For some High School was a dread. Others did not have much feel for it. While some learned a lot there. It doesn’t matter how you felt about your High School years, what’s important is that it’s a memory, bad or good, that you can’t seem to forget. For me, those four years were a learning experience. I grew up. A lot I guess. I lost some friends, new and old, made some newer friends, got cyber bullied, started a club, became a leader, experienced my first real crush, became louder and hyper, to name a few. Apparently according to a friend of mine, I had a very privileged attitude. I needed things and I needed them immediately. Be it attention or a textbook. I remember a teacher of mine was really apprehensive to tell me my marks once. I am not sure why but he thought I would be extremely upset with a 79, since it wasn’t an ‘A’. Wow, was I happy with that 79 or what. But I still pretended to be a little disappointed.
Interesting experiences. Ones that have really helped me grow up. And even if it hasn’t helped you grow up, it might have still instilled some valuable skills in you.
So, why am I talking about High Schools, well as the title states, this post is about few Korean dramas based in High school or maybe just about that age. This is in no particular order. Well, except for the first one.
Image courtesy of ‘Dramawiki’
Of course I’ll start off with my most favourite one. This sixteen episode drama came out earlier this year and gained quite a large following. It is about five (or six if you count Byunghee) high school friends in a band. It is a coming of age drama with a surprise ending. The title has made a lot of people to not watch this drama but I assure you that the drama is much better than the title suggests. It is a dark drama with maybe a comedic touch to it but not much. It’ll make you cry, laugh, get angry, and make you proud all at the same time. These five boys with imperfect lives have their real friendship put to test. What comes out of it is for you to see.
Image Courtesy of a quick Google search
Another audience favourite drama of the year. TvN seems to be going really good with their drama selections. Both SUFBB and Reply 1997 have done wonders for the channel. This drama is based in 1997 when H.O.T and Sechs Kies were the thing. As we grow up we think that current teenagers (and not quite teenagers) are crazy for fangirling over boy bands but we don’t remember that we might have done the same. The story is about six teenagers in high school who we meet in the future at a High School reunion. It is announced that two of them are going to get married, who the two are is for us to see. But that is certainly not what this story is based on. It is much more than that. Also Hoya plays a character that most Idols wouldn’t want to play and he does a very good job at it. Hint: There is no evil character in this drama so he is definitely not playing a villain.
Just a quick Google search can help you find this image
Well, if Reply 1997 was about High School seniors in that year, this drama is about the ones in 2013. It’s a new drama, currently on episode 4 and let’s just say that it is as good as all the others. Well, at least so far. It is about a single classroom in a High School with not much of a reputation. The classroom is filled with troublemakers, but there are few who are at the top of the entire school. A class no one wants to teach except for one teacher who thinks she can change the students around. She is accompanied by her co-Home Room teacher who just wants to get the day over with. He has no feels for the kids. Unlike her. This drama will certainly not only show the students growing up but even the teachers. I can’t wait to see what it has instore for us. Sorry for the spoiler but episode four will make you rethink a character that you thought was a certain way for the past three episodes. The drama deals with real high school issues and does not put pretty glitters on them.
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Image courtesy of ‘Dramawiki’
Just like SUFBB, I have talked about this drama before. So, I’ll pretty much be repeating myself again. Anyways, this drama is about an elite school attended by top 1% of the students in Korea. During the annual Christmas break, their only time off in the whole year, couple of students stay behind along with a teacher. Joining them is a psychologist, who was involved in a car accident near the school and is seeking shelter. It’s a psychological thriller so try to not watch it at night because it can surely give you nightmares. It deals with the question ‘Are monster born or created’. Pretty interesting. Visually appealing. It is very dark and the characters are not as perfect as they seem. Most of the cast are seen in other high school dramas featured in this blog. This was probably the first drama or rather a mini-series, for most of them, so the acting is a little green. They have improved vastly since then but even in this drama you feel invested in each character.
JUNGLE FISH 2
Image Courtesy of AsianWiki
There are two seasons to this drama, both unrelated to each other but I have only seen the second one. It is about a bunch of high school students who after a death of a fellow student and a friend deal with the aftermath. Why did she kill herself? Is the question that they want answers to but on their journey to discover the truth, they realize something very brutal. It mostly deals with school pressure and the need to be on the top. A great story about how the high expectations of school and parents alike are pushing students off the edge. Similarly to School 2013, I feel the stories told in this drama are very real. Kind of scary actually.
DREAM HIGH
Image courtesy of ‘Dramawiki’
One of my favourite dramas of all time. It deals with six students (What’s with six students? Most high school dramas seem to love this number) who attend a Performing Arts High School. The story deals with various aspects of going to a specialized High School. Everyone wants to succeed in pretty much the same field. It’s a cut-throat drama about underdogs who have nothing but want everything. Unlikely friendship and enmity are developed between friends and strangers. The pressure to succeed and prove yourself is enough to keep the audience on edge.
BOYS OVER FLOWERS
Image courtesy of ‘Dramawiki’
Well I have talked about Boys Over Flowers in two other posts besides this one, so I’ll just quickly state the synopsis. It is about a girl who ends up attending an Elite High School with very rich kids. There are four boys, her seniors, who are pretty much the richest kids in Korea and total bullies. Well, at least one of them is mean bully. I used to love this drama but then I watched the other versions of it more closely and realized that they toned down the characters too much. The lead character is suppose to be a stubborn arse, a very mean bully really but what I get from Lee Min Ho’s portrayal of Gu Jun Pyo’s character (not to say that it was his fault) was that he was just a whiny rich kid. I don’t really feel for him anymore as I used to. In my other post about ‘My Favourite Korean Drama‘, I gush about how much I love this drama, I guess that’s invalid now.
PLAYFUL KISS
Image courtesy of ‘Dramawiki’
This drama starts off in a High School but we see the characters enter University and then get married. Well, at least the Taiwanese version had the whole thing, this one ends pretty much at the point that they get married in University. It is a really cute drama about a girl who has an undying crush on a fellow student. He, in turn, is a mean genius. What I love about this drama was that it was more toned down than the other versions. Yes, unlike BOF I liked this toned down version a lot. Though, my favourite version will always be the Taiwanese one. The two of them not only have to see each other at school but end up living together too when the girl’s house collapses. Why does she move in with him? Well, why don’t you watch it for yourself?
Others to watch (I haven’t watch these or just have seen some parts of it)
Also, if you are interested in reading about my favourite dramas (this was written before I saw a few of the ones mentioned here), here is the link.
Do you want to add to the list? Have you watched any of them? If so, what do you think about the ones you have seen.
