{"id":742037,"date":"2026-06-17T09:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/742037\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T09:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:16:15","slug":"what-is-education-for-why-new-korean-drama-teach-you-a-lesson-is-topping-the-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/742037\/","title":{"rendered":"What is education for? Why new Korean drama Teach You a Lesson is topping the charts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within a week of its release, Netflix\u2019s new Korean drama Teach You a Lesson, directed by Hong Jong-chan, topped<\/a> the platform\u2019s global non-English rankings for the week of June 1-7.<\/p>\n

Adapted from the popular webtoon Get Schooled<\/a> (2020), the 10-episode series about a government-backed vigilante unit trying to fix the wrongs in schools has quickly become a highly rated<\/a> breakout hit.<\/p>\n

Described in a Forbes article as \u201cone of the most addictive feel-good dramas<\/a> of the year\u201d, the series has exploded across Asia and beyond<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Beneath its action, drama and satisfying takedowns lies a question troubling parents, educators and policymakers everywhere: what is education for, when the classroom itself is in crisis?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lessons worth learning<\/p>\n

Teach You a Lesson depicts a version of Korean society in which rising school violence and declining teacher authority have pushed the educational system to breaking point. <\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s education minister Choi Gang-seok, portrayed by Lee Sung-min, establishes the Educational Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB) after his daughter, a teacher, tragically dies at the hands of a student. <\/p>\n

The ERPB unit is granted extraordinary legal powers to intervene in troubled schools. <\/p>\n

Leading the unit is Na Hwa-jin, played by Kim Mu-yeol. He is the action hero, the minister\u2019s son-in-law, and a former Special Forces captain turned inspector. <\/p>\n

\"Four<\/a><\/p>\n

From left: Inspector Im Han-rim (played by Jin Ki-joo), ERPB leader Na Hwa\u2011jin (Kim Mu-yeol), Minister Choi Gang\u2011seok (Lee Sung-min) and Deputy Manager Bong Geun\u2011dae (Pyo Ji-hoon).
\n Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n

Hwa-jin teams up with the unhinged but fiercely trained Im Han-rim and the socially awkward yet technically gifted Bong Geun-dae.<\/p>\n

Much like the popular K-drama Taxi Driver<\/a> (2021), but set in classrooms, each episode tackles a new case involving bullying, corruption, academic misconduct, juvenile crime, gambling, drug trafficking or exploitation.<\/p>\n

Victims seek help when institutions fail them, and the ERPB steps in with swift, cathartic justice.<\/p>\n

The cases range from the spoiled son of a powerful politician being shielded from the consequences of his bullying, to a vocational school where violence is valued, and a student influencer who weaponises social media against teachers (with tragic results). <\/p>\n

Other episodes explore exam fraud, overbearing parents and the pressures of competition. Many even draw on real incidents, including 2023 case in Seoul<\/a> in which a young teacher took her own life after parental harassment.<\/p>\n

By centring these compelling personal stories, the drama spotlights educational crises through the eyes of those harmed. <\/p>\n

As Minister Choi responds to those who accuse the bureau of taking personal revenge: \u201cWe are not on the teachers\u2019 side or the students\u2019 side. We are on the victims\u2019 side.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fantasy of solving the unsolvable<\/p>\n

In this series, if a politician\u2019s child bullies others, the show topples the politician. If a teacher exploits an honest student, that teacher is held to account. <\/p>\n

Reality is hard, so this kind of fantasy helps.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Teach You a Lesson has been criticised<\/a> by Korean educators for glorifying violence and corporal punishment<\/a> through narratives in which problematic teenagers, abusive parents and corrupt educators are physically punished or publicly humiliated.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Na Hwa\u2011jin puts troublesome teens in their place, one slap, kick and smirk at a time.
\n IMDb<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet its popularity suggests viewers are seeking more than vigilante satisfaction. The uplifting dialogue and vivid characters offer escapism, and spark reflections on the failures of real educational systems.<\/p>\n

At its heart, the series is about standing with victims. One of its most striking lines comes as Hwa-jin reflects on collapsing authority in schools: \u201cIf adults become afraid of children, the world is doomed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Na Hwa\u2011jin saves a helpless student in Teach You a Lesson (2026).
\n IMDb<\/a><\/p>\n

Again and again, the drama returns to the need to be seen and heard. Victims are urged to speak up. As Hwa-jin tells one bullied student, if pain remains hidden, no one will know help is needed. <\/p>\n

The show also resists the simplistic binary of heroes versus villains.<\/p>\n

One young offender in juvenile detention is revealed to have once been a victim himself, someone whose suffering went unnoticed until it curdled into violence. His plea to Hwa-jin \u2013 \u201cCould you promise me just one thing? Can you make sure that no one turns out like me?\u201d \u2013 feels directed as much at the audience as at the character.<\/p>\n

What, and who, is education really for?<\/p>\n

This question, more than any fight scene or dramatic confrontation, helps explain why Teach You a Lesson has hooked global audiences.<\/p>\n

The appeal of its fantasy extends well beyond South Korea. The show notably went viral in China during \u201cgaokao\u201d, China\u2019s fiercely competitive national university entrance exam<\/a> season \u2013 tapping into widespread anxieties around pressure, fairness and opportunity.<\/p>\n

Research suggests confidence in modern education is eroding<\/a> across many countries, including Australia. Parents worry about bullying<\/a>, teachers report unmanageable workloads and shrinking authority<\/a>, and policymakers struggle to reconcile the competing demands<\/a> placed on schools.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Teach You A Lesson is also deeply rooted in South Korea\u2019s high\u2011stakes educational culture<\/a>, where academic achievement is closely tied to social mobility, and where schooling carries enormous emotional and economic weight. <\/p>\n

\"In<\/a><\/p>\n

Hwa\u2011jin\u2019s final confrontation with the student who killed his wife, in the same hallway.
\n IMDb<\/a><\/p>\n

In the final episode, Hwa-jin tells the student responsible for his wife\u2019s death \u201cchances aren\u2019t something you\u2019re given, you earn them when you truly want them\u201d. This line captures a belief that\u2019s pervasive across East Asia and beyond: education is the best chance to earn a better life.<\/p>\n

But what happens when educators, parents and policymakers can\u2019t access the adequate tools to deal with the problems in front of them \u2013 and certain people lose out as a result? What, then, is education really for?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Within a week of its release, Netflix\u2019s new Korean drama Teach You a Lesson, directed by Hong Jong-chan,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-742037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}