Actor Ha Young reveals family of doctors spanning four generations

Actor Ha Young has drawn attention after revealing that she comes from a family of doctors stretching back four generations.

Ha Young and her "Our Sticky Love" co-star Jung Hae-in appeared Thursday on the Netflix Korea YouTube channel.

Ha Young mentioned "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," widely regarded as one of her signature works, saying she had "a really great time filming it" and that it was "the first project where I performed so freely."

She added that the director had encouraged her to show her natural, relaxed self on screen. "Thanks to that, I gained confidence and was able to act much more freely," she said.

When host Yoo Byung-jae asked whether her family had been doctors for generations, Ha Young confirmed it and shared details about her unusual family background.

"From what I've heard, my father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all doctors," she said, adding that her great-grandfather was said to have been among the first to open a Western medicine clinic in Hanyang — the historical name for Seoul — at the time.

She also mentioned that her sister is a doctor, describing her as an internal medicine specialist.

Yoo said that kind of environment must have influenced her sister's path into medicine, and Ha Young agreed.

Ha Young laughed, however, saying she had never once wanted to become a doctor. "It's such a difficult profession that I never even dared to think about it. I just hoped my sister would work hard at it," she said.

Growing up in a family of doctors proved useful when she took on a medical drama, Ha Young said. For "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," she needed to understand drug names and medical terminology to deliver a convincing performance, so she frequently turned to her family for help. "There were also many operating room scenes, and I asked them for advice on things like where a nurse should be standing," she said.

Ha Young won wide acclaim for her role as nurse Cheon Jang-mi in Netflix's "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call."

"Our Sticky Love," which premieres Friday, follows the chaotic cohabitation of prosecutor Ko Eun-sae (Ha Young), who has lost her memory, and boxing coach Jang Tae-ha (Jung Hae-in), who claims to be her boyfriend.