Extracurricular (2020)

Not a typical high school kdrama!

I was looking forward in watching a psychological/thriller. I must say Extracurricular delivered! It was very eccentric and intriguing. I absolutely loved the character's development.
Actor Dong-Hee Kim did an amazing job; portraying his character's 2 sided personality, every time he turned evil I always got goosebumps. As well as him, Park Ju-hyun's acting skills really payed off, her playing as Bae Gyu-ri really stood out, her desperation to escape her parents and the pressure she was under was presented fantasitcally!
The cliffhanger ending fitted well, as it leaves you questioned with what may happen next. Apparently there will be a season 2 coming out in 2023, my hopes are high!

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Not Bad

Good:
Compelling Premise: The premise of a high school student leading a double life adds layers of complexity to the storyline, providing ample opportunities for suspense and moral exploration.

Strong Performances: The cast delivers solid performances, with actors like Kim Dong-hee and Jung Da-bin bringing depth and authenticity to their roles, effectively capturing the emotional turmoil of their characters.

Intense Plot: The series keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with its unpredictable twists and turns, weaving together multiple storylines to create a suspenseful and gripping narrative that hooks audiences from the start.

Bad:
Uneven Pacing: While the plot is intense, there are instances where the pacing feels uneven, with certain scenes dragging or feeling rushed. This inconsistency in pacing can disrupt the flow of the story and impact the overall viewing experience.

Underdeveloped Characters: While the main characters receive ample attention and development, some supporting characters feel underutilized and lack depth, leaving their motivations and actions feeling unclear or unexplained.

Limited Exploration: While the series touches on themes of morality and consequence, there are missed opportunities for deeper exploration and analysis, leaving certain aspects of the storyline feeling underdeveloped or unresolved.

Overall, "Extracurricular" offers a compelling premise and strong performances, but it is hindered by uneven pacing and underdeveloped characters. Despite its flaws, it remains an engaging drama that will captivate audiences with its intense plot and suspenseful twists.

Rating: 7/10

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With new spices : Not a fairy tale

This drama got me here because of the actor choi min so from the drama lawless lawyer (LL)! what a great performance again!! You will feel the long lasting impression from him. This drama has a very new unique story, very creative, i would say! I enjoyed every episode with thrilling and suspense. The whole drama was a roller-coaster ride. Director did very well justice to the whole plot. I have watched " live (2018)"before, so I also know how police service cant act rashly on sudden demand in south korea. So its very logical if someone finds the police-involvement is not proactive! The teen are getting corrupted at early age which is inevitable because of the whole social changes around us which is also truly sad. This drama tried to bring up such dark side of the society too. I feel so sad watching kids getting their innocent carefree life totally destroyed, totally robbed off due to social circumstances. Even it is a fictional drama but still it is very applicable in real life, i think. Almost 70% casts are from lawless layer and every casts are totally in different roles with respect to the role they played in LL except Choi. He was bad ass thug as before but made us like him till the end, lol. Love his fighting scenes, damn suits his figure and gesture! Would be lovely if a sequel drama can be produced highlighting the life story of that role.
Overall, very impressive production with very very creativeness! After a long time I found a story which is so creative and cleverly written. No copy-paste-edit feeling. An entirely unique story line! Its directed by the same director of LL but LL was kind of " old wine in new but crooked bottle" while this one is brand new in every essence! Just enjoyed every bit of it. Of course, its not a fairy tale with pinkish romance aura, absolutely loved it! Not for weak heart either! Ending is little disappointing but it deserves 10 from me. However, suspense-thriller plots often relatively tend to lose "rewatch-values", cant really help it. Especially when in drama land with so many available dramas, its rare that a drama can earn a place to have a rewatch value 10! May be after 10 years, I can rewatch it again, till then bye! It was really nice to come across to this master piece ;)

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Darker School Drama

An interesting drama which includes discussions on illegal businesses, underage escorts, s*x trafficking, the rights of workers & the need for security. This drama really had me hooked.

▹ Jisoo's character
He was presented as a straight A, quiet, shy school boy at the start. Later, it's revealed he runs an illegal security business in the backdrop of his perfect school life. He is different when he is "Uncle" and then when he is Jisoo in school.

▹ Illegal Business
Depending on individual views on escorts, the business Jisoo runs provides security for escorts. The business is illegal and he also allows underage Minhee to use the service. If one is being "equal", "protective" they wouldn't allow underage girls to do this.

▹ Dark but real
It was interesting to see how dark but real the show was. It’s common to see something like this in Asian cities, the motels/compensated dating etc. This drama feels raw and different. Not the typical school drama

▹ Gyuri's impact
People have moaned and said that "it's gyuri's fault". Yes, it is. She took Jisoo's phone but how else did you expect the drama to even start. Something had to go wrong, since they're all high school kids. They don't know any better.

▹ Minhee & PTSD
Her character was always shown to be smart-mouthed and stubborn. Yes, she should have listened to others to not go to the motel that day but she experienced something brutal. She was left traumatised and couldn't work.

▹ Police officer
For some reason, the show wrote the police officer in such an annoying way. Perhaps this was intentional. We are seeing the officer, the way the high school kids are. She did the right things but she was doing them in the wrong ways possible.

▹ Ending
The last 2 episodes were basically game changers like American tv shows and movies. The good turn bad and the bad turn good. I do wonder why they chose to pursue this root instead of sticking with what they had. But, I understand. The shock factor outweighs consistency in this situation.

OVERALL
Really good kdrama, it's not the typical school drama. It's dark and real. It opens up discussions about the dark side of Korea. The underage escorts, the money problems and the need for good parental figures. The last two episodes could have been a bit better in terms of the story and I find that the episodes stand out/ are different in terms of consistency with the rest of the series.

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I wish there was a second season for this otherwise its such a waste!
The character development, the storyline, literally everything is so well done
This show will no doubt have you hooked immediately. So many heartwrenching moments in here and the ending actually shook me to my core ngl, I really wasnt expecting on of the most prominent characters to die but now it left me intrigued and I can't help but wish for more seasons and episodes ;;; please i wish there will be another season!! I also really liked the chemistry between the main characters, I hope their love blossoms if there is gonna be a new season.

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An Exciting Thriller..

The drama [ Extracurricular ] takes a different aspect from typical school dramas, like a struggling male lead who manages trafficking businesses. It ( his work ) can be troubling at times because things frequently get away from his control and he is unable to deal with his unexpected situations. So, despite the dark atmosphere, the story was well-constructed and captivating to the end.

As a kdrama lover I'm not defending bullying, sexual assault, or whatever else they shown in this drama, but what i liked is how the K-drama ( Extracurricular ) subtly unveils the depth of a crime-filled plot with teenage school story line. Let's appreciate that Netflix work brought a different subject theme this time allowing the writer Jin Han-Sae and Director Kim Jin-Min to move away from the common Korean high school storyline, cut off the classic love story element, and brought the crucially dark topics such as school bullying, payed dating, online sex work, and a variety of other issues navigating young adolescents in today's online world..

You will most certainly feel a wide range of emotions from sadness to love to frustration to anger to excitement through the main characters. And those emotions help add what can be an incredibly enlightening view of today’s youth and crime.


Kim Dong Hee is a brilliant actor and one of the young korean talents, After receiving prominent status for his supporting parts in the two biggest dramas, Kim Dong Hee jumps into leading roles & conveys an emotionally intense performance that will leave us question ourselves what you stand for at the end of the drama, Park Joo Hyun another talented young actress, no word how to appreciate her work, A Perfectionist. She really gave her 10/10 performance here, Portraying raw emotions with parental pressure and like a deep hurting inside daughter she perfectly played her role. Jung Da Bin did an excellent job giving her character depth.

Both ScreenWriter & Director were given a good thriller by showing the School Bullying, harassment, social norms, and parental pressure are all aspects of the life of a high school student in South Korea.
Cinematography and Soundtrack two are top quality that they capture us into a thriller mood.

Still waiting for season 02..

I enjoyed the drama and thanks to the Kdrama Judge who was given[ recommendation ] to me one of the best Kdramas. If you’re looking for an exploration in Korean highschool thriller with an engaging plot then this is definitely a must-watch..

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If you want a dark highschool drama, this one is for you!

It is about a typical intelligent boy who has monetary issues and who secretly has an illegal business. Things get super complicated when a rich girl comes into his life.

I liked the adrenaline and that Bae Gyu Ri wanted some action in her life, something to change and so she puts in movement all of the story. There were always something happening and this drama didn't bore me one bit. It also accentuates the hard life of teenagers.

I liked the relationship between Min Hee and Mr. Lee because it reminded me of a protective father-troubled daughter one. And the main leads had wonderful chemistry.

This is not an easy watch and it's a very sad drama, but it is a must-watch. It has a nostalgic feel to it.

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Melhor palavra pra descrever após terminar esse kdrama é "WOW".

Como disse no título, a melhor palavra pra descrever esse kdrama após terminar é "WOW".
A atuação de cada um dos personagens é perfeita, a maneira como após terminar um episódio você já sente vontade para c omeçar o próximo... essa é a melhor sensação.
O final ficou bem aberto... o jisoo e a gyuri podem ter conseguido fugir, MAS o kitae ainda estava lá... desmaiado, mas estava. O jisoo estava muito ferido, então a gyuri não iria conseguir carregá-lo sozinha, muito pode ter acontecido.. também podemos ver aquele bichinho dele sendo alimentado no final, me pergunto se eles (Jisoo e Gyuri) conseguiram fugir. Enfim, ao todo, esse kdrama é INCRÍVEL!!!!! valeu muito a pena asssitir, recomendo

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Best drama i’ve ever watched

Extracurricular is beautiful- i could rewatch this for days. It perfectly encompasses a dark concept without being overly gory and conveys an edging romantic plot without making everything about romance. Extracurricular is fascinating- the plot is constantly interesting and i remember every moment vividly, and the duality of a school but crime and dark genre will always be my favourite combination. I watched this a year ago and rewatched a couple of months ago, but i came back here specifically to write a review just to help people experience the joy i did when watching this. Also kim dong hee come back pls i miss u

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Berantakan

Dari sudut pandang awam, sebenarnya saya menyukai drama bergenre seperti ini. Mungkin pada episode awal premisnya digambarkan cukup menarik tapi secara keseluruhan alurnya kurang jelas. Cerita ini menggambarkan seorang siswa yang berperan menjadi mucikari namun masalah yang didapatkan hanya tentang dia yang kehilangan hpnya. Cerita tentang "Perdagangan seks" Hanya bisa didapatkan pada episode awal.

Karakter:
ML: digambarkan sangat lemah dan membuat penonton frustasi.
FL: digambarkan menjadi seorang ACE di sekolahnya namun kenyataannya tidak ada scene yang bisa membuktikan klaim tersebut.
SLF: digambarkan menjadi seorang beban untuk semua orang didekatnya, sebenarnya dia cukup kuat namun hanya membuat masalah.

Yang saya suka dari semuanya adalah eksekusi dari aktor dan aktrisnya sendiri, menurut saya itu yang bisa menutupi kebobrokan drama ini

Musik:
Tidak bisa digambarkan, tidak ada satupun ost yang melekat ketika menonton drama ini

Ending:
Sangat tidak jelas, pada episode 9-10 sangat tergambarkan drama ini tidak tahu mau dibawa kemana, saya juga tidak menemukan alasan yang jelas MR. Lee kembali mendatangi bar itu dan malah membuat dia terbunuh. Mungkin drama ini diplot untuk dibuat season selanjutnya, namun ini malah membuat saya tidak ingin menonton apabila diterbitkan season selanjutnya.

Tontonan ulang:
Tidak akan, saya sudah cukup bosan untuk skip beberapa scene....

Terimakasih 🙏

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For some reason this took me a while to finish. It's dark, mysterious, and gloomy. The characters are not morally correct all the time so sometimes its hard to like them. But the acting is fantastic and it has this gritty feel to it that you just want to hold onto and find out what will happen next.

What I liked about this is you're always waiting for what might happen next. Some scenes were a shocker. The grittiness makes it feel different from your usual kdrama.

What made it weird was how some decisions the characters make doesn't sit right with you. For example, I didn't really like the FL at first. But I slowly got accustomed to her and some things made me like her more. (She be really pretty though). Currently waiting for season 2 cause the ending was wow.

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