Ju, Choo, Yoon Kyung-ho, Ha Young, and Jung Jae-kwang were revealed in June 2023.

Release

According to Ize report on December 20, 2024, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call would schedule to be released on January 24, 2025, but on December 23, Netflix Korea posted a list of titles scheduled to be released in January 2025 on their official social media accounts and the series was listed under coming soon. Two weeks later, Netflix officially confirmed the release date.

Reception

Viewership

The word-of-mouth success of The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call is reflected in its numbers. From January 27 to February 2, the show recorded 11.9 million views, reaching the first place of Netflix's global non-English TV rankings just 10 days after its release. The series topped the charts in 17 countries, including Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Chile and Peru, and entered the Top 10 in 63 countries, including New Zealand, France, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan and Egypt. According to Good Data Corporation, a Korean content analytics firm, the show's buzz surged by 140 percent compared to the previous week, making it 2.5 times more talked about than Squid Game season 2.

Critical response

Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post rated the series four out of five and praised Ju Ji-hoon's acting, "central to the show's success is Ju, who has seldom been better as the picture-perfect Baek Kang-hyuk, an enormously attractive role that complements his strong points." He added that "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call is a show that takes the medical action drama formula honed by shows like Dr. Romantic and both pares it down and amps it up. The characters are simpler, as is the drama, with the focus squarely on scratching viewers' itch for heroic highs."