Love Doctor character Park Min-jae hides prosthetic leg to avoid stigma
In the ENA Monday-Tuesday drama Love Doctor, lead character Park Min-jae hides his prosthetic leg to shield himself from the stigma of bone cancer, while a high-stakes poker game shapes the seventh episode.
Concealing a Prosthetic Leg and the Fear of Recurrence
Park Min-jae, played by Choo Young-woo, works as a robotics Ph.D. student and faces a post-doctoral fellowship. He once competed as a promising swimming athlete before losing his leg to osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor. Despite wearing a prosthetic limb, he avoids wheelchairs or visible mobility aids, allowing him to blend in seamlessly in public settings. According to a column by pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik published via Good Morning Chungcheong, this staging contrasts with films like Josie, where physical disabilities are immediately apparent through wheelchairs. Kim noted that osteosarcoma carries a constant threat of recurrence, leaving Min-jae in a fluid state of health rather than a fixed condition. This underlying fear prevents him from pursuing romantic relationships or accepting affection from others.
The Poker Duel and IQ Showdown in Episode Seven
Episode 7 shifts toward the romantic entanglements of the robotics lab. Lab junior Kim Se-jin, portrayed by Im Jin-hyo, discovers a secret romance between Min-jae and Lim Yu-jin, played by Kim Seohyun. Confronting Yu-jin, Se-jin accuses her of taking advantage of the lab’s top authority figure and demands she step away. Se-jin issues a challenge: if Yu-jin wins, Se-jin leaves the lab; if Yu-jin loses, she stops seeing Min-jae. The contest escalates from an IQ face-off—where Se-jin claims an IQ of 180 and Yu-jin counters with 188—to a decisive poker match. The pair agrees to keep the wager hidden from Min-jae entirely, leaving the lead character unaware of the private transactions surrounding him.
Poker Strategies and Airport Developments in Episode Eight
Ahead of the poker game, Yu-jin seeks help from Lee Ji-hoon, played by Jang In-seob, in the eighth episode broadcast on the 27th. Ji-hoon, a mathematics professor, instructs her on probability and card combinations while jokingly negotiating for compensation. Ji-hoon also advises Yu-jin regarding Min-jae’s potential move to the United States, urging her to focus on her own emotions rather than trying to decide Min-jae’s future. The episode concludes at an airport arrivals terminal during winter. Yu-jin holds a sketchpad reading, I’ve been waiting for ages!!
but greets Ji-hoon with a bright smile rather than Min-jae. The drama airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ENA, with streaming available via KT Genie TV and Disney+.