My sister, a teacher, didn't want to watch this. She said it was too gruesome. So it was not on our list. Fortunately, Oppa's brother, who is not a teacher, highly recommended it. So we finally found the courage to start on this one. And it was definitely worth it. Despite its flaws and plot holes, the show was very, very compelling.
Plot
Teach You a Lesson tells the story of the Educational Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB), a special agency under the Ministry of Education. The ERPB was created through the advocacy of Minister of Education Choi Gangseok (Lee Sungmin) to fight for the rights of bullied teachers and students in the educational system. Despite its noble intentions, the ERPB has its fair share of opposition, making it very challenging for its staff to do their work. The show takes us through how the ERPB overcomes these challenges and breaks through the walls of problematic adults, politics, the government, and the bureaucracy.
Kim Mooyul as Inspector Na Hwajin
We initially thought Hwajin's actor was Ong Seongwu (20th Century Girl, More than Friends, and At Eighteen). But yeah, he did look a bit older. Then, I also saw some resemblance with Matt Damon in the Bourne movies.
It's so easy to love Kim Mooyul as Inspector Na Hwajin. He was a bully in a good way. What a rockstar he was! Like when he threatened to burn the MP's (Kim Byungchoon of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, Angry Mom, and Reply 1994) son in episode 1, or how he drove a car with a faulty break and how he took on adult gangsters under the rain in episode 2.
Makes you wonder if Hwajin has super powers with all his badass-ery and tiny bit of insanity. Yes, he often appears calm and cool. And although he is a soldier through and through, he is definitely a softie when it comes to his murdered fiancee, Choi Gayun (Ha Young of Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Now, We are Breaking Up). Seeing his almost empty apartment with Gayun's stuff and their prenup photos still on display was extremely painful.
I'm surprised that this is our first Kim Mooyul sighting. He seems good at what he does and I would love to see more of him.
Lee Sungmin as Education Minister Choi Gangseok
When you see Lee Sungmin listed on a show's cast, you know you're in for something good. And once again, he delivered. Splendid acting from him as always like in his previous works in 12.12: The Day, Miracle: Letters to the President, Reborn Rich, and Misaeng.
I loved the Minister's very fatherly and commanding presence especially in difficult situations like when he was called for a mini trial at the Parliament. I was so excited to see how he will use his power to expose baddies. But just like Hwajin, I loved his compassion especially towards the victims.
One other thing that was very enjoyable to watch was his bromance relationship with Hwajin and how he treated him like his own. Their first toast, where they were both coerced by Gayun, was so cute.
Pyo Jihoon as Deputy Director Bong Geundae
It was nice to finally see P.O., now using the name Pyo Jihoon, in something more substantial than his roles in More than Friends, Hotel del Luna, and Encounter.
Pyo Jihoon as Deputy Director Bong was the perfect student infiltrator with his baby face. And it was funny to see how awkward he was in general but he still managed to fit in perfectly at the ERPB. He was definitely an asset with how good he was with numbers and data. And it was super smart of him to use Morse code to reveal his location when he was kidnapped by loan sharks/gambling lords.
Jin Kijoo as Inspector Im Hanrim
Apparently, we've seen Jin Kijoo in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo. But I can't quite place her. Unlike the other characters, some people might not warm up to Inspector Im Hanrim right away because she has this tendency to yell a lot with her very shrilly voice. But I loved her immediately.
I liked how she appeared cutie, softie, feminine, and sweet but at the same time, she was also so badass, crazy, tough, and fearless like a true girl boss. Indeed, she was like a more emotional, aggressive, impatient, and girl version of Hwajin but they're both so alike too in how they respond so well to challenges. Hanrim was perfect for the job given how she was bullied and abused too in her youth. No one can be more empathetic than her. And it was a bonus that it was Hwajin who saved her back then, which makes their relationship go deeper.
I thoroughly enjoyed the funny love story between Geundae and Hanrim. I admit though that it was uncharacteristic that because of tteokbokki, she removed her eyes on Deputy Bong, which led to his kidnap. But at least it paved the way for her confession, describing him as cute with sparkly eyes when they were looking for him in the hideout where he was taken away. The little kiss to sober her up when she was drugged was also cute and sweet.
Execution
I super loved the ERPB and the lessons and values they try to live by. Like their own version of the golden rule on teaching students in a manner where they're most responsive - by words or by beating them up. And how adults and teachers should be fearless of students. And that the first step for getting help is asking for it.
Yes, they employed unorthodox methods and corporal punishment, which are prone to abuse if placed in the wrong hands. And I'm pretty sure there were many instances when they went beyond the bounds of the law like replacing exams, entrapments, spying, wiretapping, hacking, etc. But desperate times, call for desperate measures
The show had its funny moments too. There were times when things were absurdly funny already. Like how it was impossible that Hwajin or Hanrim alone can beat groups of gangsters. Or when you have gangsters asking for forgiveness from their bullied victims.
But I particularly enjoyed how Hwajin patronized the bullies to catch them, turn the tables on them, and make them have a taste of their own medicine like the popular teacher in the Foreign Language High School (Choi Dukmoon of Gold Land, Buried Hearts, Moving, Hospital Playlist 2, Vincenzo, Reply 1994, and The Snow Queen) and how he bugged the nosy elementary school parent (Park Jiyeon of Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Hospital Playlist) with endless phone calls. Or how he made the Gangnam mom (Seo Younghee of Twinkling Watermelon) follow the very rigid schedule and meal plan she prepared for her own kid (Kim Taeyoung). Or how the ERPB hacked the accounts of the bullies of the human wifi (Lee Wooje) and even entrapped the main bully (Kim Jaeseon) who used the school's violence committee and a scheming lawyer (Kim Dahwin of Our Unwritten Seoul, Resident Playbook, Melo Movie, Love Next Door, and Crash Course in Romance) to make it appear that he was the victim.
The show was definitely not lacking in plot twists. The biggest of which was Minister Choi and Hwajin's connection to the highly controversial stabbed teacher from two years ago. I loved how carefully and thoughtfully interspersed and woven it was throughout the story.
I was really glad the government was not initially swayed by the vendetta/revenge angle being propagated by the opposition led by Hwang Gitae (Kim Jongsoo of Samjin Company English Class, Extreme Job, 1987: When the Day Comes, Moving, Snowdrop, Vagabond, The Producers, and Misaeng) Why would it change things? The ERPB was doing something good. Emotions don't seem to be getting in the way. Except probably that Hanrim and Geundae were doubting them, unfairly though.
Oh, Gayun's killer, Cho Gyucheol (Lee Bongjoon of Resident Playbook, Reborn Rich, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Youth of May), was really scary and deceiving. Saying he was in love with Ms. Choi. Or taking the knife for the middle school bully (Jang Yohoon) to get himself out on parole. It must have been very traumatic for Minister Choi and Hwajin to see Gyucheol out again and even back in the same school.
I loved how the show worked hard in presenting the different facets of bullying. It can have different actors - students bullying teachers (like scheming and cunning students destroying the lives of teachers when they don't get what they want) or fellow students, teachers bullying students, parents bullying teachers or students. It can come in different forms too - physical like beating them up, emotional by pressuring them and giving them anxiety, financial like online gambling, extortion of free wifi, and drugs, etc.
But regardless of the form, bullying is just extremely horrible. Hard stop. Especially if it involves entitled kids who come from powerful families who could even be worse than gangsters and criminals. They have the machinery to change the narrative and make their children appear as the victims like in the human wifi episode.
The show will definitely leave you with a lingering question - whose fault is it? Parents who enable? Teachers who turn a blind eye? Students who do nothing? It was heartbreaking to see the guilt and regret felt by those who did nothing but then, we can't really blame them because they were victims themselves.
And the ill effects of bullying - how it disrupts learning especially of those who are just there to learn and survive. And how it destroys the self esteem and confidence of the victims and the students who witness it.
While it's difficult to really typecast victims, we do have a prototype. They're usually poor, weak, and are barely fighting for survival either from external abuse or poverty.
I loved how the show really explored different angles like how girl bullies can be prone to using their gender, social media, public opinion, and trial by publicity to appear as victims and gain sympathy.
And the drama did all of these while using very timely and relevant topics. And showing us back and side stories of bullying that we tend to overlook. Like how the Girls' High students called the ERPB to save Ms. Jung (Lee Sanghee of One Spring Night and Mr. Sunshine). Some or most students actually care. And how knowing that, renewed the purpose, passion, and courage of Ms. Jung and how she lovingly, calmly, and patiently explained why she had to be strict.
Of course, it was scary when after the ERPB restricted Yeri's (Park Seoyoon) accounts, she became murderous. But thank God for the ERPB coming just in the nick of time, despite the corny way Hwajin heroically saved Ms Jung when she fell off the building. Shocking of course that Yeri herself was abused by a former teacher that led her to be that way.
Then we shift our focus on the Foreign Language School. Yes, it was quite predictable that the teacher was the problematic one, leaking exams to his favored paying students and getting competitors out of the way. It showed us how teachers, parents, schools, and the society also perpetuate the problem with excessive competition and bias in favor of the rich and powerful. I loved the entrapment and how Mr. Cheon and Yeri were made to meet. This story was quite similar to the Gangman school episode with the overly demanding parents who take away the fun from their children's learning.
The elementary school episode was proof that teaching young kids is the most physically challenging with how rowdy they can be. Then you get overstepping parents who don't care about invading teachers' privacy. And administrators who are scared of parents. It was heartbreaking to see the mom (Yoon Hyungil of My Youth and Hospital Playlist 2) of the teacher, Ms. Choi Jiseon (Song Sian of Buried Hearts), report her daughter's extreme condition to the ERPB. No student is ever worth your mental health. And fortunately it wasn't too late when the ERPB arrived. It was a touching scene to see the kid, Ujin (Choi Jayoon of Melo Movie and Lovely Runner), asking his teacher for help to save him from his own parents.
The episode on the middle school juvenile delinquents presented the real and present problem of how minors exploit the law, knowing that they can get away with things. Worse. because drugs were involved and their parents were enablers. And although probably illegal and bordering on excessive, I loved how the ERPB devised a way to beat these guys - by instilling fear in them by putting them in jail.
We also have the very timely online gambling episode, which showed us that once gambling turns into an addiction, it's just too difficult to stop.
It was definitely rewarding to see the victims living better lives. And all the more special to see the extremely bad ones like the tech school guys doing better and getting along. It must have been immensely fulfilling for the ERPB.
Going to the ending, it was really disappointing that Hwang Gitae chose the dark side all in the name of his political ambition. As Minister Choi said, if you can't be a good adult, at least try not to be a bad one.
Disbanding the ERPB and turning its team members into underground vigilantes and super heroes was very smart and well-planned to lure Gyucheol. And they really went full circle when they sought the help of the teachers who actually responded to their call. And of course, it was a fitting closure to end it all with Gyucheol, who will now hopefully be locked up for good.