“The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call” Joo Ji-hoon Set to Earn 3 Billion KRW a Year “Doesn’t Even Need a Salary”
On Feb 4th, a video titled “The Original Author Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Settings and Stories of ‘The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call'” was released on the YouTube channel “Doctor Friends”.
In the video, Lee Nak-joon, who wrote the original novel, explained why Baek Kang-hyuk (played by Joo Ji-hoon) joined Black Waters (a mercenary unit), “He said he went to make money, and he actually did make a lot. But the real reason he went is that U.S. military doctors are the world’s top trauma surgeons. He went there to learn, but because he learned so quickly, he was deployed to the field and even took part in rescues.”
When asked about Baek Kang-hyuk’s earnings from the mercenary unit, Lee Nak-joon revealed, “I wrote this in 2019, and there hasn’t been much inflation. I set his annual salary at $2 million, which is about 3 billion KRW today.” He also mentioned that in the original story, Baek Kang-hyuk spent four years in the unit, but due to Joo Ji-hoon’s youthful appearance, it was reduced to just one year in the drama.
Additionally, Lee Nak-joon revealed that Baek Kang-hyuk is also skilled in stock investments, saying, “He doesn’t even need to receive a salary. His personal fund brings in several hundred million KRW every month. That’s a backdoor setting in the story.”
Meanwhile, “The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call”, starring Joo Ji-hoon, was released on Jan 24th. It ranked No.1 in the Global TV Show Non-English category within just two weeks of its release.
