“Extracurricular” ~ You Don’t Earn Class Credits for Crime

“Extracurricular” (aka “Human Class”) is a 2020 Korean drama series, with 10 episodes, and can be categorized as Noir, High School, Youth, and Crime.

SUMMARY: A young boy abandoned by his parents when he started his first year in high school has to find a way to support himself. He is very intelligent and while his fellow students see him as a loser, he runs a successful escort business. Is it legal? Of course not! But he’s the only one who knows. Even the people who work for him don’t know who he is. Unfortunately, another student found out and she started blackmailing him. She threatened to call the police if he didn’t split the money with her. They both took a walk on the dark side. What happens to both of them when they reach the end of that dark path?

♦ I Have To Take Care of Myself

In “Extracurricular”, Oh Ji-Soo is a young boy abandoned by his parents when he started his first year in high school. Nobody knew. He never told the teachers or anyone else. He realized that he had to take care of himself. But what kind of work can a model student do to pay the rent and utilities, buy groceries and clothes, etc.? Running an escort service is very profitable. An escort service? You’re in a high school!! Is that possible? Believe it or not, it’s doable. You just need certain equipment to communicate and people willing to work for you. But is it legal? Legal? Of course not! But the money is good! It’s extracurricular activity but you don’t earn class credits.

Bae Gyu-Ri and Oh Ji-Soo attend high school together. Whereas Oh Ji-Soo is viewed by his peers as a loser, Bae Gyu-Ri is the girl who has it all. She’s athletic, she’s smart, and her parents are well off. They want to groom their daughter so she can take over their company. She has a roof over her head, clothes on her back, food to eat, and her parents dote on her since she is the only child. Whatever she wants they will provide. Except … except she kind of hates her parents and even imagines killing them. Never once do they ask her what she wants. Did they ever think she may not want to run their company? On top of that, they don’t provide her with thrills and excitement.

A school counselor recognizes that Oh Ji-Soo is intelligent so he tries to pair him up with Bae Gyu-Ri. They can be members of a club and work on projects together. Bae Gyu-Ri got together with Oh Ji-Soo but he had to leave to handle an “emergency”. But he did something very foolish and left his backpack behind with his business phone inside. Bae Gyu-Ri takes the phone and terrorizes him. His phone was missing and he started receiving phone calls threatening him. It didn’t occur to him that he could not trust Bae Gyu-Ri and that she had stolen the phone. She finally admits she took the phone and then tells him she wants “in”. She wants to make the kind of money he makes. Oh Ji-Soo asked her if she thinks his life is a joke. What he does is not for thrills and excitement. It’s for survival.

But Bae Gyu-Ri kept pestering him. He had worked hard to save money for his plans to attend university. She caused him to lose all of that money with her selfish immature acts. He had to start saving money all over again. She insisted that she could help him grow his business and that they could split the money 50-50. Oh Ji-Soo didn’t want her “in his business”, but she wouldn’t relent so he finally gave in.

Despite what the other kids saw or said, Oh Ji-Soo was not a loser.  If he had good parents who took care of him, he could have devoted time and effort to his studies. Instead, he chose a dark path to survival. That’s his excuse. But Bae Gyu-Ri was a user. Not a loser. She acted like she liked Oh Ji-Soo.  But what she really liked was taking that walk on the dark side. Let’s face it. If things went wrong, her parents would no doubt rescue her from the trouble she caused. But Oh Ji-Soo had only himself to depend on. He’d be foolish to believe he can rely on and trust Bae Gyu-Ri. But what if she fools him? What happens to both of them when they reach the end of that dark path? The money is good.  But everybody knows good things don’t last forever. Also, illegal things are not usually good things. Will their youth be wasted?

Main Characters:

• Oh Ji-Soo (played by Kim Dong-Hee, “Itaewon Class”, “SKY Castle”)
• Bae Gyu-Ri (played by Park Ju-Hyun, “The Forbidden Marriage”)
• Seo Min-Hee (played by Jung Da-Bin, “Glitch”)
• Kwak Ki-Tae (played by Nam Yoon-Soo, “The King’s Affection”, “Today’s Webtoon”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.6 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List:  8.3 out of 10 stars
• Common Sense Media: 4 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as My Drama List.

This is good series to watch if you’re interested in seeing how teenagers piss away their youth. You might pity the kid who was abandoned by his parents. But as for the other kids? No excuse. How the other kids got that misguided and went down the dark path is a mystery. Was there no adult around them teaching them values and the best path in life to take? Per a review published in the Los Angeles Times Arts and Entertainment section:

• “What’s crazy is that despite the high levels of crime and violence, this drama almost comes off as relatable to lots of students around the world.”

Is that quote true?  “Extracurricular” was such a bummer! Glad it was just 10 episodes.

More High School Kdramas Reviewed by PopGeeks:

• Commitment
• The Dude in Me
• Duty After School
• Hierarchy
• Lovely Runner
• Moorim School
• Phantom School
• Revenge of Others
• Shadow Beauty
• Twinkling Watermelon
• Usury Academy
• Weak Hero Class 1

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Escorting vs. Prostitution: What’s the Difference? | CWS Defense

Is ‘Extracurricular’ Worth The Hype?: Honest First Impressions Of The Netflix K-Drama | musings of a dramaholic

‘Extracurricular’ Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It? | Decider

Review: Netflix’s “Extracurricular” Is a Dark High School Drama Exploring Teen Problems | Cinema Escapist

Review: ‘Extracurricular’ on Netflix is the gripping quarantine K-drama we needed | HS Insider |Los Angeles Times

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Netflix K-Content. “Extracurricular | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, April 16, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV_DBz2rKsI.‌