As many people watch Netflix during quarantine, a Netflix original drama, made in Korea, has made a mega hit recently. The title is “Extracurricular”; it is about a very ordinary and hard-working student in school, who secretly pimps prostitution to earn money. The student makes money solely for living, and his dream is simply going to college and getting an ordinary job. This is very paradoxical since he chooses to be extraordinary in order to achieve an ordinary life. While he earns his money secretly, he gets caught by one of his friends in school, and everything starts to go downfall.
This wasn’t a drama with famous actors nor did it have a popular topic, then why was it so popular in Korea Netflix? It is because of its unconventional material. For instance, there were many films about juvenile delinquency, but this drama showed a realistic description, especially in the scenes of the high school students’ conversations. Moreover, actors’ professional acting made the drama even more interesting.
The drama’s intention was to tell the danger of juvenile delinquency. However, it received many criticisms as it beautified the crime. While two main characters are just a typical two criminals, the movie justified their actions. Some people, however, actually cheered for the characters to succeed, and even considered the police who ran after them as an obstacle. So, whether this movie is educational remains as a question.
–Written By: Ah yoon Chung
