The reason for all the deep hatred against Kim Seung-hyo is one of the worst you can ever think of. Or, no one will ever think of!

Here are my thoughts and reactions for what happened in episode 11 of 《Doctor X: Mafia in White》, a Korean drama adaptation of the highly successful Japanese drama 《Doctor X》.

The flashbacks

It is excellent writing and directing that Gye Su-jeong's flashbacks were not exactly the same as what actually happened. It kept most of the audience guessing, and the majority of those guesses were close enough yet still not close enough. (Does that make sense?)

• They used nightmares (dreams) as the reason why it is different.

• They used her trauma as the reason why she is remembering differently while awake.

For those not aware, depending on the person, there are degrees of trauma and painful memories that can trigger the brain to protect itself by either forgetting those memories or altering them. The writer and director took advantage of these two things as a way to introduce flashbacks without revealing anything.

Acting

The melodrama acting was superb. We were cruising fine, enjoying the adaptation, and then suddenly we were flawlessly plunged into melodrama. Sure, there was a scene where Jo Won-jin and Park Tae-gyeong cried in episode ten, but if you have watched Korean dramas for more than a decade, it usually meant nothing as deep as they made it to be, oftentimes it was only meant as a cliffhanger.

Not this one. It was a sudden deep dive.

The doctor's unforgivable sin

Kim Seung-hyo's sin was grave. It was immediately hinted early on in the episode but you still want to deny it because that is one of the worst sins any adult can ever do. And on the screen? Most people watched this for Kim Ji-won and the fictional Korean hospital dynamics, maybe even the comedy. No one expects to suddenly get plunged into a very serious crime with as much detail and scenes like what we were shown in this episode.

It was like, "Yes, we know you already guessed it right because we hinted it repeatedly, but we are not done yet, there are a hundred more scenes more direct than the previous ones". We already understand his sin. Then the next scenes further hammered it. Then they continued to hammer the nail in more deeply. Then again. And again. Until the nail was finally secured into the coffin and left no doubt that …

The legendary doctor, Kim Seung-hyo, is a child molester.

I would not even be surprised if in episode twelve they go all the way to the most specific term: child rapist. (Child molestation is an umbrella term, while child rape … you get the idea.)

So, yes, I think most of us agree that he should not die, rather, he should live and suffer hell on earth. (Note: We are talking about the fictional character, NOT the awesome actor!)

A good setup for the finale episode

Since they repeatedly nailed how grave Kim Seung-hyo's sin is, and how he deserves to live and suffer hell on earth for as long as possible, what would Doctor X do?

• Is she going to "fail" and let her patient die?

• Is she going to save the patient and try to reveal his mortal sins?
  Which they likely will not be able to prove with just a photo album of kids, or a single victim's testimony—remember, he is a celebrated and powerful doctor.

• Is she going to get directly involved in hell on earth?

• Is she going to avenge the victims?

• Is she going to get revenge for herself for all the hell she went through?

Another deep question here is: Are they going the Korean drama route of "they were jailed, and he repented" or "all was forgiven because he showed remorse in court and publicly apologized"?

In closing

They spent most of episode eleven driving it into us that Kim Seung-hyo committed a heinous crime and justified it as a test from heaven. At this point, the expectation is very high that it would not end like the usual Korean drama endings. They just set a trap for themselves. Episode twelve will make or break the entire adaptation.

I hope they do not get flak for spending most of episode eleven on child molestation because in most jurisdictions, a subtle hint is more than enough. Driving this topic down only elicits strong negative emotions—and thoughts—from the audience, and most audiences did not come to watch this adaptation to be faced with this deeply serious crime.

Like many, my expectation for episode twelve is now so high up there, a detailed hell on earth is the only way to end this properly. As in multiple scenes to show him suffering in hell on earth, no redemption trope.

Cover image: 《Doctor X: Mafia in White》, used under the Fair Use doctrine.

〈《Doctor X: Mafia in White》 E11 reaction〉 © 2026 Yohan Yukiya Sese Cuneta (ISNI | ORCID iD).
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA-4.0), except where noted.