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

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

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''. Bang made her feature directorial debut with '' Princess Aurora ...

. 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 an ...

's novel ''

The Devotion of Suspect X is a 2005 novel by Keigo Higashino, the third in his Detective Galileo series and is his most acclaimed work thus far. The novel won him numerous awards, including the 134th Naoki Prize, which is a highly regarded award in Japan. The novel also ...

'', it centers around a mild-mannered mathematics teacher (

Ryoo Seung-bum Ryoo Seung-bum (born August 9, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He made a name for himself in his older brother director Ryoo Seung-wan's eclectic films, notably ''Die Bad'' (his acting debut in 2000), ''Arahan'' (2004), ''Crying Fist'' (2005), ''T ...

) who plans the perfect

alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

for the woman he secretly loves (

Lee Yo-won Lee Yo-won (born April 9, 1980) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Seondeok in the eponymous hit period drama. Career Lee Yo-won was a sophomore in high school when she won a modeling contest and first appe ...

) when she unexpectedly murders her abusive ex-husband.

Cho Jin-woong Cho Jin-woong (born Jo Won-jun; March 3, 1976) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles as Sejong's loyal bodyguard in ''Deep Rooted Tree'' (2011), a mobster in '' Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time'' (2012), and a mysterious vil ...

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 first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

in 2013.

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, is 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 in meticulously planning 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

as Kim Seok-go *

as Baek Hwa-sun *

as Detective Jo Min-beom *Kim Yoon-sung as Sang-joon, Min-beom's colleague *

Kim Bo-ra Kim Bo-ra (Korean: 김보라, born September 28, 1995) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition for her role in the hit drama ''Sky Castle'' (2018). She started her career as a child when she was in the film ''For Horowitz'' (2006), and ...

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 television, film and stage actor. He is also an activist, involved in the Unite Our People Movement Headquarters, the Abolish the Family Registry and Create Family Equality Organization, th ...

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

Park Hyung-soo Park Hyung-soo is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Arthdal Chronicles'', ''The Devil Judge'', ''Crash Landing on You'' and ''Happiness''. He also appeared in movies '' Confidential Assignment'', '' The Chase'', ...

as investigation team member 1 *

Nam Yeon-woo Nam Yeon-woo (born October 9, 1982) is a South Korean actor. Nam played his first leading role in a feature film in Lee Don-ku's indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media ...

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 Chae Young-in (born Bae Young-seon; August 28, 1982) is a South Korean singer and actress. Career She debuted in the entertainment industry since 2000 through the Super Elite model contest. She was the leader of the former South Korean girl gr ...

as diving master

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, 2411024, Perfect Number 2012 films 2010s Korean-language films Films based on Japanese novels Films based on works by Keigo Higashino 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