As a newly released Netflix original series, the drama True Education (Get Schooled) captured the attention of viewers worldwide immediately upon its release, generating heated buzz. This work is based on the popular Naver Webtoon of the same name, which is a mega-hit currently still in serialization with a solid fandom. Building on the attractive universe and well-structured story of the excellent original work, the live-action drama perfectly synergizes the webtoon's signature exhilaration with the intense action and vitality unique to visual media. Even in a fiercely competitive content market flooded with webtoon-based dramas, True Education presents a fresh shock to viewers by asserting its own unrivaled color and weighty social message. It stands out with its pointed direction that criticizes the absurdities of reality, moving beyond mere entertainment.
In the Korean drama market, so-called "school dramas" focusing on high schools or adolescents have been produced in countless numbers. However, most existing school dramas have heavily leaned toward exposing the brutal realities of school violence among students or depicting the fresh growth and crossed first loves of youth going through turbulent times. Yet, the newly released True Education completely breaks away from the predictable formulas followed by existing school dramas, unfolding a narrative of an entirely different texture. Power struggles or immature violence among students are not the center of the play. Instead, it securely establishes its genre differentiation by bringing to the forefront a bold and unconventional setup: adults and "teachers" endowed with public authority physically and mentally disciplining and reforming delinquent students who have crossed the line. This is the core driving force that provides viewers with a peculiar catharsis.
While it is difficult to accurately compare the educational environments of other countries, there are relentless points being made that, at least in current South Korean society, the relationship between teachers and students has collapsed to a devastating degree. Of course, there must still be warm classrooms in frontline schools where strong bonds and deep trust between teachers and students are alive and breathing. However, watching the various shocking incidents and accidents that decorate the social news sections day after day, we have entered an era where no one can deny that the fall of teachers' authority has emerged as a serious social problem that can no longer be neglected. The miserable reality where teachers standing at the podium are openly mocked by young students and helplessly exposed to malicious complaints from unreasonable parents serves as the most painful and realistic background for how this thrilling revenge-style drama was born and gained public empathy.
One of the phenomena that bluntly demonstrates the current reality where teachers' authority has perfectly collapsed is the extreme role reversal between public and private education. These days, students show a clear tendency to value and prioritize advanced learning and entrance exam-oriented studies conducted at private academies (hagwons) much more than the regular classes held in school classrooms. Since even frontline teachers must adjust the pace and conduct classes targeting the average level of an entire class with diverse academic abilities, they face structural limitations in assigning customized homework or strictly controlling academics for individual students. Ultimately, the bitter, bare face of the educational scene—where students diligently complete homework assigned by academy instructors rather than school teachers, and schools have been reduced to mere resting places to lay their tired bodies to sleep or kill time with friends—is sharply and directly projected in the drama.
Compared to the past, the gazes and attitudes with which parents and students view the existence of "teachers" have also changed drastically and violently. Just a few decades ago, corporal punishment or strict disciplinary control by teachers at school was considered a kind of fear and a natural authority to guide students on the right path, but now the situation has completely reversed. In a social shift where corporal punishment is entirely banned and student rights are extremely emphasized, some parents even frame teachers' legitimate life guidance as child abuse, bombarding them with malicious complaints. As a result, countless teachers fall ill suffering from severe stress and helplessness. There is even a bizarre, widespread phenomenon where adult teachers actually fear uncontrollable, delinquent students and avoid them to stay out of trouble.
In any era and society, finding a proper middle ground and maintaining a balance between strict control and autonomous indulgence would be most ideal, but the current educational reality in South Korea has tilted too deeply in one direction: the extreme loss of teachers' authority. The most painful difference separating the educational scenes of the past and present is not simply the presence or absence of a stick and corporal punishment, but the fact that the fundamental "respect" and minimum courtesy for teachers have thoroughly evaporated. In the past, no matter how rebellious and reckless a delinquent student was, there was an implicit respect for adult authority and a minimum bottom line—like the saying that one shouldn't even step on a teacher's shadow. However, now even that minimum psychological line of defense has collapsed, and shocking insubordinations where students openly mock and even assault teachers in the middle of the classroom are happening as if it is nothing.
At a time when the social desire to refreshingly break through this suffocatingly blocked reality and rightfully restore the trampled authority of teachers is higher than ever, True Education is exactly the refreshing, "cider-like" drama that shows these thoughts and aspirations deeply harbored by the public in the most thrilling, appropriate, and perfectly vicarious form. To revive the discipline of collapsed school education, this work introduces an intriguing fantasy setup: the establishment of an unprecedented, super-legal, and powerful new department called the "Teachers' Authority Protection Bureau" under the Ministry of Education. Special supervisors belonging to this specialized department are directly dispatched to the absolute worst schools where severe infringements of teachers' authority and vicious school violence have occurred. They thoroughly uproot and purify incorrigible problems that can never be solved through conversation or general disciplinary methods, even if it means mobilizing physical force.
The role of supervisor 'Na Hwa-jin', who leads these unhesitatingly refreshing moves at the center of the play, is played by actor Kim Moo-yul, who boasts a uniquely chilling gaze and overwhelming physicality, delivering a truly masterful performance that seems completely at one with the character. A particularly interesting point is that in the highly acclaimed Netflix drama Juvenile Justice, Kim Moo-yul played a kind and warm judge who strives to give juvenile offenders a chance at rehabilitation until the end, portraying the agony and frustration within the limits of real-world law. However, in True Education, he jumps up from the dignified chair of the courtroom and dives directly into the frontlines of rough schools, physically judging and ruthlessly reforming atrocious students who cannot be reached through words. His action—delivering "true education" so mercilessly that the expression of intending to crush a problematic student who crossed the line from the very first episode doesn't feel exaggerated at all—provides viewers with an electrifying thrill.
The decisive episode that maximizes viewers' immersion in the early part of the play is the process of thoroughly punishing the ultimate bully student, whom no one could touch due to the powerful backing of his father, an assemblyman wielding absolute power. Backed by his parents' influence, this delinquent student cleverly evades the law and school rules, cruelly bullying powerless classmates. He is an incorrigible, malicious character who acts arrogantly, thoroughly trampling on and ignoring even the teachers who try to stop him. If this were a school in reality, it would be a frustrating situation where people would helplessly collapse and remain silent in the face of unjust power. However, supervisor Na Hwa-jin unleashes merciless physical retribution without blood or tears, throwing punches without hesitation as if such political backgrounds mean nothing to him. As the accumulated anger and frustration shatter in a single blow with Na Hwa-jin's refreshing and hard-hitting action, viewers viscerally experience an intense and thrilling catharsis that feels like a blockage has been completely cleared.
Even after the intense lingering impact of the first episode, the drama continues to provide excellent visual entertainment that prevents you from taking your eyes off the screen for a single moment. It subdues the worst villains hiding in each school one by one, based on its highly powerful and hard-hitting, high-level action scenes. The role of supervisor 'Lim Han-rim', who forms a perfect duo with the blunt Na Hwa-jin and exclusively handles secretive and terrible problems mainly occurring in girls' schools, is played by actress Jin Ki-joo. She perfectly pulls off charmingly crazy and somewhat manic action sequences, doubling the vitality of the play. Adding to this, the always-reliable master actor Lee Sung-min firmly holds the center as 'Choi Kang-seok', the director of the Teachers' Authority Protection Bureau who serves as a solid fence for Na Hwa-jin. P.O (Pyo Ji-hoon) joins as 'Bong Geun-dae', a genius official with an exceptionally quick brain, completing a flawless and perfect acting ensemble. Amidst the relentlessly refreshing plot developments, the 10-episode length actually feels too short and leaves you wanting more. This drama, which delivers extreme entertainment, builds a strong certainty and pleasant expectation that Season 2 will be produced quickly, fueled by the enthusiastic response and cheers of viewers worldwide.
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