The high school students in 'Extracurricular' turn to crime in after-school hours.
Extracurricular activities look good on a high school record, but not the kind featured in the Korean drama Extracurricular.
The 10-episode drama’s main character Oh Ji-soo is a good student. When looking at Ji-soo’s academic record, his school advisor notes that his grades are impressive and he’s never been in trouble, but he has not participated in any of the extracurricular activities that boost university applications.
What the advisor doesn’t know is that Ji-soo, played heart-wrenchingly by Kim Dong-hee, has some serious extra-curricular activities, only they are not the kind that are likely to impress universities.
Abandoned by his parents years earlier, Ji Soo supports himself by coordinating and protecting the activities of a few young sex workers, communicating via texts and a phone app that disguises his voice. While solving math problems and studying literature, Ji-soo does his accounting, negotiates client problems and occasionally has to stage a rescue. He has supported himself this way for a while. The young workers refer to him as “uncle” because they’ve never seen or heard him. They have no idea he is really a high school student. Ji-soo hired a strong man to provide muscle should it be needed.
It’s initially easy for Ji-soo to hide his part-time work because he’s a loner that no one else takes much interest in. However, his anonymity does not last.
Kim Dong-hee stars in 'Extracurricular.'
To round out his academic record, Ji-soo’s counselor suggests he join an after-school club which discusses social ethics. Ji-soo doesn’t want to waste time being in the club but he is interested in the only other member, Bae Gyuri, played by Park Joo-hyun.
Gyuri was born with the kind of financial security and prospects that Ji-soo can only dream of, but she’s not satisfied with her life, and wants more. She wants to flout convention and defy her parents, whom she hates. Her curiosity about Ji-soo’s erratic behavior prompts her to find out about his criminal endeavors. Although she doesn’t need the income, she wants in on her classmate’s money-making scheme and the two become partners in crime.
Extracurricular has been described as a teen crime drama but it’s dark, much darker than most teen k-dramas, even those in which there is a crime to solve. The main characters engage in criminal behavior, and, while viewers might applaud them for their success as entrepreneurs, their criminal enterprises are sure to endanger them.
This high school drama does not assign its characters with the usual comic book designations of hero or villain, but rather portrays the school’s entire student body with varying degrees of moral failings. While Ji-soo is the protagonist, he’s not a hero. He’s very obviously a victim trying to survive by breaking the law. So many students in the school seem to be making mistakes and some of them are illegal.
It might take a while for viewers to recognize Kim Dong-hee as the same actor who played Jang Geun-soo in the recent hit drama Itaewon Class, since his performance in Extracurricular so effectively captures the victimized scarred Ji-soo. Park, a relative newcomer, only has one other k-drama credit, appearing this year in A Piece of Your Mind, but she strongly conveys her character’s troubled mix of sociopathic tendencies and unexpected surges of sympathy.
Extracurricular also stars Jung Da-bin as classmate Min-hee and Nam Yoon-soo as Ki-tae, Min-hee's boyfriend. The drama was written by Jin Han-sae and directed by Kim Jin-min, who directed Time Between Dog and Wolf, Road No. 1 and Lawless Lawyer.
There is no word yet from Netflix on whether Extracurricular will be one or two seasons long.
