PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Brain
Hangul	브레인
Revised Romanization	Beure-in
McCune–Reischauer	Bŭrein

*Brain*
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 (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]

It aired on KBS2 from November 14, 2011 to January 17, 2012 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

Plot

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

Main characters

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

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

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

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2011	KBS Drama Awards^[3]	Best Couple Award	Shin Ha-kyun and Choi Jung-won	Won
		Netizen Award	Shin Ha-kyun	Won
		Netizen Award	Choi Jung-won	Won
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Jung Jin-young	Won
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	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
	Baeksang Arts Awards^[13]	Best TV Actor	Shin Ha-kyun	Nominated
	Baeksang Arts Awards^[13]	Best TV Drama	Brain	Nominated
	Seoul International Drama Awards	Best Actor	Shin Ha-kyun	Nominated
	K-Drama Star Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actor	Shin Ha-kyun	Nominated

References

^ Noh, Hyun-gi (November 9, 2011). "Medical dramas making comeback to small screen". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
^ Jin, Young-ju (November 14, 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. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
^ Jin, Young-ju (30 November 2011). "Shin Ha Kyun Begins Romance with Choi Jeong Won in Brain". KBS Global. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
^ Hwang, Hyo-jin (November 14, 2011). "PREVIEW: KBS TV series Brain". Asiae. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
^ Jin, Young-ju (12 December 2011). "Brain Unveils Film Set". KBS Global. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
^ Hong, Lucia (November 8, 2011). "Shin Ha-kyun: I feel that viewers will get something new out of Brain". Asiae. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. 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. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
^ Kamarudin, Syahida (23 September 2011). "Lee Sang-yoon too young to play neurosurgeon". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. 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.