'Thank you for bringing this to light': Comedian Lee Su-ji's nurse parody moves healthcare workers to tears

Comedian Lee Su-ji has struck a chord with viewers — and especially working nurses — by transforming herself into a hospital nurse and vividly depicting the daily struggles of the profession, following an earlier parody in which she played a kindergarten teacher.

A video titled "The Blood, Sweat and Tears of Nurse Park So-hyeon" was posted Tuesday on Lee's YouTube channel "Hot Issue Ji." In it, Lee plays Park So-hyeon, a third-year nurse working in an internal medicine clinic, as she navigates a relentless stream of patients.

Before the clinic even opens, Park (played by Lee) explains why the waiting room is packed year-round: "In summer, more people use air conditioners and fans, so patients come in with colds. In spring and fall, it's the change of seasons. In winter, people's immune systems weaken," she said.

The video then shows a parade of impatient and rude patients. One elderly patient complains in a blunt, informal tone, "I've been here for a while — when is it my turn?" Unable to use the self-check-in kiosk, he rattles off his date of birth and expects Park to register him manually. Another patient demands treatment for glaucoma, and when Park suggests he visit an ophthalmology clinic, he snaps, "Can't this hospital fix even one thing? You're all quacks."

Park repeatedly asks children running through the clinic to slow down and reminds patients making loud phone calls to keep their voices down — only to be met with complaints that she is being bossy. One patient even picks a fight with her for smiling, saying, "I'm sick and dying, but you look just fine, grinning away."

She coaxes a needle-phobic patient through an injection, promising to make it as painless as possible. During her lunch break, she barely manages a single bite of cup ramyun before being called back to tend to a patient on an IV drip. At the end of her shift, she is still held up by a patient insisting on "just one more" consultation.

The video's attention to detail — dark circles under Park's eyes, mask imprints on her face, hands roughened by constant use of hand sanitizer — along with its unflinching portrayal of emotional labor, pushed it past 1 million views in less than a day.

Viewers flooded the comments section. "Even the smudged makeup from wearing a mask all day looks real," one wrote. Others said the video made them feel firsthand that nursing is "an extreme profession," praised Lee's speech patterns as indistinguishable from those of a real nurse, and called her "a true anthropologist and specialist in dealing with difficult patients."

Working nurses also weighed in. A nurse with 25 years of experience wrote, "I hope this video resonates with many people. A single word of encouragement from a patient can wipe away all of a nurse's fatigue in an instant." A five-year veteran at a major hospital said, "Just the fact that someone is bringing this into public conversation is enough to make me grateful. I feel like I could cry. I cry knowing I have to hold on again tomorrow." Another nurse appealed directly to the public: "Nurses are not emotional trash cans. Please speak to us as if we were your own family. We are someone's daughters, mothers, older sisters, younger sisters and friends."

“전적으로 제 잘못”…안선영, 영어시험 공개 저격 역풍 맞고 하루 만에 사과

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