Yeah, you read that right! the writer/director of South Korean classics such as I Saw The Devil, A Bittersweet Life (Jee-woon Kim) has his own Apple TV mini-series called Dr Brain
In a lot of ways, Dr Brain reminded me of the British TV series Black Mirror. You know, a subject that’s quite scary for you to be seeing on screen but at the same time, you’re aware that our future technology may not be that far away from what’s in the series.
I’ve been wanting to binge this series for over a year now. I finally bit the bullet and subbed to Apple+ and it was the first thing on my mind to stream. Also, Dr Brain was also the first (I hope of many) South Korean TV show made for Apple.
What is Dr Brain about?
It follows a genius Dr called Dr Sewon Koh. From Childhood, Sewon has had an extraordinary gift. His intelligence is way beyond anyone of that age. But with this great intelligence, there is also a downside: Sewon could be called a borderline psychopath. He has zero empathy and shows no emotion towards others…so, of course, he becomes a doctor, RIGHT? seems like a fitting choice for someone with these psychopathic traits. Dr Koh has been working on a controversial experiment where he is trying to sync the memories of one subject into another. A mistake then leads to a breakthrough, he realises that the subject must be dead for the memories to transfer to a live host. When Dr Koh’s family is involved in a freak accident he finds himself obsessed with finding the truth. Even if he has to steal the memories from the dead to get it.
Dr Brain is a very easy mini-series to binge with just 6-episodes which I admit is bittersweet. One half of me wants a 16-episode 1st season like most K Dramas) and the other half of me is glad I’m not going to be stuck to a fkn couch for 16 hours straight.
If you’re a fan of South Korean cinema then Dr Brain is just simply a must-see. It’s written and directed by one of the best writers/directors in South Korean cinematic history. It also stars some familiar faces from all of our favourite classics from throughout the years.
Starring: Lee Sun-kyun (A Hard Day, Parasite, Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage) & Park Hae-soon (Antarctic Journal, VIP, Age of Shadows)
The story is adapted from a South Korean webtoon. Check it out. Spread the word.