Doctors donning white coats in light-blue scrubs represent purity on television, which bodes well with Korean female stars.

Korean star Song Hye-kyo appearing in "Descendants of the Sun" is one of them now, and has drawn widespread appreciation for her role.

Song plays a surgeon sent to a remote area in KBS 2TV’s TV series “Descendants of the Sun. In her role as Kang Mo-yeon she exudes chemistry with Song Joong-ki, who acts as a junior military officer deployed to the same area.

There have been many more white gown-clad Korean female stars before “Descendants of the Sun.”

1. Hwang Jung-eum (Kang Jae-in)

Actress Hwang Jung-eum acted an an intern surgeon Kang Jae-in in MBC’s “Golden Time,” which was aired between July 2012 and September 2012. Despite being the heiress of a hospital owner, Jae-in determines to start from the bottom as an emergency room intern, but finds many hurdles she has to overcome. She costarred with actor Lee Sun-kyun veteran actor Lee Sung-min, both of whom acted as doctors at the hospital

Hwang recalled the role as a “turning point” in her acting career in a July 2012 local report before it was aired. …

2. Moon Chae-won (Cha Yoon-seo)

(KBS 2TV)

Actress Moon Chae-won acted as Dr. Yoon-seo in KBS 2TV’s “Good Doctor,” which was broadcast in 2013. She has a crush on senior doctor Kim Do-han (Joo Sang-uk) which is not reciprocated. Yoon-seo, however, later finds herself in love with fellow doctor Park Shi-on (Joo Won), who overcame Savant Syndrome, or autism, and became a doctor.

3. Kim Min-jung (Nam Hye-suk, Jin Hye-in and Maria Oh)

Kim Min-jung acting Nam Hye-suk (MBC, left) and Jin Hye-in (tvN)

Actress Kim Min-jung acted as a doctor thrice, in MBC’s “New Heart” (2007), and tvN’s “The Third Hospital” (2012) and “Gap-dong” (2014).

In “New Heart,” Kim acted as Nam Hye-suk, a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, who graduated from medical school summa cum laude. Hye-suk falls in love with Lee Eun-sung (Ji Sung), a fellow cardiothoracic surgeon.

She was a neurosurgeon Jin Hye-in in tvN’s “The Third Hospital.” The drama revolves around a hospital where doctors practicing Oriental medicine and Occidental medicine vie for dominance.

Kim’s latest doctor role was Maria Oh, a psychiatrist, in “Gap-dong.”

4. Ku Hye-sun (Yoo Ri-ta)

Actress Ku Hye-sun acted as surgeon Yoo Ri-ta in a KBS 2TV’s fantasy TV series “Blood,” aired from February 2015 to April 2015. Ku costarred in the vampire-themed medical drama with Ahn Jae-hyun, who played Park Ji-sang.

5. Song Hye-kyo (Kang Mo-yeon)

(KBS 2TV)

Last but not least, actress Song Hye-kyo, 34, made a comeback three years after starring in “That Winter, the Wind Blows.” as a member of a volunteer doctor’s team in KBS 2TV’s TV series “Descendants of the Sun.”

In contrast to previous female doctor roles, Song falls in love with a non-medical personnel, Special Forces Capt. Yoo Shi-jin.

The drama has aired four episodes on KBS 2TV and Chinese online broadcasting service iQiYi.

By Son Ji-hyoung (json@heraldcorp.com)