Extracurricular (Korean drama series): It's decent for the right person

I wanted to say more in the title than I did but it was running the risk of already being too long as it is. When I say that "It's decent for the right person" that is a pretty vague description. What I really mean by that is there are plenty of things in this series that are not going to appeal to a larger western audience because it involves teenagers that are in rather ridiculous situations and a lot of the tension is created in the series by re-using the same techniques that are used not just in this series, but a lot of different Korean drama series that feature young people.

The story gets introduced pretty quickly and that is a good thing because generally speaking, I personally can't stand it when a series takes ages to establish what the hell is going on. This was true for me even with Game of Thrones and I initially gave up on the series because it was taking too long to get to the point.

The main character is names Oh Ji-Soo and he is a shy, hyper-intelligent student who seems to effortlessly dominate all of his schoolmates in academic endeavors. He keeps to himself and isn't very interested in social aspects of life. He is invisible to all the other students in class... but he has a dark side that no one knows about because he almost never speaks to anyone else. As it turns out he is the mastermind behind a prostitution ring and makes a ton of money off of it all without anyone ever seeing his face. He does this by having a "heavy" that he employs that doesn't even know who he is.

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That is until one day a girl that he clearly fantasizes about just happens to stumble upon aspects of his life that are a bit suspicious. This chance encounter is one of the problems I have with the series. Bae Gyu-ri (the girl he fancies) is foreshadowed as a love interest in a small segment where he is looking out the window and daydreams about her as she is playing soccer. Then later in the same episode she just happens to be in a club that his guidance counselor manages and they end up hanging out because of a project that the counselor assigns them.

It doesn't take much at this point to realize that these two, who on the surface appear totally different, are going to end up together.

While the main focus of the show is to center on these two, they need to introduce other aspects of teen life and this is where the story starts to appear like every other teenage drama that you have ever seen. There are jocks, nerds, and of course the always present bullies that have appeared in all Korean teenage dramas I have ever seen as well as a majority of western ones. I'm not saying that these type of people don't exist, I guess they kind of did in my own high school, but they didn't get away with as much mayhem as the characters in this do.

Like many similar series the kids in this show seem to be allowed to do whatever they want unchecked by parental or adult intervention, even when this involves criminal activity. Kids just wander to and from school all day long and stay out really late in a fashion that makes the entire thing seem kind of unbelievable.

Also some of the acting by the teenage actors and actresses is a bit overly dramatic. Perhaps this is actually how Korean youth society is but to me it seemed like everyone was just flipping their tops on a regular basis in a way that would definitely have been cracked down on in my school.

_{no high-school show would be complete without the bully that picks on everyone for no apparent reason}

So far it probably seems like I don't like the show but that is not the case. I actually quite like it and feels as though the production value is pretty good and a lot better than most of the available western-made dramas that exist on Netflix at the moment. I find myself forcing myself to go to sleep when what I really want to do is watch another 1 or 2 episodes. Regardless of the topic matter, if a show is having this effect on me then it is a good sign that it's a pretty well-made show.

Should I watch it?

For starters, if you are even going to attempt to watch this you need to accept the fact that you are going to have to read it because the overdubbing, as they tend to be, is horrible. This reading can be complicated and fast-paced because there are many instances where people are talking and text messages or signs are being translated on screen at the same time. Better put your glasses on because you need to be a fast-paced reader to even know what is happening.

The topic matter is a little too far-fetched and unbelievable that teenagers are able to get away with stuff like this but the main characters are loveable enough and the story is good enough that I think most people will enjoy this.

However, since it isn't absolutely excellent, and I have come to expect excellence from Korean shows and movies, I can't give this top marks. The fact that I am still looking forward to the last 2 episodes this afternoon tells me that for the right person, this could be a real winner. The question remains about if you are that kind of person!

7 / 10