Extracurricular (2020)

Superb Acting! Not your typical high school story AT ALL!

I LOVE this movie. In general I like romance and comedy...easy, light stuff like that ;). This IS NOTHING LIKE THAT! But, it got my attention from the start! I got so bored with K movies lately; even if somehow they manage to be ok at the begining, I lose interest very soon, or at best I can watch (some kdramas) untill almost the end, but stiil. can not the last 3-4 episodes... I just loose interest...they are so predictable and boring. This movie captivated me from the get-go and lasted all the way untill absolutly the last minute! I loved everything about this movie ( less the stupid, dum fighting scenes at the hotel)! The acting is SUPERB! I love both main actors so much!!! WOW, both were CAPTIVATING!!! Man, do these two kids know how to express emotions (and without overdoing it) ?! Looking forward to seeing their future work!!! I will watch every movie these 2 kids appear in! The storyline and how it develops is great as well; as I said, I NEVER got bored or guessed out the ending. Though many will disagree, I think the ending was perfect. Though I will so much like a continuation :) This is not a cute romatic drama, but boy, what a drama....and ending being a love story after all, without any actual love scenes...wow, that ending got me.
👌👍👍👍👍👍👍

Lire davantage

Very extracurricular! Not your usual school story

This is great drama brilliantly crafted all parts of the plot came together and worked out with surprise outcomes to the end〜 I binge watched last 3 episodes　〜but do not expect the usual school story of romance, bullying social and domestic problems、 this is tough unforgiving bloody and violent and shows the sordid underside of society with these not- yet -adult school students plunged into the adult storm of reality。 Some characaters〜 not the main leads〜 I found difficult to have any empathy with - these were just childish and caused all the trouble because they were the most confident they knew it all but actually least able to handle the dangerous world they trod into but I accept the actors played the part well to create those feelings in me. I do not think there was a single person not playing their part well. Knowing the plot I will not rewatch 〜only need one watch for message to hit through but highly recommend if you have strong stomach and strong mind to deal with this drama.

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I was recommended this drama from a few friends and I decided to watch it with kind of high expectations and was completely blown away. I never leave reviews but I had to leave one for this because of how good it was. I couldn't stop watching, every single episode kept me at the edge of my seat and I could barely breathe. It was almost like I was feeling the stress the characters felt.

The acting was incredible! I've seen Kim Donghee in A-Teen and SKY Castle but his acting here completely blew me away. His character is quite different from his other roles but he pulled it off so well; I could feel his emotion in some of the scenes. He definitely has a bright path ahead of him! Park Joo-hyun as Bae Gyuri played her role extremely well. Contrary to most, I loved her character and I definitely felt like she bright a spark to the show! Her character was super female-empowering and very intriguing, Gyuri is incredibly smart and playful and you never know what to expect from her or what she's going to do next.

Overall, if you enjoy a short drama/thriller (10 episodes) that is dark and revolves around crime, I highly suggest to watch it! The show also really reminded me of the WebToon, Lookism, so if you read/enjoy that webtoon I definitely recommend.

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And all of a sudden is my favorite kdrama

NO ONE TALK TO ME! This was definitely the best kdrama i've ever watched!
Definitely NOT for everyone though! I love f*cked up stories, and usually only watch truly crazy stuff like this in western produtions, so to be able to see it in korean it's something i didn't see coming!
10/10! The acting, the characters development, the story, the plot twists... it's just chief's kiss, honestly!

Not used to these kind of endings from a korean production, though. I fully accept these type of endings from movies (mainly western ones) and so on, but it's legit the first time a kdrama leaves me like this... and i kind of like it. It's insane... honestly! Just wow... Kim Dong Hee has 4 kdramas on his CV so far... and on the list there's Sky Castle and Itaewon Class... HE IS INSANE! A main role at his age... wow. I CAN'T WAIT to watch what this kid will do next. I'll legit watch anything he's in! Super impressed! (good job JYP aha)

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It's one of those dramas that leave you with an open mouth and tons of questions right at the end.
Extracurricular... what can I say about it? I feel like there should be more. And apparently there will be another season. Maybe after that season has ended I'll finally be able to describe the experience properly.
To put it simply, though, Extracurricular was a very intense very crazy and very very good kdrama. The main lead, Oh Ji Soo, was a bad guy who wasn't actually that bad. Bae Gyu Ri was similar in that sense but offered a completely different character than other dramas have shown before. Both main characters were exceptional, so much so that despite their wrong doings, I was on their side the entire time.
The season finale showed something that can only be resolved with another season. Personally, I think I'll set aside my entire review for that time when we have more answers.
For now, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart that this drama was great. Truly. I await the next season.
Enjoy watching.

Lire davantage

This drama is absolutely out of this world. I wasn't really expecting much and only wanted to watch it for Kim Dong Hee, but it exceeded my expectations by a ton. The acting and the emotions conveyed were on point, the theme song is so catchy, and the plot line is intriguing and you just can't get enough. I bingewatched all 10 episodes in one day because I couldn't put it down and I kept wondering what would happen next. This isn't your typical high school drama; it's so much darker and tackles a larger topic and really pinpoints the struggles and risks some people will go through when they're desperate. The message of the story is big, and everything that happened was so unpredictable. Right when I thought things would get better, it just kept getting darker and darker and it left you with so many questions in the end. But overall, this was a amazing drama and if there's a season 2, I'll be right here waiting for it.

Lire davantage

i delayed watching the last episode because i didn't want this to end! Seriously, Extracurricular was fantastic, excellent, gripping for all 10 episodes. I cannot put into words how absorbed i was in this drama, everything was brilliant.

We have the average setting of a high school, your typical social groups, exam struggles and all that. But this is far more than the school... we delve into the lives of the down right criminals and get taken on a perilous journey that all originates from a kids dream to live a normal life. I really found myself questioning who i should sympathise with, how such a spiral could occur. This was so much more than your casual high school drama.

I am so so happy for the cast! Woah! talk about acting!
Honestly i was a bit worried, even though i love Dong Hee, after his performance in Itaewon Class i wasnt sure if he would pull this off... damn was i wrong. He absolutely killed it, he's really come a long way in a short time, i cant wait to see his next drama
Yes the female lead was annoying to begin, but i get the feeling thats the vibe they were going for, so Joo Hyun obviously played her well. Further into the drama she develops and matures a lot.
The whole cast was just great, whoever chose them did a great job and i couldnt have asked for more!

I would definitely watch again, i wish it couldve been longer but with such a short, impactful story dragging it out longer probably wouldve been a mistake.
I wasnt too keen on the ending, its very open for interpretation. i get the feeling Netflix are setting up for a second season, which could be great, or could also be a problem. While Extracurricular worked so well in the 10 episode format, i feel possibly expanding to a second season could be stretching it too far. i would be intrigued to see where the plot could go next!

But apart from that i 100% recommend Extracurricular, only 10 hours of perfection!

Lire davantage

This is just AMAZING!

WOW. WOW. WOW this is such a new genre and take on stereotypical high school teen drama. I watched it expecting to be quite romance and a little bit dark but it exceeded my expectations. The plot is just magnificent and smart. I love how I get similar feels from this drama and How to Bury a Friend which both I loved. An excellent student with a dream and a sad family background striving for a better future and a rich student that loves adventures and being independent. Both being from a reality based family, a duo that we never expected to be needed in this drama. I love how behind the excellent student mask lies an ambitious boy that will do anything it takes to achieve his dream. If you are into dark dramas with a traumatizing plots and twists as well as ending you should definitely check this out.

Lire davantage

I watched it last year and I still think about it

I just wish I could watch this again for the first time and I am waiting for the second season holding my breath. Normally I forget about new seasons and I just watch them when they pop up somewhere but with Extracurricular I check at least once a month if there is any news.
The acting was amazing, the story had me absolutely hooked and I watched it in two days. The music and cinematography makes it even better, I've listened to two songs from the soundtrack ever since I first watched it. Such a good show for anyone who likes thrillers and antiheroes. It's perfect!

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A rubber band that is just stretched to its limits.... and eventually snaps!

A diligent student, Oh Ji Soo (Kim Dong Hee) aims for enrolling Korean prestigious universities while living all alone. To make ends meet, he secretly runs a security service for sex workers and has been successfully earn savings for his dream. However, his job is at risk of being exposed when his classmate Bae Gyuri (Park Ju Hyun) steals his work phone and starts blackmailing him.

This is one of a rare crime-thriller school drama executed to the best of its potential. Every element that makes a show GREAT are there! Powerful acting, crisp filmmaking, high-intensity OSTs, engaging metaphors and thrilling character arc. A roller coaster of emotions jam-packed in 10 short episodes! The story is dealing with controversial topics without being explicit nor shaming them, as well as study pressure that all students face.

The first few episodes might feel a bit slow, but they were intriguing and unsettling. Then the second half was like a bullet train wreck, with me entirely in the passenger seat, constantly feeling a strong tension. Lots of daring awesome action scenes: cars exploding, fist fights, students go and trash a karaoke bar! XD Ji Soo’s PTSD-induced nightmares are some of the most thought-provoking and memorable scenes, really showed how bleak the situation he’s gotten into. Thanks Kim Dong Hee for being a really engaging Ji Soo!

It ended on a strong climax, and I have no complaint regarding the “slightly open for interpretation” ending. The story felt sufficient, concluded, and it has clearly delivered the message it says in the poster, that “Some mistakes can not be erased.”

Lire davantage

Not your typical High school drama.

This is not your typical High school drama. The drama started off slow at first but then picked up very quickly. I like this drama because it talked about real life struggles and dreams are indeed expensive. The male lead's actions are not justifiable but you would find yourself rooting for him. He was just really pitiful. I almost stopped watching at episode two, the amount of stress and frustration I felt watching that episode can't be explained. Not one single character was likeable, the female lead has to be one of most annoying characters in all of kdrama history. Her nosy self literally caused everything to go downhill. I would never understand why she was so eager to get involved in the business. I didn't think it was because of the money, I rather thought she took Ji soo's life as a joke.

I hated the fact that Min hee tried to pin everything down on Ji soo. They made her actions look justifiable because she was a minor but no at her age she should know right from wrong and take responsibilities. Matters escalated quickly resulting to a lot happening towards the end. I was engaged in the drama because it had me on the edge of my seat and always had me shocked. The acting was great. Overall I found this drama to be pointless in the sense that it was irrelevant. I liked that it had an open ending and I am not looking forward to a second season. Rewatch value would be 0 if I could. This drama is definitely not for everyone amongst everything it was really gruesome.

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Modern-day Korean Raskolnikov

A good, sensitive boy notices, how bad the world is, and comes up with a rather bad idea himself. His sharply intelligent, sociopathic girlfriend is a nice replacement of the Dostoevsky's Sonya character. Practically all characters are mentally disturbed. The bully and his minions seem to have no understanding of good and evil, or, if they do, they happily choose the latter. The teenage prostitute sells her body in order to buy her boyfriend's love. FL's mother is a travesty of a tiger-mother, who seems to draw sadistic pleasure from humiliating her daughter. ML's "business" partner most probably suffers from PTSD. Only the teacher and the policewoman seem to be sane and decent, but their world is so far away from the world of the students that there is no way they could help them.
The series is just as dark, as you can expect.

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