''Perfect Number'' (; lit. ''Suspect X'') is a 2012

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n mystery-

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Bang Eun-jin Bang Eun-jin (; born August 5, 1965) is a South Korean actress and film director. She is best known for starring in Park Chul-soo's ''301, 302'' and Kim Ki-duk's ''Address Unknown (2001 film), Address Unknown''. Bang made her feature directorial ...

. Adapted from

Keigo Higashino is a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He served as the 13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino has won major Japanese awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films ...

's novel '' The Devotion of Suspect X'', it centers around a mild-mannered mathematics teacher ( Ryoo Seung-bum) who plans the perfect

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

for the woman he secretly loves ( Lee Yo-won) when she unexpectedly murders her abusive ex-husband. Cho Jin-woong received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 49th

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the newspaper ''Hankook Ilbo'', ...

in 2013. It was remade into the 2023 Indian film ''Jaane Jaan'' by Kross Pictures. '' Kolaigaran'', another Indian film, was an unofficial remake of the film released in 2019.

Plot

Kim Seok-go showed a lot of promise as a brilliant mathematician when he was in school, resolutely focused on his studies rather than on friends throughout his childhood. Now in his 30s, he's an ordinary high school math teacher, a far cry from the promising future of his youth. Seok-go is solemn and introverted, and his morning exchanges with Baek Hwa-sun, the cafe employee he buys lunch from, are the brightest part of his day. When Hwa-sun's ex-husband mercilessly beats Hwa-sun and her niece, Hwa-sun kills him. Seok-go overhears the fight from his house next door and decides to cover up the killing and protect her from the police. He uses his genius to meticulously plan the perfect alibi for her, and thanks to his efforts, Hwa-sun is cleared in the case. However, the detective in charge, Jo Min-beom, believes that Hwa-sun is guilty and follows his intuition despite the lack of evidence. Min-beom also happens to have gone to the same high school as Seok-go, and when he finds out that his old school friend lives next door to the prime suspect, he starts digging deeper into Seok-go's life.

Cast

* Ryoo Seung-bum as Kim Seok-go * Lee Yo-won as Baek Hwa-sun * Cho Jin-woong as Detective Jo Min-beom *Kim Yoon-sung as Sang-joon, Min-beom's colleague * Kim Bo-ra as Yoon-ah, Hwa-sun's niece *Lee Seok-joon as Nam Tae-woo *Im Sung-min as Jung-sook *Kwak Min-ho as Kim Cheol-min *

Kwon Hae-hyo Kwon Hae-hyo (; born November 6, 1965) is a South Korean actor and activist. In addition to his acting career, he is also known for his activism. Kwon has been involved with a number of organizations advocating for political and social justice ...

as police team leader *Nam Moon-cheol as police section chief *

Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo (born December 3, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', Ballerina (2023 film), Ballerina, ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness (South Korean TV ...

as investigation team member 1 * Nam Yeon-woo as investigation team member 2 *Lee Hwang-eui as homeless man 1 *Lee Soo-hyung as homeless man 2 *Kim Joo-ryung as Madam Jung *Han Do-hyun as Seok-go in high school *Kim Ah-ron as girl *Baek Seung-do as Seok-go's student *Park Jung-pyo as emergency room doctor *Myung Gye-nam as Jinsung Inn proprietor *Song Young-chang as polygraph examiner * Chae Young-in as diving master

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, 2411024, Perfect Number 2012 films 2010s Korean-language films Films based on The Devotion of Suspect X Films directed by Bang Eun-jin South Korean crime drama films South Korean crime thriller films South Korean mystery drama films South Korean mystery thriller films 2012 crime drama films 2012 crime thriller films Films about miscarriage of justice 2010s mystery drama films 2010s mystery thriller films 2010s South Korean films South Korean films remade in other languages