They Don't Kiss Until Episode 16

Around many states here in the USA, it is back to school time. Since I can’t offer you all great deals on pens, pencils, and notebooks I’ll offer you a list of a few school focused dramas that you might be interested in watching or rewatching.

SKY Castle

SKY Castle is the quintessential school-focused drama. SKY Castle focuses on the stress of the Korean education system from the perspective of mothers and students. The show focuses on the lengths housewives living in an exclusive gated community will go through to get their children into the elite Seoul National University. There is a murder. There is an underground tutoring group. It is my favorite subject: wealthy people misbehaving. You might have seen this show already, but if not, I highly recommend it.

Crash Course in Romance

The private education industry provides the backdrop for this drama and, once again, the stress parents and students are under to get their students into an illustrious college/university. Crash Course in Romance’s male lead is a celebrity math tutor working for a private education company. He guarantees success, and students, despite being 1 of hundreds, really feel like they are learning. One problem, he can’t eat. He cannot digest any food except food from one side dish shop. The shop owner has a daughter who wants to be in the tutor’s class. Hijinx, hilarity, and romance ensue as the woman navigates the new world of competitive education/parenting. Also, there is a serial killer because what is a Korean romantic comedy without a crime mystery in the background?

The Penthouse: War in Life

This is the most makjang of makjang dramas, with a whopping three seasons. Penthouse follows all the common themes of aggressive status-seeking parents and their equally competitive children grasping at the best grades to get into elite universities, except the backdrop for this is an elite music academy. The theme: wealthy people misbehaving!!!!! There is great singing. There are catfights. There is Eugene from S.E.S. What more can you ask for?

In truth, Penthouse is a discount, generic version of SKY Castle, even starting the show off the same way: with the mysterious death of a teenage competitor. I only recommend this show for season one. Just hate-watch seasons 2 and 3. The show gets pretty far-fetched after that. 

All of Us are Dead

Not your traditional school drama, but what would you do if a zombie outbreak happened at school? Full disclosure, I have not seen this drama, but I did read the webtoon, and the webtoon was amazing. Great art, and the storyline is compelling. It’s not just a story about mindless zombies; you have high school students navigating the horrors of fighting for your life amid a zombie outbreak. The show isn’t necessarily about the zombies. It’s about the strength and fragility of relationships.

The Heirs (Inheritors)

Talk about a teen drama. The Heirs focuses on the will they or won’t they romance of two teens who meet in a chance encounter in Los Angeles. They reunite at an exclusive high school attended by Korea’s wealthy elite. The Heirs stars Korea’s K-drama royalty, Park Shin-Hye, Lee Min-Ho, and Kim Woo-Bin. This drama catapulted these into K-drama mega-stardom. The Heirs might be a little cheesy for an older viewer as it is very much a teen drama, but there are other topics, particularly the role of class in Korean society. All-in-all, The Heirs is a K-drama classic and is a mandatory watch for any K-drama connoisseur. It also stars some second leads who would go on to star in some great dramas, including Krystal Jung, Park Hyung-Sik, and Kim Ji-Won.

Reply 1988

It should be said now that I would recommend this show on any list. It is one of my favorite K-dramas, and the only one that compares to it is Mr. Sunshine. Reply 1988 is the definition of a feel-good drama. The show is about the lives of five families that live on the same street and their ups and downs in the year 1988 when the Olympics were held in Seoul. We always look back nostalgically at our youth, and though this is an ensemble cast, the show’s focus is the teen characters, and thus there are many scenes in school. .

Oh, that’s the bell. Study season is here, so have these great K-dramas playing in the background while you learn your reading, writing, and arithmetic.