The wait is finally over as the new installment of the School series is out with School 2021. The School series need no introduction but what does School 2021 has to offer. The series is getting attention and hate from everyone, but let’s find out if School 2021 is worth watching or not.
Certainly, School 2021 Kdrama might have added a few elements from some of the other Kdramas or even the previous School series. What really is interesting, that School 2021 might be a refreshing series, or so we can hope.
At the end of Episode 2, that perception was quickly changed, as School 2021 is far from a sweet, refreshing, and happy vibe. Shocking moments were present both in Episode 1 and 2 of the Kdrama hinting more at the real-life issues present in South Korea (or pretty much any society).
Different Casts with captivating charm
School 2021 started out great with an interesting character setup. The characters are introduced at a Vocational school showing the lives of Architecture students.
The female lead Jin Ji Won (Choi Yi Hyun) is a proactive and talented architecture student. She is in grade 11 and aiming to become a professional carpenter as her lifelong dream.
Gong Ki Joon (Kim Yo Han) was a Taekwondo athlete who met with an injury. This forced him to quit Taekwondo and try to enroll in an internship program. On top of that, KI Joon’s father was facing bankruptcy which compelled Ki Joon to think about working to earn money.
The mysterious Jung Young Joo (Choo Yeong Woo) works many part-time delivery jobs enters the same school as Ji Won and Ki Joon.
Friendship and Past
This may seem quite a recycled and overused plot. Friends turned enemies trying to pretend not to care about each other and going on full circle hate. Yeah, almost every Kdrama ever (School 2013, True Beauty). It’s evident that Ki Joon and Young Joo were childhood friends.
An incident caused the death of their mutual friend. They were all Taekwondo players in the middle school and after his friend’s death, Young Joo must have quit. Due to the injury, now Ki Joon had to quit, but he dismissed it as “quitting because he feels it’s not interesting anymore.” This quickly outraged Young Joo who ends up punching Ki Joon.
Strange Meetings
While working on his job, Young Joo gets injured. He meets a weird adult, who happens to be his future teacher. That meeting didn’t go well. Asking a student for a lighter, job not so well done Mr. Lee Kang Hoon (Jun Suk Ho).
On his first day of school, an unintended accident by Ji Won ended up ripping Young Joo literally (RIP Trousers). Scared by the incident, Ji Won decided to zip it in.
Ji Won’s family situation can be a bit different. She works at a burger joint, where her mom and her students drop by. Her mom pretends not to know her.
It seems Ji Won is infamous there as a part-time due to reasons yet unknown. Meanwhile, after getting rejected from the internship, Ki Woong applies to the same part-time as Ji Won and started working.
Rumors about Young Joo
There have been negative rumors regarding Young Joo. The creative imagination of school kids can be childish and immature. The rumors kept circulating that Young Joo is involved in gang or drug dealing.
Frustrated from home, Ji Won runs into an arcade and takes her anger on the toy machine. Guess who appears to refill the toys?! Young Joo works as a part-timer who refills soft toys in different shops and arcades. Ji Won and Young Joo have a short encounter. On the second encounter where Ji Won works at a convenience store, they became friends.
Mysterious Note
Ki Joon empties his Taekwondo locker and finds a note. He consults the note and learns that it’s a suicide note that originated in social media as a famous way of saying goodbye. The symbol used in the anonymous letter reminded her of Ji Won. He gets alarmed and texts and calls her nervously. After not receiving a response, Ki Joon arrives at Ji Won’s place. To his surprise, Ji Won is doing alright and she didn’t write the letter.
Internship Hoax
Ji Won was selected for the internship. She was excited that she can learn from the experts in the field. However, Ji Won was in for a disappointing and power-tripping/harassing boss who made her do everything except for the real internship work. Fed up and angry with the situation, Ji Won quits and posts her complaints online, throwing the school into chaos.
The Plot Twist
Trying to investigate the owner of the letter, Ki Joon and Ji Won along with his friend Ji Ho Sung ask everyone around. The scenes were hurtful and hilarious as every girl keeps rejecting Ki Joon when he asked whether they had feelings for him.
The unexpected plot twist was waiting for them when they were off guard. The suspected writer, Jung Min Seo wrote the suicide note, and at the end of episode 2, a student jumped from the rooftop. Ji Won found Min Seo’s locker with the same design and before she could do anything, Min Seo attempted suicide.
Overall, School 2021, was a mixed pack of surprises and some good scenes. The cast is full of experienced and fresh faces and all of them are adding their own take on School 2021.
The new teacher seemed quite shady as well. His knowledge and skills seem weird (fake probably) although he’s from an experienced and prestigious University. School 2021 is totally worth the watch this season as the season has a lot of potential to develop the series and its characters.
