Brain (Korean: 브레인; RR: Beure-in) is a 2011 South Korean medical drama, starring Shin Ha-kyun, Choi Jung-won, Jung Jin-young and Jo Dong-hyuk. The series revolves around a top neurosurgeon who is obsessed with success and dreams of becoming the hospital director, then finds himself embroiled in professional rivalries and an unexpected romance.[1][2] The series received positive reviews, particularly for Shin Ha-kyun's performance.[3]
| Brain | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Brain | |
| Genre | Medical drama Romance |
| Created by | Kwak Ki-won KBS Drama Division |
| Written by | Yoon Kyung-ah |
| Directed by | Yoo Hyun-ki Song Hyun-wook |
| Starring | Shin Ha-kyun Choi Jung-won Jung Jin-young Jo Dong-hyuk |
| Composers | Park Seung-jin Choi Min-chang |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lee Geun-jun (KBS) |
| Producer | Moon Jun-ha (KBS) |
| Production location | South Korea |
| Running time | 60 minutes on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production company | CJ E&M |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS |
| Release | 14 November 2011 – 17 January 2012 |
| Brain | |
| Hangul | 브레인 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Beure-in |
| McCune–Reischauer | Bŭrein |
It aired on KBS2 from November 14, 2011 to January 17, 2012 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
Plot edit
Lee Kang-hoon (Shin Ha-kyun) is a neurosurgeon in his early 30s. He graduated from Korea's most prestigious medical school with the best grades and completed his residency. Ashamed of his poor, uneducated parents, he has sworn since he was young that he will change his own fate. He chose neurosurgery, the least popular department, because there he can easily gain privileges by making connections with senior doctors. Seo Joon-suk (Jo Dong-hyuk), who was born with everything, is the person Kang-hoon despises the most and views him as his rival. Kim Sang-chul (Jung Jin-young) is a caring, empathetic neurosurgeon professor in his mid-50s who acts as a mentor to Yoon Ji-hye (Choi Jung-won). Joon-suk likes Ji-hye, but she has feelings for Kang-hoon.[4] The series takes a shocking turn when Kang-hoon learns that Sang-chul caused his father's death.[5][6]
Cast edit
Main characters edit
- Shin Ha-kyun as Lee Kang-hoon[7][8][9][10]
- Main protagonist of the series. An arrogant neurosurgeon who lives with his mother and sister, he is haunted by the death of his father when he was a child. At first he does not like Ji-hye, but grows to have feelings for her.
- Choi Jung-won as Yoon Ji-hye[11]
- A doctor who comes from a middle-class family. She is very fond of Kim Sang-chul, whom she considers her mentor. She starts to fall for Kang-hoon.
- Jung Jin-young as Kim Sang-chul
- Head of the hospital who cares for his patients. He has a dark past involving the accidental death of Kang-hoon's father on the surgery table, with young Kang-hoon as a witness.
- Jo Dong-hyuk as Seo Joon-suk
- A doctor who comes from rich family whose maid happened to be Kang-hoon's mother. He has a crush on Ji-hye.
- Claudia Kim as Jang Yoo-jin
- The daughter of a rich man whom Kang-hoon saved. Now she is trying to seduce Kang-hoon. Yoo-jin has a 5-year-old daughter.
Supporting characters edit
- Lee Sung-min - Go Jae-hak
- Ban Hyo-jung - Hwang Young-sun
- Park Chul-ho - Park In-bum
- Im Ji-eun - Hong Eun-sook
- Jo Soo-min - Im Hyun-jung
- Kwak Seung-nam - Yang Bum-joon
- Shim Hyung-tak - Jo Dae-shik
- Kwon Yul - Yeo Bong-goo
- Song Ok-sook - Kim Soon-im, Kang-hoon's mother
- Kim Ga-eun - Lee Ha-young, Kang-hoon's sister
- Kang Ye-seo - Choi Ryu-bi
- Lee Seung-joo - Dong Seung-man
- Choi Il-hwa - Ahn Dong-suk
- Heo Jung-gyu - Kong Duk-ki
- Hong Il-kwon - Hwang Tae-sung
- Ko In-beom - Jang Yoo-jin's father
- Lee Hyun-woo - Park Dong-hwa (guest appearance)
- Yoo Chae-yeong - Swimming instructor (guest appearance)
- Marco - Man at swimming pool (guest appearance)
- Lee Chan-ho - Na Jae-woong (guest appearance)
- Jeon Moo-song - Kim Shin-woo (guest appearance)
- Kim Young-ok - Sa Bong-ja (guest appearance)
- Hwang Bum-sik - Cha Hoon-kyung (guest appearance)
Production edit
Lee Sang-yoon, Yoon Seung-ah, and Lee Hyun-jin were originally cast as the main characters (Lee Kang-hoon, Yoon Ji-hye and Seo Joon-suk, respectively), but after the read-through, the producers deemed them "too young" for their roles and the actors were subsequently fired.[12] Song Seung-heon and Kim Joo-hyuk were rumored to be offered the leading role, which eventually went to Shin Ha-kyun.
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Best Couple Award | Shin Ha-kyun and Choi Jung-won | Won | |
| Netizen Award | Shin Ha-kyun | Won | ||
| Choi Jung-won | Won | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Jung Jin-young | Won | ||
| Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Choi Jung-won | Nominated | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated | ||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Shin Ha-kyun | Won | ||
| 2012 | Korean PD Awards | Best Actor | Shin Ha-kyun | Won |
| Best TV Actor | Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated | ||
| Best TV Drama | Brain | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Shin Ha-kyun | Nominated |
References edit
- ^ Noh, Hyun-gi (9 November 2011). "Medical dramas making comeback to small screen". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Jin, Young-ju (14 November 2011). "Medical Drama Brain to Realize Perfect World of Medical Specialist". KBS Global. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ a b Hong, Lucia (2 January 2012). "Shin Ha-kyun scores top prize at 2011 KBS Drama Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Jin, Young-ju (30 November 2011). "Shin Ha Kyun Begins Romance with Choi Jeong Won in Brain". KBS Global. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ Hwang, Hyo-jin (14 November 2011). "PREVIEW: KBS TV series Brain". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ Jin, Young-ju (12 December 2011). "Brain Unveils Film Set". KBS Global. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- ^ Hong, Lucia (8 November 2011). "Shin Ha-kyun: I feel that viewers will get something new out of Brain". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ "Shin Ha Kyun: 'Lee Kang Hoon's Desire is Story of Us'". KBS Global. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Lee, Jin-ho (26 January 2012). "Interview: Shin Ha Kyun Hits a Grand Slam". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Lee, Jin-ho (26 January 2012). "Shin Ha Kyun Says, "I like Kyun-morning the most."". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Kim, Jessica (29 September 2011). "Choi Jung-won, Shin Ha-kyun to turn doctors in Brain". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- ^ Kamarudin, Syahida (23 September 2011). "Lee Sang-yoon too young to play neurosurgeon". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
- ^ Hicap, Jonathan M. (30 March 2012). "Nominees in 48th Baeksang Arts Awards bared". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
