Comedian Lee Soo-ji is garnering widespread empathy once again, this time satirizing the harsh realities of being a nurse, following her previous hit series on kindergarten teachers.
Recently, a video titled "The Blood, Sweat, and Tears of Nurse Park So-hyun: A Real Extreme Job" was released on her YouTube channel, "Hot Issueji." In the video, Lee Soo-ji portrays Nurse Park So-hyun, who works tirelessly without a moment's rest, handling everything from hospital reception and medical guidance to patient care, administering injections, and processing payments.
The video begins with a narration: "The guardians of life who protect someone's tomorrow on the front lines of disease and infection. Even if their skin barrier breaks down, their sense of duty toward patients never crumbles." It then depicts the daily life of a nurse who silently stands her ground amidst endless call lights and the risk of infection.
The realistic portrayal evoked a bittersweet empathy rather than mere laughter. Nurse Park So-hyun is shown helping a patient who struggles to use the self-service kiosk, repeatedly explaining procedures to a patient complaining of symptoms unrelated to the department, and soothing patients and guardians protesting long wait times. She also has to deal with a stubborn patient who insists on medical advice they "searched on ChatGPT." The dilemma of "being criticized for being too cold, yet also criticized for being too friendly" deeply resonated with many practicing nurses.
The realism was heightened by scenes showing Park unable to rest properly even during lunchtime. The relentless patient care that continues right up until the end of her shift further highlighted the struggles of nurses. In the video, Park says, "Honestly, what job isn't hard? Every job is tough. But seeing patients who came in sick leave healthy makes it all worth it, and hearing them say 'thank you' fills me with emotion."
The video was flooded with comments from practicing nurses. A university hospital nurse with five years of experience wrote, "I'm so grateful just to have this issue brought to light. It honestly makes me want to cry. The reality of having to endure another day tomorrow is so overwhelming."
Another active nurse pleaded, "Nurses are not emotional trash cans. We understand and tolerate patients who are in pain, in emergencies, or having a hard time out of our sense of duty and ethics, but we are human too. Please speak to us as if we were your own family. We are also someone's daughter, mother, older sister, younger sibling, and friend."
A netizen who identified as a nurse with over 25 years of experience also commented, "Thank you so much, Lee Soo-ji, it brings tears to my eyes. I hope this video resonates with many people. A single word of encouragement from patients blows away all of a nurse's fatigue. We are nurses who gain strength from just one thoughtful word."
Previously, Lee Soo-ji sparked a major sensation by satirizing the realities of kindergarten and childcare teachers through her "Human Documentary Real Extreme Job: Kindergarten Teacher" series. Those videos also realistically captured on-site struggles—such as unreasonable complaints from demanding parents, children attending school while infected with contagious diseases, and demands for CCTV footage—earning deep empathy from teachers.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)