'Extracurricular' starring Kim Dong-hee is a darker, more intense and violent version of the 'School' series
Spoilers for 'Extracurricular' Season 1
Bullying, harassment, peer pressure, parental pressure are different facets of the life of a high school student in South Korea. We have seen different versions of this life portrayed in shows such as the critically acclaimed 'Sky Castle' and the popular 'School' series. In 'Extracurricular' we return to a setting that is often explored in Korean Dramas, only this is a darker, more intense, and violent version of any highschool K Drama we have seen so far.
JiSoo (Kim Dong-hee) is a high school student whose mother abandoned him and whose father is a gambler. So the only way he could live life was to ensure that he could save as much money as possible to increase the quality of his life. He dreams about a life that includes college education and in this vein, he takes up a part-time job. This job pays him enough money, gives him time to ensure that he pays attention to his studies, and has enough time to attend Academy as well.
The only catch is that, if his friends were to know of his job, he would be bullied, harassed, and insulted throughout his time in school. In simple terms, he is a modern-day pimp.
He has developed an app that allows women to sign up for dates that are compensated. It is not exactly an escort service but it is on the same lines. As a part of their service, JiSoo offers security for the women with the help of Mr Lee, who is a hired hand and is always nearby to ensure that he can reach the women if needed.
The operation runs smoothly enough and JiSoo also ends up saving almost 60 million won. A huge amount for a high school student and he has no qualms about the service that he provides from a moral standpoint. In fact, even when he learns that one of the women who has signed up for his service is a high school student, it doesn't bother him.
The fact that his business could be construed as sex trafficking of a minor, or as prostitution involving a minor is not something that JiSoo is unaware of. Yet, he does it because he needs the money. However, the smooth flow of work is disturbed when JiSoo meets Gyuri, a classmate that he falls for at first sight. Influenced by his hormonal feelings for her, JiSoo ends up doing quite a lot of things and one of it includes closing his business for a day so that he could go on a date with her.
She is the daughter of rich parents and is set on the path to follow them to become the CEO of their business. However, Gyuri hates every minute of her life with them.
She is smart and that is how she ends up finding out the truth about JiSoo's side business and she even steals the phone that JiSoo uses for his business and tries to blackmail him. In the process, she finds the picture of JiSoo's hiding place where he has left all his money. So she tries to lure JiSoo away by telling him to collect the phone from somewhere else.
At this inopportune moment, JiSoo's father arrives, he coincidentally finds the money and runs away with it. All the work that JiSoo had done so far, the money that Gyuri had hoped to use to set her life up somewhere away from her family is lost. JiSoo also finds out that Gyuri was the one who took away the phone and this wakes him up from the spell he was under.
JiSoo's bad luck began here and it affects so many lives, leading to even Mr Lee's violent death while he attempts to save JiSoo and Gyuri from a group of mobsters. Minhee, JiSoo's classmate is left traumatized because she is attacked by a psycho client who tries to get violent with her. As a result, she is unable to continue using the app but tries to keep in touch with Mr Lee because she feels protected around him.
Yet, she is abandoned by JiSoo because cops begin to suspect something strange is happening around her. JiSoo does so because of Gyuri and this leads to Minhee getting provoked into confronting the 'Uncle'.
The show gets darker with each episode and what is at the forefront is JiSoo's selfish motive, Gyuri's insensitive approach towards JiSoo and his business and the strange connection that Mr Lee has with JiSoo which leads to his bloody death.
This show is not for you if you are looking for something lighthearted, but instead, it will change how you think about the pressures that high school students face and the choices that they make as a result.
All 10 episodes of 'Extracurricular' can be streamed on Netflix.
