Brain – Neurosurgery Must Be Done With the Heart

By cmoneyspinner - December 28, 2024

“Brain” is a 2011 Series, with 20 episodes, categorized as Medical drama, and is streaming on KOCOWA+.

SUMMARY: An arrogant but straight-forward and extremely competent neurosurgeon can’t tolerate the incompetence medical staff that surround him. They may think he looks down on them because he thinks he’s superior. But he never demands that they do anything unreasonable. He always has a reason and he is always right about his reasoning. It’s a matter of life and death. Is it wrong for him to expect excellence from them? WHY? He’s excellent and it’s expected from him. Even though he’s not from a wealthy background he should still be respected. Agree?

♦ Hard Work Does Not Ensure Success

In “Brain”, Lee Kang-Hoon is a neurosurgeon who is excellent, but arrogant. One of his fellow doctors and superiors, Kim Sang-Chul, tried to advise him that brain surgery needed to be done with the heart. He’ll learn. He works at the prestigious Chunha University Hospital and often works with Seo Joon-Suk and Yoon Ji-Hye.

Kim Sang-Chul has a reputation for being the best brain surgeon at the hospital. But it’s not just his ability to perform successful surgeries but he makes the patient feel good before and after surgery. He has a way of comforting and touching their heart, as this is crucial to their healing as much as the surgery. Kim Sang-Chul doesn’t really like Lee Kang-Hoon personality-wise, but he does know that as a neurosurgeon he is very capable. But Lee Kang-Hoon seems to lack empathy, compassion, and heart when treating his patients.

Seo Joon-Suk and Lee Kang-Hoon are fellow surgeons who share an office. They work together and schedule surgeries. Sometimes they operate separately and sometimes as a team. Seo Joon-Suk respects Lee Kang-Hoon, even though he knows his character is abrasive, and sometimes there is rivalry between them. But Lee Kang-Hoon believes it doesn’t matter even though he is a better neurosurgeon than Seo Joon-Suk because Seo Joon-Suk comes from a wealthy family. He will be pushed up the ladder of success without even trying.

By contrast, Lee Kang-Hoon comes from a poor family and his parents are uneducated. His mother is Seo Joon-Suk’s housekeeper. Lee Kang-Hoon is determined to be successful. Seo Joon-Suk does not have to work hard. But Lee Kang-Hoon knows he won’t get anywhere without hard work, and perseverance, and he might have to do “certain things” to get the approval of his superiors so that he can advance in his profession.

Yoon Ji-Hye often serves as an assistant on the surgical teams. She has a very good relationship with both Seo Joon-Suk and Kim Sang-Chul. But she butt heads with Lee Kang-Hoon. He thinks she’s unqualified and incompetent, and doesn’t take her job seriously. He says she doesn’t have to worry because she can always call on Seo Joon-Suk to help her or cover her mistakes. Yoon Ji-Hye believes that she is very capable although she has a lot to learn. There is no reason for Lee Kang-Hoon to behave so arrogantly and condescendingly treat her. For the record, he treats everybody that way.

In one incident, Lee Kang-Hoon proved to her that she as the one ho as arrogant and believed she was right. That’s why she ignored his instructions and the patient’s condition deteriorated. Even when the patient’s state was critical, instead of calling him she called Seo Joon-Suk. He said that the two of them were responsible for the deterioration of the patient’s condition because … ??? Because they wanted to prove that they were right and he was wrong.

But guess what? He was right! However, instead of them being upbraided for what they did, Kim Sang-Chul banned Lee Kang-Hoon from the operating room for two weeks. Of course, Lee Kang-Hoon believed Kim Sang-Chul simply didn’t want to take his side or defend him because he didn’t like him and he favored Yoon Ji-Hye and Seo Joon-Suk. That’s the way it was always going to be at Chunha University Hospital. Others might receive preferential treatment but not him. If he wanted to be successful he would have to figure out a way to rise above everything that would hinder him and hold him back.

Main Characters:

Lee Kang-Hoon (played by Shin Ha-Kyun*, “Beyond Evil“, “Inseparable Bros”, “Joint Security Area”, “The Auditors”, “Mr. Zoo: The Missing VIP” (he was the dog))
Kim Sang-Chul (played by Jung Jin-Young, “Queen Of Tears”)
Yoon Ji-Hye (played by Choi Jung-Won)
Seo Joon-Suk (played by Jo Dong-Hyuk, “Rugal”)

*Grand Prize – 2011 KBS Drama Awards; Netizen Award – 2011 KBS Drama Awards; Best Couple Award with Choi Jung-Won – 2011 KBS Drama Awards

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

IMDb: 8.1 out of 10 stars
My Drama List: 7.6 out of 10 stars
JustDial: 8.2 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars.

“Brain” got added to my watch list because I like medical dramas, but also because I like the male lead. The first time I saw Shin Ha-Kyun was in the series “The Auditors”. I like his eyes. They glare at you! No matter what role he takes, I watch him because of the way he glares at people. It’s like he’s shooting lasers! LOL. But he is also a very competent and convincing actor. I have more K-dramas on my list where he is part of the cast and I will be reviewing them. Check back later.