Brains Are Sexy: 7 K-Drama Characters Who Are Geniuses

K-drama characters who are geniuses are fascinating to watch. And although this trope has been done many times over, it’s interesting to see how these characters see the world and the struggles they go through as a result of their gifts. It also helps when there’s a bit of a love story involved, just to make it interesting. Here are seven K-dramas where the main characters are geniuses.

“Melancholia”

In “Melancholia,” Lee Do Hyun plays Baek Seung Yoo, a math prodigy and student who develops strong feelings for his math teacher. His character has some past trauma that he finds difficult to move past from. Im Soo Jung plays Ji Yoon Soo, a passionate math teacher who is given a job to work at a private school that is rife with corruption. She meets Baek Seung Yoo there and is able to slowly tear down the walls that he has built up so high over the years.

In the series, Baek Seung Yoo is a genius who has given up a lot of his potential early on in life. He goes through a lot of issues where he is unable to move forward and live his life. He does not care about school or about any of the opportunities he could have taken on as a result of his gift, but when he meets this teacher, his full potential is unlocked. He is able to strive to be the best at what he does. The genius mind in which Seung Yoo possesses is just so cool to see.

“Good Doctor”

“Good Doctor” stars Joo Won as Park Shi On, a doctor who has autism. Although he is considered to have the social awareness of a 10-year-old, he is a genius and becomes a successful pediatric surgeon. He is put in a hospital with Kim Do Han (Joo Sang Wook), another pediatric surgeon, and the two often argue about various cases.

Joo Won as Park Shi On won over so many hearts. In fact, his character’s story was so impactful that a U.S. version of the series was also launched. The way Shi On is able to effortlessly figure out what is wrong with his patients is so satisfying to watch. It is also very healing to see the people around him get put in their place when they underestimate his knowledge and brains.

“Extraordinary Attorney Woo”

Woo Young Woo (Park Eun Bin) is a genius lawyer who has autism. She has been able to memorize law books from a young age, which leads to her to having a job at a law firm as an adult. She works with a team of very supportive lawyers who help those who deserve justice. She also forms a love line with a co-worker at the law firm named Lee Jun Ho (Kang Tae Oh).

Woo Young Woo is lawyer who has memorized all the laws in every book since a very young age. She is the most recent genius on this list of characters, and she won the hearts of everyone in this massively successful series. Everything she has accomplished in life and the warmth of her heart make her a character that many can easily love.

“Reply 1988”

Sung Deok Sun (Hyeri) and Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum) have been best friends since they were kids. They hang out together all the time and are super comfortable around each other, which is why it’s only natural that Choi Taek ends up falling for Deok Sun. The difficult part about this situation is that their mutual friend Jung Hwan (Ryu Jun Yeol) also has feelings for Deok Sun.

Park Bo Gum plays a genius Go player named Choi Taek. He is so good at playing the game that he is able to quit school and spend his days practicing. He later becomes a national treasure as he is able to win first place in various tournaments all over the world. He also plays the love interest of Sung Deok Sun in the series, and seeing him try to win over Deok Sun’s affections while mastering the game is so intriguingly romantic.

“Secret Love Affair”

Yoo Ah In stars as a young pianist named Lee Sun Jae who falls in love with his piano teacher Oh Hye Won (Kim Hee Ae). There is quite a heavy age gap between the two, and the scandalous part of the drama is that they share a really passionate love affair while Hye Won is still married to her husband.

Lee Sun Jae is a young piano prodigy who is able to get piano lessons from an esteemed pianist. He never got any real lessons, but he was able to pick it up on his own from a young age. The fact that he can play so perfectly and with so much emotion impresses everyone around him, which is why they try to hone his skills even further by introducing him to Oh Hye Won. The magic that is shown through his character and his beautiful mind is fascinating to see. It also helped that Yoo Ah In was able to portray a genius character so perfectly.

“Lucky Romance”

“Lucky Romance” stars Ryu Jun Yeol as Je Soo Ho, a genius CEO of a gaming company, and Hwang Jung Eum as Shim Bo Nui, an unlucky girl who has a lot of random part-time jobs. When Soo Ho falls in love with Bo Nui and opens up his heart to her, he can hardly contain himself. He is a fool in love who does and says some uber cheesy things.

Je Soo Ho is a young and smart CEO of a gaming company who started his business from scratch. He lacks social skills and does not waste his time mingling with people. He would rather work as it is the only thing he is really good at. It’s interesting to see how hard Soo Ho works in order to make his company so successful and also seeing how much he opens his heart to let Shim Bo Nui in. The fact that he is able to love so earnestly only shows that he has more than a perfect brain – he also has a perfect heart.

“Start-Up”

Seo Dal Mi (Suzy) is dirt poor and can’t seem to catch a break, but opportunity knocks on her door when her estranged older sister returns to Korea and invites her to a networking party. Dal Mi is encouraged to invite her first love Nam Do San, but the only problem is that Nam Do San is actually Han Ji Pyeong (Kim Seon Ho) pretending to be Nam Do San. This forces Ji Pyeong to have to track the real Nam Do San (Nam Joo Hyuk) down in hopes that he can pretend to know Dal Mi. This ensues an epic love triangle that results in a series of lies, shattered dreams, and broken hearts.

Han Ji Pyeong is a math prodigy who is even in the newspaper at a young age for his math abilities. Ji Pyeong’s brains get him far in life as he becomes the CEO of a company, and he is even in a position to donate money to a cause he cares a lot for. And although his brains are sexy, his warm and giving heart definitely make his character sexier!

Source: Soompi