As Doctor Truck Unit 4 cut through the dawn air on the highway, the hospitals in downtown Seoul were strangely quiet.The lights were on, but there were no people.Above the reception desks, an electronic sign repeated the same bold message.
"Medical services are limited due to collective action by medical staff."
Song Jaemin looked at the words on his phone inside the truck and let out a short breath.It wasn't quite a laugh—more like steadying himself.
"So it's finally here."
This strike wasn't about higher fees or working conditions.The problem was Doctor Truck.
The long-standing order that doctors must stay inside hospitals.The unspoken agreement that medicine belongs inside buildings.One truck was tearing that order apart.
In medical community forums, sharp posts poured out.
— "They're using medical licenses like delivery services."— "Field medicine is just emotional propaganda. It breaks the system."— "Song Jaemin isn't a doctor. He's a showman."
But on another board in the same community, very different posts appeared.
— "Doctor Truck saved my father last night."— "If they'd told us to go to a hospital, he would've died."— "Why is this illegal? I still don't understand."
Doctors were splitting in two.
The silent majority began to speak, and their words turned sharp—aimed at each other.
That morning, at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
"We must suspend the Doctor Truck pilot program.""It has not been institutionalized.""It could undermine the foundation of the medical system."
A TF staff member muttered quietly,
"They still say 'foundation,' even in front of human lives."
On the screen at the side of the room, numbers were displayed.
Dispatches: 312Critical patients: 74Mortality rate reduction: 38%
Numbers didn't lie.But numbers couldn't become politics.
At that same moment, Doctor Truck Unit 2 was heading toward an industrial complex.
A worker caught in a conveyor belt. Massive bleeding.Hospital arrival: 28 minutes.Golden time: 10 minutes.
Song Jaemin didn't hesitate.
"Deploy."
In that moment, he knew.This wasn't a medical issue—it was an issue of order.
Who has the authority to handle life?And where is that authority fixed?
On site, he operated.It wasn't perfect—but it was enough.
The worker lived.
Someone captured the scene on a phone.Hours later, it became an international headline.
"A Doctor Who Refused to Stay Inside the Hospital.""The Truck That Challenged Korea's Medical System."
CNN, BBC, NHK—calls came in at the same time.
It wasn't a story about medical innovation,but about where medicine belongs.
The strike peaked that afternoon.
The Medical Association released a statement.
"Doctor Truck damages the essence of medicine."
Under the statement, comments appeared.
— "Was the essence a building?"— "Our neighborhood hospital protected the 'essence' and shut down."— "Start by naming the people who'd be dead without Doctor Truck."
Public opinion shifted.Quietly, but unmistakably.
That night, in the temporary Truck City office.
Kang Doyoon stood by the window, watching lines of truck lights pull in.
"This is just the beginning," he said."It's not doctors fighting anymore.People are going to ask what a doctor really is."
Song Jaemin nodded.
"And that question…someone's been avoiding it for a long time."
Outside, another Doctor Truck shut off its engine.
Even during the strike, dispatches didn't stop.
That night, the final news caption changed.
"Medical strike shows signs of prolonging… Public support for Doctor Truck grows."
And no one knew yet—
when this strike ended,it wouldn't be only medicine that changed.