Brain Works

Brain Works (Korean: 두뇌공조) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Jung Yong-hwa, Cha Tae-hyun, Kwak Sun-young, and Ye Ji-won. It aired on KBS2 from January 2 to February 28, 2023, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:50 (KST) for 16 episodes.^[5][7]

Brain Works
Promotional poster
Hangul	두뇌공조
Hanja	頭腦共助
Literal meaning	Brain Cooperation[1]
Revised Romanization	Dunoegongjo
McCune–Reischauer	Tunoegongjo
Genre	Comedy[2] Mystery[2]
Written by	Park Kyung-seon[3]
Directed by	Lee Jin-seo[3] Gu Seong-jun[3]
Starring	Jung Yong-hwa Cha Tae-hyun Kwak Sun-young Ye Ji-won
Music by	Park Se-joon
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer	Park Ki-ho (KBS)
Producers	Ahn Je-hyeon Shin Sang-yoon Lee Seung-bum
Running time	75 minutes[4]
Production company	Samhwa Networks[5]
Budget	₩6.4 billion[6]
Original release
Network	KBS2
Release	January 2 (2023-01-02) – February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)

Synopsis

Brain Works is a science-themed comedic investigative drama that follows the story of two men, who cannot stand each other, as they partner up to solve a criminal case involving a rare brain disease.^[8][9]

Cast

Main

• Jung Yong-hwa as Shin Ha-ru, a neuroscientist who has an "extraordinary brain"^[10][11]
  • Seo Woo-jin as young Shin Ha-ru^[12]
• Cha Tae-hyun as Geum Myung-se, a detective who has an "altruistic brain"^[10][11]
• Kwak Sun-young as Seol So-jung, a forensic hypnosis investigator who has an "anxious brain"^[10][11]
• Ye Ji-won as Kim Mo-ran, Myung-se's ex-wife who has a "sexual brain"^[10][11]

Supporting

People around Ha-ru

• Jung Dong-hwan as Hwang Dong-woo, a murderer and a death row inmate who has a "psychopath brain"^[8][13]
• Kim Soo-jin as Shin Ji-hyung, a neurosurgeon at Korea University Hospital who has a "middle-aged brain"^[8][13]
• Lim Chul-hyung as Park Chi-guk, head of the Brain Hub Center, a brain science research institute affiliated with Korea University Hospital, who has a "political brain"^[13][14]

People around Myung-se

• Woo Hyun as Kim Gil-joong, chief of the neuroscience team at the Seobu Police Station who has a "menopausal brain"^[8][13]
• Kim Ah-song as Geum I-na, Myung-se's daughter who has a "teenage brain"^[13]

Extended

• Kim Kang-il as Kang Seong-ha, a murderer^[15]
• Park Sang-hoon as Ho-young^[16]
• Han Ji-wan as Han Yeon-hee^[17]
• Lee Won-jung as Kim Joon-young^[18]
• Oh Yoon-hong^[19]

Special appearances

• Jang Ho-il as Kim Jae-won^[20]
• Moon Won-joo as O Sang-gi^[21]
• Han Soo-yeon as Jung In-young^[22]
• Jang Dong-seon^[23]
• Jung Jin-young as Park Jin-young^[24]
• Lee Sang-sook as Lee Jeong-ja^[25]
• Lee Seung-joon as Heo Bum-soo^[26]
• Jeon Ik-ryeong as Kim Jae-suk^[27]
• Im Do-hwa as a virtual human^[28]
• Ha Si-eun^[29]

Production

It was reported that filming for the series was scheduled to start in July 2022.^[30]

Viewership

Season		Episode number
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	911	712	N/A	N/A	700	686	671	596	660	605	N/A	530	757	662	676	763

Brain Works : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[31]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[31]		TNmS[32]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	January 2, 2023	5.2% (14th)	4.3% (18th)	4.4% (18th)
2	January 3, 2023	4.1% (17th)	3.8% (19th)	N/A
3	January 9, 2023	3.9% (20th)	3.7% (18th)
4	January 10, 2023	3.3% (21st)	N/A
5	January 16, 2023	4.3% (18th)	4.2% (18th)
6	January 17, 2023	4.4% (16th)	4.6% (13th)	3.4% (20th)
7	January 30, 2023	4.0% (19th)	3.7% (18th)	N/A
8	January 31, 2023	3.3% (20th)	N/A
9	February 6, 2023	3.9% (17th)	3.8% (17th)
10	February 7, 2023	3.7% (17th)	3.8% (16th)	3.5% (20th)
11	February 13, 2023	3.7% (19th)	3.3% (19th)	3.8% (18th)
12	February 14, 2023	3.4% (18th)	3.6% (18th)	N/A
13	February 20, 2023	4.3% (16th)	4.3% (15th)
14	February 21, 2023	4.0% (17th)	4.2% (14th)	4.0% (15th)
15	February 27, 2023	4.2% (16th)	4.2% (16th)	3.4% (20th)
16	February 28, 2023	4.9% (8th)	5.1% (7th)	N/A
Average		4.0%	—[a]	—[a]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest published ratings and the red numbers represent the highest published ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published.

Notes

1. Due to some unpublished ratings, the exact average rating is unknown.