14 November 2011 (2011-11-14) – 17 January 2012 (2012-01-17)
Brain (Korean: 브레인) 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]
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.
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.
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.
