The Korean Netflix series "Teach You a Lesson" is not your typical high school classroom drama. Based on the webtoon "Get Schooled" set in modern day Korea, the show is anything but slow. We follow a student on his way to high school student who wishes he could wake up sick and miss school or go to sleep for the next two years and wake up when high school is over. As he walks onto campus, his gaze follows his classmates upwards to a student standing over the edge of the roof of the school. The student silently leans forward and falls to his death. This shocking heart wrenching episode flashes back to all the brutalities and humiliations this student suffered prior to taking his own life. The nightmare for the student who wishes to be in a coma is only starting. He is now the new victim and is physically beaten and tormented by his callous classmates. A group of boys lead by one bully (whose father has a high level in government) rules the school. No one pushes back; neither teachers or students. Until an unknown adult appears dressed all in black. He resembles a sexy amalgamation of Keanu Reeve and Joseph Gordon-Levitt punches the bully. Meet the new teacher played with pizazz, wit and warmth by Kim Moo-Yul as Na Haw-Jin. Cell phones filming, the shocked, socked in the jaw tormentor demands to know who him. Na welcomes the chance to introduce himself as their teacher and his plans for reforming the school. You think - teachers can't do that. Think again. While corporal punishment in school is deemed antiquated, barbaric and illegal, Na informs everyone he can, he will and he does. There's new legislation granting Na the authority to take matters into his own karate, tai-chi, super hero hands. Take note, this episode was more than a well choreographed fight flick or simple revenge story. There's real empathy and intelligence in the show. Na connects to the boy being picked-on. "There are good adults out there. No one's saying fight back. Find an adult and talk to them. And, also run!" I did enjoy the comeuppance the vicious, sociopathic student received and of his parent from whom the apple didn't fall far from the tree. This is a smartly written, well acted show. But, please cast high school students who look like teens not 20 something. The 2nd episode degenerated into a melee of students intent on gaining notoriety by causing fights. The violence was over the top, out weighing any redemptive lesson. Watch the first episode (maybe skip the 2nd) and try the third. I was won over by the charisma of Moo-Yul and the originality of the pendulum swinging so far out that corporal punishment was not only condoned, but owned! Each episode is set in a different school. The pushback in the public forum is another aspect that elevates the grade of "Teach You a Lesson."
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