Golden Time

The series was designed to realistically portray the intense world of trauma surgeons and the initial response at emergency rooms in a general hospital, focusing on doctors treating critically injured patients.

An early storyline about 119 paramedic Jang Young-woo was gradually phased out, while a subplot inspired by the real-life story of delivery man and 'angel' donor Kim Woo-soo, portrayed as patient Park Won-guk, became more prominent instead.

Many characters in the drama share their names with staff members who worked with director Kwon Seok-jang or with crew members involved in the production.

Unlike most other Korean medical dramas, which are typically filmed in the Seoul metropolitan area, Golden Time was shot at Haeundae Paik Hospital, part of Inje University, in Busan.

The character of trauma specialist Choi In-hyuk was based on real-life doctor Lee Guk-jong of Ajou University Hospital, who became famous in 2011 for saving the life of Captain Seok Hae-kyun after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds during a rescue from Somali pirates in the Aden Gulf 'Dawn of Gulf of Aden' operation.

Originally slated for 20 episodes, the drama was extended by three episodes to a total of 23 after MBC's drama division announced the change on September 13, 2012.

After struggling with single-digit ratings in its first two weeks, the show rose 5.1 percentage points in its third week to top the Monday-Tuesday primetime chart, then held the number one spot for ten consecutive weeks despite competition from the London 2012 Olympics coverage and rival dramas Faith and Haeundae Lovers.

Episode 10 was preempted on August 7, 2012 due to broadcast coverage of the 30th London Olympics.

The soundtrack marked director Kwon Seok-jang's third collaboration with music director Moon Sung-nam, following their previous work together on Pasta (2010) and My Princess (2011), and featured songs by indie artists such as 10cm, Verbal Jint, and Every Single Day.

Writer Choi Hee-ra later criticized actor Lee Sung-min in a magazine interview, saying he became intoxicated with his popularity as the drama went on, comparing him to 'a pig wearing an armband,' and cited this as a reason a second season could not be made.