Teach You a Lesson

Presentation

For more…

Overview

Synopsis

School teachers have a hard time to discipline students which causes serious social issues. So, authorities create a new organization named the Educational Rights Protection Bureau. Na Hwa Jin is part of it and is thus sent to a problem school as a supervisor. There, he can educate students without any restrictions.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

Desperate situations require desperate methods. I think that’s exactly what we should focus on with Teach You a Lesson. I get the controversy related to using violence to educate – it was already an issue in the original webtoon. However, I personally liked the drama and the way they explained why violence can be a necessary evil in certain situations. Schools are ruthless, students are bullied, teachers are powerless, the system is defective and laws never protect victims. In that context, the sentence ‘give them a taste of their own medicine‘ is the only solution to tackle these problems. That being said, there is something satisfying to see bullies (whether it’s parents, teachers, students or else) being punished for their wrongdoings. Each episode also teaches a valuable lesson, not only to ‘villains’ but also to viewers. These problems are real in our society and require actions. Of course, the drama remains a little bit idealistic, as they don’t mention the consequences of such methods on bullies nor do they give actual action points that can be implemented in real life. But at least, it exposes the issues loud and clear. On top of that, it’s entertaining. I just enjoyed watching Na Hwa Jin in his sexy black suit educating everyone, the Minister of Education was so upright and righteous, Im Han Rim was crazily lovable and Bong Geun Dae such a cute and innocent genius. I can only recommend the show, I loved it!

Analysis

• Characters
  Na Hwa Jin
  Choi Gang Seok
  Im Han Rim
  Bong Geun Dae
• A controversial setting
• A taste of their own medicine
• The lessons
  Episode 1
  Episode 2
  Episode 3
  Episode 4
  Episode 5
  Episode 6
  Episode 7
  Episode 8
  Episode 9
  Episode 10

Characters: The main quartet is a force to be reckoned with. Each individual has his own role to play from being on the political front to going undercover at school. They complement each other.

Na Hwa Jin: Na Hwa Jin (Kim Moo Yul) used to be part of the special forces in the army. He was engaged to teacher Choi Ga Yun (Ha Young), but she tragically dies after being stabbed by her student. This event is a turning point in Hwa Jin’s life. The court protects the juvenile criminal, while he drowns in his anger and sorrow. When he’s asked by his father-in-law and Minister of Education to put his skills to good use, Na Hwa Jin accepts as a way to honor Ga Yun’s memory and principles. As an inspector, he doesn’t hesitate to inflict the same pain to persecutors using any means possible. Nevertheless, he doesn’t get drunk on authority and power. He’s fair, upright and has a straight line of conduct. He’s incorruptible, cool-headed, charismatic (especially in this black suit) and strong-willed.

Choi Gang Seok: Choi Gang Seok (Lee Sung Min) is Ga Yun’s father. Though he lost his daughter to a student, he doesn’t use position as Minister of Education to retaliate. On the contrary, he too wants to honor his daughter’s memory by using his power and influence to correct the system that took her life. He and Hwa Jin share many qualities such as righteousness, cool-headedness and resilience. He has an objective in mind and never strays away from it despite criticisms. As a politician, he hides his emotions but he’s really soft and empathetic. He refuses to let his daughter’s tragedy repeat again and makes it his mission to change the defective system.

Im Ha Rim: Im Ha Rim (Jin Ki Joo) has known Na Hwa Jin since her teenage days. She was indeed bullied by her peers, but he rescued her. Since then, she’s followed him in the army, seeing a mentor in him. Ha Rim is the most eccentric character of the show. She’s hot-headed with anger management issues. She has no patience, loses her cool fast, can be reckless, has a touch of craziness, and often acts before thinking. She can’t stand injustice and gets enraged when she sees a victim being crushed by the system. As a former victim herself, she understands what students or even teachers go through and wants to leverage her experience to help them. She’s learned how to protect herself and wishes to defend others.

Bong Geun Dae: Bong Geun Dae (Pyo Ji Hoon) is not strong physically but he’s a brilliant brain. No computer or system can resist him and I would even say that the team’s investigations wouldn’t function properly without him. Not only is he a genius, but he’s also the best undercover victim. He’s so innocent, pure and easily scared that it’s easy for evil students to pick on him. Work-wise, Geun Dae appreciates boundaries between personal and private life and thus tends to see students as cases and not as people. But the team sways him and he becomes more empathetic. He pretends he doesn’t care but he’s tender-hearted. And his sweet romance with Im Ha Rim was just so nice – these two are so different, yet sparks just fly between them.

A controversial setting: Teach You a Lesson offers a controversial setting from the get-go. Inspectors are granted the right to use any means necessary to punish persecutors which could lead to investigators abusing their power. However, this doesn’t occur in the show because each character has strict discipline and principles. They never cross the line. Others may argue that the drama is promoting violence. As a counter-argument, I would remind the context of the drama: Students fall victim to their classmates, parents pressurize their kids and teachers, teachers are powerless, the system doesn’t work and only protects bullies, victims never get justice. These elements are not only true in the show but also in reality, as the story is sometimes based on true facts. Considering that the system is defective and fails those who truly need protection, the only approach left is to leverage on violence and the same evil methods used by persecutors. Though the drama doesn’t provide actionable solutions, at least it exposes injustices loud and clear. It doesn’t promote violence as THE solution, but rather considers it as a potential leverage in certain situations.

A taste of their own medicine: Na Hwa Jin and his team never go overboard when inflicting punishment. They perfectly embody the saying: ‘Give them a taste of their own medicine‘. Though it may seem brutal and unfair, they only use the same methods of harassment, bullying and more used by the persecutors towards the victims. It was so satisfying to see these bad people go through what others had to suffer because of them. It also served as a lesson because they were now able to realize how awful their actions and behaviors were.

The lessons: Like the title suggests, the drama is full of valuable lessons to take away.

Episode 1: In this episode, a rich kid uses his father’s power and influence to bully others because he thinks he’s untouchable. Once he loses that protection, he becomes a target.
The lesson: You create your own Hell. That student’s bullying caused his classmate’s suicide. Now he needs to assume his responsibilities and bear that guilt his entire life.

Episode 2: Here, Bong Geun Dae goes undercover in a technical school full of thugs who have links with the mafia. Their disruptive behavior and constant fighting is a blocker for teachers and students who wish to learn.
The lesson: Don’t get in the way of someone who wants to learn. If you don’t want to leverage on your school time, that’s your problem. But you have no right to steal someone else’s desire to attend class.

Episode 3: This episode focuses on a student who possesses a huge online community and uses her social media to cyberbully those who wrong her. One of her teachers becomes a victim of that online harassment. She becomes frightened and demotivated.
The lesson: If adults fear children, the world is doomed. Thanks to the team’s intervention, the teacher understands that other students enjoy her class, that her passion can move hearts and that she shouldn’t feel intimidated by a kid. She’s the adult who needs to inspire authority, not the other way around.

Episode 4: Here, a corrupt and famous teacher manipulates grades and college admissions. He doesn’t hesitate to destroy other students’ lives in order to replace them with the rich children in his classes.
The lesson: Even teachers have to pay for their misdeeds.

Episode 5: This is probably the most intense episode (based on a true story). Here, the parent is the bully and exerts constant pressure over her child’s teacher for no reason. The situation becomes so insufferable that the teacher even thinks about committing suicide.
The lesson: Your child is not more precious than someone else’s. Teachers are also someone’s child and are precious in their eyes.

Episode 6: In this episode, we delve into one of South Korea’s most unfair law: children under 14 can’t be trialed. This status entices 14-year old to commit any sort of crimes knowing they won’t be punished.
The lesson: No one is above the law, not even 14 year-olds. If you break the law, your age shouldn’t matter. On the contrary, adolescence is the perfect time for delinquents to understand that actions have consequences and can lead to prison.

Episode 7: This episode revolves around a high school student who develops a gambling addiction making his parents fall into debt.
The lesson: Lessons are meant to be learned, so don’t make the same mistake twice. Parents are here to support you and help you grow. But you can’t take it for granted and expect them to continuously rescue you whenever you make the same mistakes over and over again and don’t learn. Here parents are victim of their children’s actions.

Episode 8: The mother in that episode is one of the worst characters of the show. She’s so obsessed with her son’s studies that she ends up giving him drugs and almost killing him.
The lesson: Parents are not sacrificing themselves for their children; their children are sacrificing themselves for their parents. The mother’s greed brought her son to the brink of death. He became addicted to drugs but never tried to go against his mother because he wanted to make her happy. So, he sacrificed his own health.

Episode 9: A young teenager is being used as a human wifi. His accounts are stolen by his peers and his debt growing, but he has no proof. So, no one believes him.
The lesson: Violence is not just physical. Bruises and wounds can also be internal, mental and emotional. When you scream the truth but no one cares to listen or refuses to believe, this also leaves terrible scars.

Episode 10: The last episode focuses on the student who killed Ga Yun. Once out of detention center, he starts his drug business again. But this time, Na Hwa Jin is set on not letting him have his way.
The lesson: Chances are not given to you; they only come to those who want them. Gyu Cheol was given a chance to redeem himself, to atone for his sins and to start anew. But he didn’t seize the opportunity and fell even deeper than before.