Platinum Fox

It depends on what you mean by romance. Is this a story about a boy and girl falling in love, no. It is about a man who loved his wife very much and that show that love. It also has a quirky romance between two of the bureau inspectors. So yes there is romance, but it is not the main focus of the drama.

Loved the main couple's story. Did not care for the second couple. The two did not have anything in common (except the cat), and I don't see their relationship lasting long. I skipped episode 13 that was about them. jmo

Did anyone else notice the homage to Squid Games with the TV broadcasts in the classroom?

I believe it is in the first season, but there is a scene where YS is playing the zither and he breaks the shao shang string. This is symbolic of them never being together. The empress make a big deal of wanting to see SS married to someone before she dies. In order to put the empress's mind at ease, YS says he is willing to make it appear as if they are engaged, so SS and YS viist his parents. Notice they don't even say anything to her family. The visit was just for show to help the empress get well.

Yes, people are suppose to follow these rules, but rich people, people with influence, and people with status and power don't have to. Only people who are poor and have no influence are the ones who have to follow the rules. The inequalities of the Korean educational system favors the students who have power, status, and money. The rich never have to be held accountable for their actions. Now with this new system what if the rich are held accountable the same way poor people are? What if the poor people could fight back without any repercussions? The opposition didn't like it because it trampled on their power, status, and influence. You didn't like it because you think it is just one group replacing another group. What is the answer? How can you create equality within the school system between rich and poor students? Sometimes you have to level the playing field by fighting fire with fire.

Also, you stated something about him fighting minors. Again, when the male lead fights the minors you are forgetting one thing, the people he beats up are people who start the fights. He only strikes minors when they strike him first. He doesn't go out of his way to pick a fight with the minors. Plus, when he does fight minors, he doesn't go all out as he doesn't want to hurt them. The only time he really and truly fights is in episode 2 when he takes on the adults who are under the leadership of the high school boy. Notice he doesn't beat up the leader too badly as he is a minor, and he only fights that boy after the boy strikes him. If the main lead can teach the boys lessons without fighting he would do it, but it has been ingrained in these boys that only the best fighter has respect, power, and influence. Tell me one episode where he went in and just started pounding on a kid without that kid pounding on him first.

You give episode 4 as example of how this team unjustly accused an innocent boy of attacking a teacher. Okay, let's look at that episode. At the very beginning of it, the drama portrays the boy as the offender. When the team starts investigating, notice the male lead doesn't start with the student (the offender), the male lead starts with the teacher. Why? He sends the female inspector to talk with the boy. The female lead is the one who thinks the boy is guilty until she talks with him. In previous episodes the team has always started with the guilty party until this one, what makes this episode different? The boy is the red herring. The guilty party is the teacher who the male lead goes after through fanboying from the very beginning. We later learn that the male lead went and asked the previous offender why she did what she did, and we learn that this teacher has favored rich kids since middle school. The fraud started in middle school.

The only time the male lead does something unjustified is at the beginning when he tries to kill the student who killed his wife to be. If he had completed his mission, he wouldn't have been any different than the boy who killed his wife to be. He would have gone to jail, and nothing would change, except another student would be dead.

The father of the teacher wanted to know the truth behind his daughter's death. This was the way to get it done as the police weren't doing anything. In the process the corruption within the Korean educational system is exposed and dealt with in a over the top way (entertainment).

Each episode unravels a little more of the reasons why the Korean school system is so corrupt.

Happy drama watching and thank you for the discussion.

I disagree with you. This drama is modeled on Jonathan Swift's short story "A Modest Proposal". The drama targets the inequalities found in the Korean educational system and says something needs to be done. The drama deals with the issues that plague the Korean educational system: bullying of student on student, student on teacher, parent on teacher; favoritism of rich over poor students leading to teachers bullying poor students; parental pressure on students; drugs; gangs; etc. The over-the-top manner that they use to deal with situations is the entertainment and satire. Is the drama saying we need to return to corporal punishment, no, just that something needs to be done. Everyone, from students to politicians, needs to be held accountable for the Korean educational system.

Also, throughout the drama, the director says, "This may seem like a harsh way of doing things, but until something better comes along this is how we will be handling the situation." In other words, if you don't like how I am handling it come up with a better solution." How many students and teachers have to die before something changes? In addition, the main lead says on numerous occasions, "I will take responsibility for my actions." He is not above the law. If he kills someone, he will be held accountable.

Plus, before going into any school, the team does reconnaissance work to make sure there are no mistakes about who is the culprit. In episode 10, the male lead would rather die than allow his friend to be hurt. So the team makes extra sure that innocent people are not harmed.

Viewers are taking this drama way too serious. The over-the-top solutions the team takes are there to make people aware of the issues that plague the Korean educational system. The drama is not saying they are the only way these situations should be handled.

Happy drama watching.

Yes, the verified rating is for account holders who have committed to MDL. They are "real"accounts. I have an account, but mine is not verified as I have not put in a phone number. Because of this my rating does not go into the verified rating. It only goes into the completed account.

The completed rating allows every account that marks the drama as completed and rated in the tally. This includes people who have multiple accounts, many peoples unverified accounts, and fake accounts. For example, I could create five unverified accounts and mark them all completed and rate the drama a 9 five times if I wanted to. This skews the overall rating. So the verified rating is the more accurate as it only counts those accounts that have been attached to a phone number.

Hope this helps. Happy drama watching.

For me, the drama explores the reasons as to why the educational system has come to where it is now and the over-the-top solutions to show that it must be changed. It doesn't necessarily have to be in that fashion, but something needs to be done. This drama reads Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" which is a satirical look at the effects of the potato famine in Ireland.

What does all of this have to do with episode 3 where the female student accuses her teacher of SA? It shows the inequality that the system has created. This "exemplary" high school teacher catered to the rich kids because he wanted power and status. This all started in middle school with him denying the girl of her rightful spot in the fast track program because she held no status. Whereas the girl who didn't deserve it had rich parents. What did this teach the girl? That in order to get anywhere in life you need power, status, and influence.

Jump ahead to high school, she reached that status, power, and influence. Everyone in the school catered to her. Feared her. She had power, status, and influence. She had it all until the organization came in and took it all away. When the teachers started asking students to put away their phones, she refused and was disciplined for it. Because she was disciplined, she started harassing the teachers who disciplined her. Episode three was not about teachers who comment sexual assault against their students. It was about the fact that teachers are afraid to discipline students because of retaliation from parents and students. Look at what the girl did. She accused teachers who disciplined her of child abuse and sexual assault. None of which was true, but the teacher who was accused of sexual assault killed himself.

Claims of child abuse and sexual assault are taken very seriously, so seriously that when teachers are accused of either (whether they are guilty or not), they kill themselves as their reputations are now ruined. When she posted that, notice how many and what people were saying without even hearing the full story. That is way too much power to be given to a statement. The drama wasn't saying that students should not report sexual assault by teachers. The drama was saying that just the very accusation is enough to lead a teacher to commit suicide. That is the problem. The power that is given to that statement needs to be examined, so that innocent teachers do not have to commit suicide if these accusations occur. Teachers should not have to be afraid of their students when they discipline them. Students should be taught that when they make false accusations like that it makes it harder for the students who have truly been sexually assaulted to come forward. Protecting both students and teachers should be the primary goal of any educational setting (episode 5).

This all started when that "exemplary" teacher asked her to give up her spot that she had rightfully earned to some rich girl who didn't deserve it all because he wanted power and status. In the end, it helped the organization realize that this fraud case had started in middle school with this very teacher. The school system penalizes those students who come from poorer backgrounds and favors the rich kids.

To have the "exemplary" teacher ask for sexual favors from the girl to keep her spot would have made the case an individual sexual assault case by the teacher. Not shown the inequality of the educational system has become institutionalized against poor students.

I understand where you are coming from and what you want the drama to show, but that was not the message it was trying to send. We all know that teachers sexual assault students. No one doubts that.

Thank you for the review. Happy drama watching.

The story arcs can be one episode or two. The main female lead's backstory lasts four episodes.

I take no offense. Teachers do home visits in Colorado, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Massachusetts. I am sure there are others, but these I know for sure. It really depends on your school district or charter school. At the beginning of the school year, teachers visit their students at home just to get to know the parents and the home environment. This helps the teacher better understand where their students are coming from and build a relationship with the family. This is strongly encouraged in teacher preparation courses and in school districts. It's not mandatory but is strongly encouraged.

The teacher in this drama went one time and realized that his family needed financial help. This is why she gave him food and other things. Also, she understood that he may not have parental guidance at home, so she tried to step in. As I was writing to another poster. He didn't want to change because selling drugs and having money gave him power, so her efforts were in vain.

That's why I wrote that I have mixed feelings about her behavior. However, I did not see her as a teacher who wanted to have sex with her student despite all the touching. She loved the male lead and only had eyes for him. What I saw was a way for her to help him trust her and confide in her. She thought if she did all of this, he would change. We know that he didn't want to change as the money and power he had while selling drugs was the game changer for someone whose family had limited finances. The second episode brought up this issue very nicely. Selling drugs is easy money and one can live a life of luxury. This is why all the boys were fighting to get noticed by the leader.

The drama does two things. One, it challenges the values and beliefs of the Korean culture. All of the stories within the drama work together to show why the Korean society is the way it is. It starts with the parents (episode 8) wanting their children to be in occupations that will give the family money, power, and status. In order to do that, students need to be able to concentrate on their grades and extracurricular activities that will look good on their school resume. In order to concentrate and get the grades needed for this, the students take drugs or cheat on the exams. Where do the students or parents get the drugs or exams to help their students? Drugs from a young entrepreneur whose family needs the money, or a teacher who wants power. Now this parental pressure isn't just within the family, it has now reached the schools, and soon it will reach society in the kinds of jobs these students are able to get with the education they received.

The drama also pokes fun at dramas that are about Korean educational practices. For each episode, I can think of one kdrama or movie that has made that issue its main focal point. There are lots on just bullying alone.

Jonathan Swift's short story, "A Modest Proposal" is a satirical look at the effects of the Irish potato famine. I won't spoil the story for you. It's a great story. You will enjoy it.

Thank you for the discussion. I do get where you are coming from as I, too, had questions about her intentions, but it started to make sense for me when we learn he was the drug dealer in the school. When she found out, instead of going to the police, like she should have, she tried to get him to change, and he didn't want to. His life was easy and he had power within the school. jmo

This drama is a school drama, but it is not just about bullying like Weak Hero. I can't speak to Study Group as I have not watched it. Bullying is only one aspect of the issues dealt with in the drama. It is a satirical drama about the educational system in Korea, and its many issues that need to be addressed.

Have you read the short story, "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. This drama is a satirical look at the problems faced in Korean schools. Are the writers saying schools in Korea should have people who go in and beat up minors who bully other kid, no; they are saying these are issues that need to be addressed. The over the top method is the entertainment part.

I have mixed feelings about her, but I wouldn't call her a creepy stalker. Part of being a teacher is going on home visits and getting to know the families of your students. It is done in the United States as well, so it is not her stalking him. She learns that he comes from a family that struggles with finances, so she does what she can to help him. When she learns that he is dealing drugs for money, she is torn about whether to turn him in or not as she knows his family needs money. That is cut short by him killing her. So I am not sure where you are getting the idea of her being a stalker. She was only trying to help him. She acted more like a social worker than a teacher, but then again I think in Korean culture the teachers seem to be the social workers as well as teachers. Not sure about this.

As for the touching part, that I would have to agree with you on, she did touch him a little too much, but it seemed to be in gist or fun. But again setting boundaries helps.

I have to disagree with you. This is the first kdrama, in my opinion, that does address the very issues that you are talking about. Each episode takes on different aspects of Korean culture and its educational system from school bullying to grading. For example, episode 5 does an excellent job of showing how criticizing small mistakes all the time can become harmful to students, the teachers, and to society as a whole. Then, they proceed to tell how to fix the problem. The entire drama is all about addressing these issues. Do they go a little over the top, of course, they must entertain as well as teach. This drama is much like Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal".

Happy drama watching.

You do know that on MDL there are two ratings. The one in the orange box is the rating of all accounts verified and unverified on MDL. The verified rating, which can be found while hovering over the orange box, is the one with only MDL verified accounts. That one is more accurate. jmo

kisskh

This was one of my first cdramas. I only watched it because the female character had an "unusual" job. But what is funny is I understand your reference to the novel, The Mistress of the Art of Death. Unfortunately, we will never know the ending of that series as the writer passed away several years ago.

Love Yankumi. Yankumi reminds us that teaching isn't just about academics, but really trying to understand your students. Although one could argue that with the students she has, she really is the leader of a yakuza (just in a good way), especially when you get to seasons two and three. However, I really enjoyed the drama. Notice we don't see the yakuza side with grandpa (just that he is very supportive and never tries to "save" her), but we do get a hint of it with the four other men in her life who protect her.

Word of Honor found on Youku or KissKH.