Cover Minhyun is the brawn in the K-drama ‘Study Group’. (Photo: IMDb)
Minhyun is the brawn in the K-drama ‘Study Group’. (Photo: IMDb)
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Whether they’re outsmarting bullies or brawling their way through danger, these K-drama pairings prove that the best fights are fought together
Often, K-drama fans tune in to watch romantic couples fall in love. But not all K-drama pairings are romantic—some of the most compelling duos are brains-and-brawn partnerships that bring a whole new meaning to friendship goals and set the standard for bromance. From high school best friends and reluctant allies to rivals turned teammates, these dynamic duos may not have set fans’ hearts aflutter, but they definitely kept audiences hooked with their camaraderie, chemistry and the sheer thrill of watching brains and muscle work in perfect sync.
Don’t miss: 6 reasons why Park Bo-gum’s ‘Good Boy’ is your next must-watch K-drama
Kim Se-hyun and Yoon Ga-min in ‘Study Group’
Above Student transfer Ga-min has hidden martial arts skills. (Photo: IMDb)
Above Yusung Technical High School’s top 2 student. (Photo: IMDb)
Student transfer Ga-min has hidden martial arts skills. (Photo: IMDb)
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The brains: Kim Se-hyun (Lee Jong-hyun)
The brawn: Yoon Ga-min (Minhyun)
In the K-drama, Kim Se-hyun is one of the top students at Yusung Technical High School, a vocational school infamous for its bullies and delinquents. Timid and sensitive, he survives mostly by keeping his head down. When Yoon Ga-min transfers to Yusung, he makes a beeline for Se-hyun, desperate to form a study group that he is sure will improve his academic standing.
But their budding friendship soon puts both of them on the bullies’ radar. Luckily, Ga-min has elite fighting skills. Trained by a mysterious uncle in martial arts since childhood—and born to a Taekwondo champion mother—Ga-min can despatch a group of thugs without breaking a sweat. Together with the rest of the study group, they fight both academic and physical battles in a school where survival is half the curriculum.
See also: 6 cliffhangers that make K-drama viewers impatient for the second season of ‘Study Group’
Yeon Si-eun and Ahn Soo-ho and Baku in ‘Weak Hero Class’
Above Si-eun strategising behind the scenes (Photo: IMDb)
Above Baku possesses brute force. (Photo: IMDb)
Si-eun strategising behind the scenes (Photo: IMDb)
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The brains: Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon)
The brawn: Ahn Su-ho (Choi Hyun-wook), Baku (Ryeo Un)
Yeon Si-eun, top of the class at school, is introspective and highly analytical. That’s not to say he doesn’t know how to fight or isn’t strong enough to take a beating. But when confronted by bullies, he uses his sharp mind, knowledge of everyday physics and psy-ops-style tactics to fight back.
His allies, Ahn Su-ho in Season 1 and Baku in Season 2, are a whole different breed. Built for combat, one-time MMA champ Ahn Su-ho and the physically imposing Baku bring the muscle. Perhaps the best example of the dynamic between Si-eun and his friends comes during the climactic battle in the K-drama’s second season, when Si-eun’s calculated plan to help Baku take down main villain Na Baek-jin (Bae Na-ra) is set into motion.
Don’t miss: The breakout stars of ‘Weak Hero Class’: Meet the next generation of K-drama talent
Kim Jong-hyeon and Yoon Dong-joo in ‘Good Boy’
Above He comes at everything fists up. (Photo: IMDb)
Above The team’s chief strategy guy (Photo: IMDb)
He comes at everything fists up. (Photo: IMDb)
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The brains: Kim Jong-hyeon (Lee Sang-yi)
The brawn: Yoon Dong-joo (Park Bo-gum)
The special police unit in Good Boy is composed of five former Olympic champions, but a bromance appears to be brewing between rivals Yoon Dong-joo and Kim Jong-hyeon. A former fencer, Jong-hyeon may have serious fighting chops, but it’s his analytical mind and a cool head that set him apart. Meanwhile, Dong-joo, an ex-boxing gold medallist, lets his fists do the talking.
Both are vying for Ji Han-na’s (Kim So-hyun) heart, and their competitive streak often gets in the way of teamwork. But all signs point to a formidable partnership—if they could just get along long enough to combine brains and brawn.
Choi Se-kyung and Kim Deuk-pal/Song Yi-heon in ‘High School Return of a Gangster’
Above Kim Deuk-pal is a gangster stuck in a high school student’s body. (Photo: IMDb)
Kim Deuk-pal is a gangster stuck in a high school student’s body. (Photo: IMDb)
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The brains: Choi Se-kyung (Bong Jae-hyun)
The brawn: Kim Deuk-pal (Lee Seo-jin)/Song Yi-heon (Yoon Chan-young)
When the soul of 47-year-old mob boss Kim Deuk-pal accidentally enters the body of Song Yi-heon, a bullied high school student, everything begins to change. Suddenly armed with years of street-fighting experience and shrewd gangster instincts, Yi-heon undergoes a startling transformation. No longer an easy target, he becomes a force to be reckoned with.
In his new body, Deuk-pal—now living as Yi-heon—befriends the school’s top student and class president, Choi Se-kyung, someone Yi-heon had always admired from afar. And while it’s easy to assume that, prior to the body-swap, Yi-heon would have benefited most from this friendship, it’s surprisingly clear that Se-kyung needed Deuk-pal/Yi-heon in his life even more.
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