Live Up to Your Name

Live Up to Your Name
Promotional poster
Also known as Live Up to Your Name, Dr. Heo
Hangul
명불허전
Literal meaning Deserving of the Name
Revised Romanization Myeongbulheojeon
Genre
Created by Studio Dragon
Written by Kim Eun-hee
Directed by Hong Jong-chan
Starring
Country of origin South Korea
Original language Korean
No. of episodes 16
Production
Executive producers
  • Moon Suk-hwan
  • Oh Kwang-hee
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 70 minutes
Production company Bon Factory Worldwide
Original release
Network tvN
Release August 12 –
October 1, 2017

Live Up to Your Name (Korean: 명불허전) is a 2017 historical time travel South Korean television series. It brings Heo Im (a medical scientist from the Joseon Dynasty portrayed by Kim Nam-gil) to present day Seoul, where he meets the surgeon, Choi Yeon-kyung (Kim Ah-joong). The series marks Kim Nam-gil's small screen comeback after four years. It aired on tvN from August 12 to October 1, 2017.

Its final episode recorded a 6.907% nationwide audience share according to Nielsen paid platform, making the episode one of the highest rated in Korean cable television history.

Synopsis

Heo Im (Kim Nam-gil) is a Joseon doctor of Traditional Korean medicine, specializing in acupuncture. He worked at the clinic for the poor during daytime and earned a fortune by making secret visits to nobles and high-ranking officials' houses at night. After gaining notoriety for his great skills, he was tasked to help treat the king's migraines. Unfortunately, his anxiety got the best of him and he was charged with treason. Unwilling to accept jail, he escaped capture but was chased by soldiers. He was eventually cornered into a river and fatally shot by arrows and fell to his supposed death. Death never came and he awakened in modern Seoul-Korea and realizes he has somehow time traveled. Dazed, lost and confused, he runs into Choi Yeon-kyung (Kim Ah-joong), a cardiothoracic fellow surgeon at Shinhae Hospital and began an unlikely relationship between time and space.

Cast

Main

  • Kim Nam-gil as Heo Im / Heo Bong-tak, an acupuncturist who time travels to Seoul 400 years later when he was about to drown.
  • Kim Ah-joong as Choi Yeon-kyung, a female surgeon who goes to clubbing after work to relieve stress.

Supporting

  • Moon Ga-young as Dong Mak-Gae, Heo Im's loyal assistant who has dreams of becoming a doctor just like her boss.
  • Kim Myung-gon as Ma Sung-tae, a renowned but greedy doctor who is director of a renowned Eastern medicine hospital in Seoul. He is also the grandfather of Yoo Jae-Ha (Yeon-kyung's childhood friend).
  • Um Hyo-sup as Heo Jun, a legendary physician from the Joseon Dynasty who was active during the reigns of King Seonjo and King Gwanghae.
  • Ahn Suk-hwan as Shin Myung-hoon, the director of the hospital where Yeon-kyung works and consequently her boss/ Minister of War (Joseon), an unnamed corrupt war minister of the Joseon dynasty during the Imjin War.
  • Maeng Sang-hoon as Yoo Chan-sung
  • Lee Dae-yeon as Professor Hwang, her teacher and superior at the hospital.
  • Oh Dae-hwan as Doo-chil, one of the servants of the corrupt Minister of War of Joseon.
  • Tae Hang-ho as Min Byung-gi, one of the nurses at Yeon-kyung's grandfather's oriental medicine clinic.
  • Kim Byung-choon as Kwon Ji
  • Yoo Min-kyu as Yoo Jae-ha, a young doctor of oriental medicine who is Yeon-kyung's childhood friend and Sung-tae's grandson/ Yoo Jin-oh (Joseon), a nobleman from the Joseon Dynasty who has a beef with Heo Im.
  • Jin Seon-kyu as Yeon-i's father, the father of Yeon-i (one of Heo Im's patients)
  • Yoon Joo-sang as Choi Chun-Sool, a renowned acupuncturist who owns the Haeminseo Oriental Medicine Clinic and is Yeon-kyung's grandfather.
  • Byeon Woo-seok as Heo Jun's assistant
  • Kim Sung-joo as Kim Min-jae
  • Roh Jeong-eui as Oh Ha-ra, a young girl with heart problems whose life is saved by Heo Im.
  • Lee Do-yeop as Oh Ha-ra's father
  • Lee Ga-ryeong as Gisaeng
  • Shin Rin-ah as Yeon-i, a sick girl and one of Heo Im's patients during the Joseon Dynasty.
  • Yeom Hye-ran as Restaurant owner (ep. #4)
  • Hiromitsu Takeda as Sayaka (Joseon) / Kim Chung-seon (Baptized name after Imjin War), a Japanese general who originally commanded the Japanese Right Army for Kato Kiyomasa before defecting to Korea during the Imjin War.

Ratings

Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
Nielsen Korea TNmS
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide
1 August 12, 2017 2.715% 2.855% 3.2%
2 August 13, 2017 3.995% 4.536% 3.3%
3 August 19, 2017 4.541% 5.227% 3.6%
4 August 20, 2017 5.998% 6.572% 5.0%
5 August 26, 2017 4.347% 4.659% 3.7%
6 August 27, 2017 5.617% 5.968% 4.7%
7 September 2, 2017 5.541% 6.064% 4.2%
8 September 3, 2017 6.357% 6.712% 4.8%
9 September 9, 2017 5.965% 6.802% 5.3%
10 September 10, 2017 6.520% 7.688% 6.0%
11 September 16, 2017 5.889% 6.636% 5.3%
12 September 17, 2017 6.164% 6.848% 5.0%
13 September 23, 2017 5.590% 6.516% 5.4%
14 September 24, 2017 5.364% 6.142% 3.4%
15 September 30, 2017 4.959% 5.641% 3.9%
16 October 1, 2017 6.907% 7.888% 5.5%
Average 5.404% 6.047% 4.5%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).