“The survival rate is 30-40%”, Woo Young-woo’s words to Jung Myung-seok ahead of his gastric cancer surgery criticized by the viewers
Jung Myung-seok (Kang Ki-young), who was diagnosed with stage 3 gastric cancer in “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, eventually underwent surgery.
In episode 15 of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, which aired on the evening of August 17th, Jung Myung-seok was seen undergoing surgery for his stage 3 gastric cancer at a hospital.
In the broadcast, Woo Young-woo (Park Eun-bin) came to meet Jung Myung-seok, who was his mother, before he went into the operation room for the surgery.
Jung Myung-seok was surprised by the sudden appearance of Woo Young-woo at the hospital during the time she was supposed to be at work.
Woo Young-woo said, “I wanted to see you, attorney Jung. Because if something goes wrong and you die, I won’t be able to see you again”, revealing the reason why she visited him.
As his mother got angry when she heard Woo Young-woo say that the surgery could go wrong, Jung Myung-seok immediately explained, “Attorney Woo didn’t mean it in a bad way”.
He tried to reassure his mom, saying “Korea’s number one in the world in treating gastric cancer. So with surgery, the survival rate is over 70%. Don’t worry”.
“That’s because that number also includes cases of early detection. With stage 3 gastric cancer like you, the 5-year survival rate after surgery is only 30-40%”, Woo Young-woo, who lacks social skills, continued. Her straightforward explanation embarrassed Jung Myung-seok and his mother.
In the end, Jung Myung-seok asked the hospital staff to take him into the operation room quickly. Right before he entered the room, Woo Young-woo shouted, “Please! Come back alive!”. In response, Jung Myung-seok said, “Attorney Woo, be quiet”, drawing laughter.
Jung Myung-seok tried to look like he was fine but when he got on the operating table, his nervousness was clearly revealed. He even prayed for the surgery to succeed. The audience later felt relieved seeing Jung Myung-seok’s surgery go well.
Meanwhile, some viewers pointed out that this drama seems to have taken cancer too lightly. They commented, “Just think about how cancer patients and their families would feel if they watch this drama”, “Should I continue to watch the drama that keeps on repeating the 30% survival rate?”, “She sympathized with the first client but she’s so rude to people around her”, etc.
However, others explained that the character Woo Young-woo, who has autism spectrum disorder, seems to have been portrayed too realistically.
Source: insight
