Extracurricular

Overall Rating: A
Subtitles: This was a Netflix co-production so the subs were especially strong.
Brief Synopsis: A student at the top of his class leads a secret life as a pimp. Watch it on Netflix here.

**Full show spoilers below the image. If you do not wish to be spoiled, do not proceed**

Ending Type: This wasn’t even an ending so hard to say. I’d call this one a victim of the Netflix “must make multi season K Drama” scheme. Major, major cliffhanger.
Characters:
Oh Ji Soo (Kim Dong Hee)
Bae Gyu Ri (Park Joo Hyun)
Seo Min Hee (Jung Da Bin)
Mr. Lee (Choi Min Soo)
Full review:
This was another one of those shows that was phenomenal but very hard to watch at times because it was so well written and acted and the subject matter was so intense and uncomfortable.
In the first episode there’s a sense of Ji Soo being kind of awesome for running a protection service for prostitutes and staying completely under the radar. You feel for him because he’s been abandoned by his parents and just wants to do well in school and earn enough money to stay alive and go to college. He seems like a good guy because his business keeps the working girls safe.
In some ways this is definitely true, but the show did a truly good job of also giving Min Hee a perspective and voice and showing how, even when protection is available, the industry is dangerous and damaging to many of the workers. (This is my general plug for sex work to be legal and regulated so that people can remain safe and get the help and support they need).
What really made everything start to fall apart, though, was Bae Gyu Ri’s introduction. Even Min Hee’s trauma came from an encounter she wouldn’t have had if Bae Gyu Ri hadn’t stolen Ji Soo’s phone. Gyu Ri was a fascinating character because she was wholly and completely unlikable. Her family was messed up, yes, but the level to which she felt entitled to play with and mess with other people’s lives was horrifying. She was clearly looking for an outlet for her stress, and it led to the collapse of Ji Soo’s business, the loss of all of his savings, the death of multiple people including Mr. Lee, and some truly traumatic experiences for Ji Soo and Gyu Ri (including Ji Soo’s near death? almost death? possible actual death? unclear because cliffhanger ending).
There are some TRULY despicable people in this show but Gyu Ri is clearly the villain. What’s amazing is she isn’t treated like one in the context of the story– it’s just a narrative about her and Ji Soo, and because she is a primary character you want her to be safe, and you want her to succeed, and you want Ji Soo to run off abroad with her and for them to forget about all the BS they went through and live happily ever after.
Overall this show was incredibly engrossing and fascinating, but it was deeply uncomfortable and difficult to watch. It also played very well with perspective and the concept of right vs. wrong in the world and especially the world of crime.
I do recommend it, but only for people who can handle the subject matter, violence, and the very intense discomfort that a lot of scenes created.
High Points: The acting, the writing, the execution of everything.
Low Points: The non-ending ending.