South Korean medical drama becomes most-watched non-English series on Netflix

By Kim Joo-heon Posted : February 5, 2025, 10:18 Updated : February 5, 2025, 10:18
A scene from "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" (left) is seen, in this grab from Netflix.
SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) - Netflix's South Korean medical drama "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" has become the most-watched non-English TV show worldwide, surpassing the second season of the much-hyped series "Squid Game."

The eight-episode series, released on Jan. 24, garnered 11.9 million views and a total watch time of 82.7 million hours for the week ending Feb. 2, the U.S. video-streaming site said on Wednesday.

The second season of "Squid Game," which had held the top position for five consecutive weeks since its release on Dec. 26 last year, fell to second place with 5.2 million views.

Adapted from a web novel of the same name, "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" follows a former war medic-turned-surgeon who steps in to revive an emergency trauma center at a university hospital.
 
Actor Ju Ji-hoon (center) is seen, in this grab from a scene in "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" on Netflix.
Inspired by real-life events, the series reflects the life of Lee Guk-jong, a renowned head of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital. Lee has treated numerous critical trauma cases and gained national recognition for his work. He played a key role in saving Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of a South Korean freighter hijacked by Somali pirates in 2011, and performed surgery on a North Korean soldier who sustained life-threatening injuries while defecting through Panmunjom in 2017.

Meanwhile, South Korean shows and programs continue to dominate Netflix's global rankings, with four Korean series making it into the top 10 for non-English TV shows. The first season of "Squid Game" placed fifth, while the fourth season of dating reality show "Single's Inferno" ranked sixth.

In the overall rankings that include both English and non-English shows, "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" ranked third, following U.S. action comedy "Back in Action" (18.4 million views) and American action thriller "The Night Agent 2" (15.2 million views).
Kim Joo-heon

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