''Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring

Jin Goo Jin Goo (; born July 20, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Supporting Actor at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards for his role in Bong Joon-ho's 2009 film noir, noir thriller (genre), thriller ''Mother (2009 film), Mother ...

Park Ha-sun Park Ha-sun (; born October 22, 1987) is a South Korean actress and entertainer. She made her debut in 2005 with the TV series ''Love Needs a Miracle.'' Park rose to fame for her portrayal of Queen Inhyeon in MBC's 2010 historical drama ''Dong ...

, Jo Hyun-jae and

Han Chae-young Kim Ji-young (; born September 13, 1980), professionally known by the stage name Han Chae-young, is a South Korean actress. She first gained recognition as the antagonist in the television series '' Autumn in My Heart'' (2000) before gaining wid ...

. Set in the cutthroat field of advertising where creativity and competition coexist, the drama is the success story of underdog Lee Tae-baek who fights his way to becoming the best ad man in the business. It aired on

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

from February 4 to March 26, 2013, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 ( KST) for 16 episodes. The protagonist is loosely based on internationally-renowned advertising designer and social activist Jeseok Yi (a.k.a. Jeski), who wrote the 2010 book ''Ad Genius Lee Je-seok''. The drama reunites Han Chae-young and Jo Hyun-jae who previously worked together in the 2005 TV series '' Only You''.

Synopsis

Drama series depicts the lives and love of people working in the advertisement industry. Lee Tae-baek (

) is extremely talented but, due to his poor resume, goes through difficulties as he attempts to succeed in the advertising world. Baek Ji-yoon (

) is an intern at Geumsan Ad Company. She tries to do her best regardless of the task. Ji-yoon is full of passion and becomes involved with Lee Tae-Baek. Go Ah-ri (

) is an ad planner at Geumsan Ad Company. She's a confident and sexy woman. In order to achieve her dream, she throws away her past and her love.

Cast

Main

as Lee Tae-baek : Having come to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

from the countryside with nothing but a high school diploma and a gift for drawing, he starts out by handing out ads in the street and wearing sandwich boards. Through sheer hard work (the word "genius" in the title is meant

ironically Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modern times irony has also come t ...

), he is determined to fulfill his dream of becoming the best ad man in the biz. *

as Baek Ji-yoon : A copywriter intern at an advertising firm. She hides her identity as the daughter of a

chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...

to work her way up the ladder. Sincere and hardworking, her journey will parallel Tae-baek's as they fight for their jobs every step of the way. *

as Go Ah-ri / Bok-hee ** Lee Sae-rom as young Go Ah-ri : She is a glamorous, sophisticated, ambitious and pragmatic art director who sacrificed her past and her love to get to the top. * Jo Hyun-jae as Addie Kang : A cool-headed ad executive, he comes back from the US to continue his family's ad agency dominance.

Supporting

People in GRC

Ko Chang-seok Ko Chang-seok (born October 13, 1970) is a South Korean actor known primarily for his supporting roles in film and television, notably, ''Rough Cut'' (2008), '' Secret Reunion'' (2010), ''Encounter'' (2018–19), and ''Melo Movie'' (2025). C ...

as Ma Jin-ga : CEO of a tiny ad company. He becomes a key player in changing Lee Tae-baek's fate. *

Kwak Hee-sung Kwak Hee-sung is a South Korean actor and musician. He made his acting debut in 2012 with the cable series ''Korean Peninsula''. Kwak is also the vocalist and bassist of the rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occu ...

as Ma Yi-chan : Son of Ma Jin-ga *

Ah Young Cho Ah-young (; born May 26, 1991), better known by her stage name Ah Young (), is a South Korean singer and actress, as well known as a member of the South Korean girl group Dal Shabet. Early life Ah Young was born on May 26, 1991, in Seoul ...

as Gong Sun-hye *Bang Dae-han as Hassan

People in Geumsan Ad Company

Choi Jung-woo Choi Jung-woo (; February 17, 1957 – May 27, 2025) was a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, then became active as a supporting actor in film and television, notably in the sitcom '' Standby'' and the procedural drama ...

as Kang Han-chul : CEO of Geumsan Ad, an advertising agency affiliated with Geumsan Group * as Lee Eun-hee : Creative Director of Geumsan Ad Company whose current creative block has driven her to hysterics. *

Shin Seung-hwan Shin Seung-hwan is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Web series Television show Web shows References External links * * * Shin Seung-hwanat Daum Shin Seung-hwanat Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) ...

as Shin Dong-hoon : Ad producer who has learned the art of covering up for his lack of skill with a glib tongue. * as Kim Jong-wook *Yang Hee-yoon as Jang Min-ah * as Executive Director Hwang

Lee Tae-baek's family

Han Sun-hwa Han Sun-hwa (; born October 6, 1990), also known mononymously as Sunhwa, is a South Korean actress and singer. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Secret. She made her television debut in 2004 while participating in SBS' ''Su ...

as Lee So-ran :Tae-baek's younger sister * as Ji Kwan-soon :Tae-baek's grandmother who took care of him and his sister in their parents' absence

Others

Yoo In-young Yoo Hyo-min (; born January 5, 1984), professionally known as Yoo In-young (), is a South Korean actress. Yoo began her entertainment career as a commercial model before making her acting debut in 2005. Yoo is best known for her roles in ''A Man ...

as Han Byul * as a

jjajangmyeon ''Jajangmyeon'' () or ''jjajangmyeon'' () is a Korean Chinese noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of '' chunjang'', diced pork, and vegetables. It is a variation of the Chinese dish '' zhajiangmian''; it developed in the late 19th centur ...

restaurant owner *

Jang Yong Jang Yong (; born April 8, 1945) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series *'' Hold Me Tight'' (MBC, 2018) *''Our Gap-soon'' (SBS, 2016-2017) *'' Five Enough'' (KBS2, 2016) *'' Flower of Queen'' (MBC, 2015) *'' Miss Korea'' (MBC, 2 ...

as Chairman Baek *

Bang Eun-hee Bang Eun-hee (; born Bang Min-seo on May 7, 1967) is a South Korean actress. Bang made her acting debut in 1988, and rose to fame after being cast as the lead actress in Im Kwon-taek's ''General's Son'' (1990). She has starred in films and telev ...

as Won Mi-ok : Ji-yoon's hot-tempered aunt, who is devoted to her niece and ready to do anything for her if necessary. * as President Nam *

Lee Dae-yeon Lee Dae-yeon (born November 13, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Web series Theater Awards and nominations References External links Lee Dae-yeon at JR Entertainment * * * 19 ...

as President Choi

Ratings

References

External links

*
''Ad Genius Lee Tae-baek''
at KBS Global * * {{IMDb title, 3541250 Korean Broadcasting System television dramas 2013 South Korean television series debuts 2013 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Television series by RaemongRaein