Teach you a lesson" - one of Netflix Korea's most controversial projects long before its release - officially aired on June 5.
The film tells the story of a special organization established to protect the troubled education system from problem-study students, abusive parents and unethical teachers. The work features actors Kim Moo Yeol, Lee Sung Min, Jin Ki Joo and P.O.
When asked about adapting a controversial webtoon, director Hong Jong Chan said he understands the public's concerns about the original.
He shared at the press conference: "We try to approach the story in a more subtle direction and create a truly meaningful work.
According to the director, the appeal of the project lies not in the controversial elements of the webtoon but in the "imagination of this special organization itself".
He explained: "What attracts me about the original is the idea of standing on the side of the victims and supporting them. That is the core point that makes me want to adapt the work.
Leading the cast is Kim Moo Yeol in the role of Na Hwa Jin, a former special agent who becomes an education inspector, who always takes strong intervention measures whenever problems occur.
Kim Moo Yeol describes his character as a heroic image that not only knows empathy but also action.
He shared: "Na Hwa Jin not only understands other people's pain. He is willing to take responsibility and act according to his beliefs. I think this is the type of character that many people want to see at this time - someone that the audience can really support and feel satisfied with watching.
According to Korea Times, "Teach you a lesson" has touched a painful reality.
In a world where student rights are exploited as weapons and teachers' authority has almost disappeared, classrooms become battlefields and increasingly chaotic.
It is on that gloomy reality that the film builds an attractive "dream of power".
In the work, the Korean Department for the Protection of Educational Rights appeared. This is a special task force authorized by the government to operate to rescue classrooms destroyed by students exceeding limits and harmful parents.
Teach you a lesson" brings a strong feeling of relief with fierce retaliation scenes that many viewers may secretly desire to witness.
However, behind those attractive action scenes is a rather bitter truth.
The fact that seemingly very ordinary things such as justice, victim protection, or standing up against wrongdoing can only exist in the form of a fictional story is the clearest warning about the seriousness of the problems that the education system is facing.
