Flour, eggs, and tears in Who Are You—School 2015
by javabeans
You can’t do a high school drama — at least not in this day and age — and leave out the cruel bullying, which explains why Kim So-hyun, who stars in Who Are You—School 2015 is pelted with eggs, covered in flour, and targeted by her peers in the stills below.
Kim plays the character Lee Eun-bi in those stills (she plays two characters overall), a high schooler in her second year. But she won’t be the victim forever, because her “life changes in one morning” when her “fate is switched” with another’s — somehow she becomes the popular girl, putting a twist on the underdog-confronts-bullies storyline.
She’ll star alongside rookie Nam Joo-hyuk (Surplus Princess) and BTOB idol Yook Sung-jae (Plus Nine Boys), who play her classmates. Nam’s character will be a swimming star who’s already attracted media and public attention; while he seems cold and taciturn on the outside, he’s actually warm-hearted, which is a dichotomy we’re well familiar with.
Yook Sung-jae’s character, meanwhile, is constantly getting into trouble everywhere he goes, a free spirit with (and I quote) “crazy power.” I don’t know what they mean by that, but sure. Why not? (Both guys are at least five years her senior, but she’s got over five years more acting experience than they do, which is kind of trippy if you think about it. I mean, considering she’s just about to turn 16 and all.)
Lee Pil-mo (Pinocchio, Emergency Couple) is another addition to the cast, playing the school’s “elite math teacher” who was a longtime contract teacher before finally getting hired on as regular full-time faculty with a homeroom to manage. It sounds like he’ll be taking on the role Jang Nara and Daniel Choi played in the 2013 version, since he’ll be the one who struggles to get through to the kids, finding ways to communicate and relate to his young charges.
Which is great, because Lee Pil-mo has a great ability to mix the comedic and dramatic, with a combination of gruffness, humor, and heart to his acting. I fully expect the kids to make him tear out his hair in frustration, but I have faith his doggedness will be rewarded. Maybe just with more lines in his face and less hair on top when all’s said and done.
The drama promises to depict the realities and tribulations of being a teenage student in modern Korea, its various plotlines to be told in episodic format with frankness and relatability. The 2013 edition of the drama did this well, though I do wonder if School’s thunder has been stolen by Angry Mom, which has been doing a fabulous job doing the same thing. Angry Mom tackles issues of school bullying, cheating, and institutional corruption with a fun twist and light undertone cutting through the darkness. It’s sort of like Angry Mom took over where School 2013 left off and improved on the direction and pacing, so I’m curious to see how School 2015 will distinguish itself.
Who Are You—School 2015 will be a Monday-Tuesday KBS drama. It premieres on April 27.
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Tags: Kim So-hyun, Nam Joo-hyuk, Who Are You–School 2015, Yook Sung-jae
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1 fat_crayon
April 13, 2015 at 8:23 AM
Yook Sung-jae look so much like Seo In Guk in the pictures!
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seogu
April 13, 2015 at 7:38 PM
I agree with you!!!
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fab
April 14, 2015 at 5:50 AM
He already looked a lot like him with black hair.
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Anri
April 17, 2015 at 7:32 PM
And Nam Joo Hyuk looks so much like CNBlue's Jungshin!
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2 redfox
April 13, 2015 at 8:29 AM
some massive eyebrows in the last picture
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30.01.96
May 10, 2015 at 7:54 AM
triangle eyebrows!
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3 avenus
April 13, 2015 at 8:33 AM
Lee Pil-mo as their teacher is a great addition.
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varms
April 14, 2015 at 12:52 AM
Definitely an asset to this drama!!
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4 rabbithole
April 13, 2015 at 8:34 AM
Nam Joo Hyuk is so HOT! Hoping this drama would be good! *fingers crossed* >_<
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5 crazedlu
April 13, 2015 at 8:36 AM
Soooo checking this out. Love school dramas. And I actually think the boys have a good deal of acting talent, so hope they deliver with Kim So-hyun.
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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
April 13, 2015 at 9:04 AM
yeah, Yook Sung-jae at the very least seems fairly solid on the acting front.
I don't think the age difference is that much of an issue either, I mean Angry Mom has Baro liking Kim Yoo-jung when he's 8 years older than her. Makes 4-5 year gaps seem like peanuts, really.
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6 pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉
April 13, 2015 at 9:02 AM
yay, so we have the solid older-gen actor to play the teacher! (if Lee Yubi had taken this role, she'd have been playing his student, which is hilarious considering their roles in Pinocchio).
and JB I'm with you in wondering whether School will be able to stand apart from Angry Mom on the bullying front. The whole flour-and-eggs treatment is weirdly reminiscent of Boys Over Flowers, and while Kim So-hyun is a very talented actress, I don't know if she can make this seem plausible (from the little I know, school bullying in Korea often involves social media and judging by what a few people have said, can also get physical but not this obvious)
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SilentSquee
April 13, 2015 at 12:46 PM
"if Lee Yubi had taken this role, she’d have been playing his student, which is hilarious considering their roles in Pinocchio" - haha, that would've been interesting.
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7 DongniPongni
April 13, 2015 at 9:11 AM
Looking forward to this. Sungjae was pretty good in plus 9 boys and i'm interested to see what 'crazy power' looks like in a person XD
i'm keeping fingers crossed
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8 Mandy
April 13, 2015 at 9:46 AM
I think the egg and flour pelting is a little too much, no? I mean, I'm not Korean but surely that kind of bullying is past us in this day and age. I've been out of HS for 6-7 years now and even back then bullying was a lot of extreme harsh words and mild physical abuse. But I could just be ignorant honestly. Either way, I'm glad to see a lot of dramas depicting the difficulties of being bullied. It needs to change, pronto.
Anyway, back to the drama, everyone looks the part of being High School kids which is just how it should be. I wasn't too keen on this, but it looks good so far. Hopefully the acting and writing holds up.
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bjharm
April 13, 2015 at 6:12 PM
yeah and how would they get away with making such a fuss and the teachers not knowing what was going on, unless, the drama also about teachers just going through the motions and not caring. And I guess such an act could not happen unless that was true, so maybe that is where they are going?
Anyway I think I give it a miss myself, not sure it will even go on my watch later list frankly.
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fab
April 14, 2015 at 5:46 AM
These days the worst form of bullying is shaming via social media, you can hardly recover from it. Egg and flour pales in comparison and is a little outdated.
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9 paroles
April 13, 2015 at 9:58 AM
That picture of Lee Pil-mo though. I may have to check out this one.
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10 maddragonqueen
April 13, 2015 at 10:23 AM
I agree about Angry Mom stealing School's thunder. Really loving Angry Mom so far. But I am looking forward to this and will watch it anyway even if it doesn't end up holding up as well to comparison.
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11 wackycashew
April 13, 2015 at 10:30 AM
Agree with you that Angry Mom is very good at depicting the school environment. Looking forward to this since I really enjoyed School 2013. ^^
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12 Tai
April 13, 2015 at 10:46 AM
so....essentially they are gonna have sungjae play himself? lol
i was already gonna watch bt this is def a bonus, he is truly one blessed with "crazy power" hahahaha. this is the role he was born to play!
anyway, what i love about angry mom (among many other things) is how focused it is on the women and their relationships with each other. and p much all the dudes in that drama are various levels of scumbag, with the exception of bok-dong and noah (the former of whom is still trying to be the good person he actually is and the latter of whom is largely ineffectual so far haha). i dont expect school 2015 will be the same in that regard but i hope it at least, by virtue of having a female protagonist, will be less of a sausage fest than school 13 was. which mid way became all about the boys even the really jerk ones at the expense of every other woman in the cast that wasnt played by jang nara.
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13 poisonivy
April 13, 2015 at 11:12 AM
Wait, wasn't Kim So-hyun's name in Reset Eun-bi as well?
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didu
April 13, 2015 at 7:16 PM
Yes. She was playing as jo eun bi and the character is 180° different from this eun bi. I think I've watched almost all of her role and i love her acting so far.
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14 Unnie55
April 13, 2015 at 11:21 AM
Agree with JB, how they will set this differ from Angry Mom since its done wonderfully so far, plot and casting. Normally school drama isn't my plate. I didn't even watch Dream High and School 2013 despite how popular that drama and I'm big fan of LJS, but still I couldn't bring my self to watch it. I give a try to watch AM cuz I need to find something to refresh my mind after a major disappointment over Hyun Bin drama. Im glad I did. AM doing a fantastic job with all well rounded cast from lead to minor roles ( its even given a new talent to shine, talking about young actor Ji Soo who taking spotlight by his excellent portray BokDong character).
Im definitely gonna watch it since I like Kim So Hyun so much and hope both acting and storyline will deliver. No doubt for KSH, but her co-star worried me but we will see since AM cast newbie even idol but hey they done excellent job. Sorry for comparing this so much with AM but I just cant help it. Please just ignore me and sorry for my broken english lol
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15 Den
April 13, 2015 at 11:53 AM
I would've passed on this one even though I loved School 2013, but I do love Lee Pil-mo and his dramas last year.
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16 SilentSquee
April 13, 2015 at 12:53 PM
Oooh, Lee Pil-mo is in this? I was already thinking about watching it because of Kim So-hyun, but now I'm officially aboard. Hope the drama delivers.
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17 jam
April 13, 2015 at 12:59 PM
yes to LPM!! KSH is a good actress. hoping her costars can deliver the same.
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18 Rainbowfish
April 13, 2015 at 1:32 PM
I'm really afraid that this won't have the same slice of life feel that I loved so much in School 2013. It already seems very melodramatic and I don't want to watch in drown in angst and melo. But I also really like So Hyun so I guess I'll be giving it a shot.
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Rainbowfish
April 13, 2015 at 1:35 PM
Also even just that first picture makes it look like they're going to go after a ROMANTIC LINE.
NO.
I loved just the slight allusions to romance in 2013 but it mainly focused on friendship and school issues. If they ruin it and turn it into a melo highschool romance flick, I will cry. And flip a table.
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19 ujsid
April 13, 2015 at 1:46 PM
I will take one Lee Pil Mo please.
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20 BeanieStalker
April 13, 2015 at 2:27 PM
Funny how Yeo Jin Guu, Kim Yoo Jung, and Kim So Hyun are all currently acting in a high school role. Seems fitting since they are all currently students, but I'm still anticipating that in a few years, they'll be acting out adult roles! Hopefully, together~~<3
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21 Nessie
April 13, 2015 at 3:15 PM
Ahhh the good old flour and egg pelting, reminds me of the days in Boys Over Flowers lol But yay for Lee Pil-mo tho!
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22 kiwichan
April 13, 2015 at 3:22 PM
Lee Pil-mo!!! Glad to see him here in this drama..
Anyway, Good luck 'Who Are You - School 2015'!
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23 Gwinna
April 13, 2015 at 5:04 PM
I'm a bit disappointed to see so many guys and only one girl in the cast (even if she's the central character), because I was hoping to see some female friendship. I'll also be disappointed if it focuses on romance/the typical kdrama love triangle. I love Angry Mom for avoiding both of those pitfalls. That being said, AM has gotten me interested in school dramas, so I might check it out anyway. Well, if it gets good reviews.
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24 loviet
April 13, 2015 at 6:54 PM
i really don't like sungjae for this show. it's really turning me away from this show if it wasn't for sohyun
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didi
April 15, 2015 at 6:23 PM
why? what's wrong with him?
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25 Ayata1121
April 13, 2015 at 7:02 PM
For the sake of KSH I hope the script is good. I was unhappy about the male leads in the beginning but Nam Joo Hyuk looks really good together with Sohyun. I just hope that there are NO LOVE TRIANGLES!
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26 Catherine
April 13, 2015 at 7:03 PM
Love the cast, but doesnt this feel like School 2013 + Hana Yori Dango (BOF) + Hana Kimi (TTBY)?
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27 seogu
April 13, 2015 at 7:43 PM
awww... i was really into it when I heard that Yubi and Woobin would be playing the role. I'm not really into Kim So Hyun so I was not interested BUT when I saw Nam Joo Hyuk, I thought:"Why not try?"
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28 pinktape
April 13, 2015 at 7:55 PM
Lee Pilmo. More reason to watch this drama tbh!
Do Korean students really throw eggs and flour to their bullied friends? I seriously want to know if it's really the way things work there or it's just an exaggeration to show that bullying is a serious thing? Because I've seen like dozens of dramas with bullies throwing eggs and flour.
The males' characters are so generic but this is a school drama overall so it's forgiven. I hopehopehope Nam Joohyuk delivers! I think from what I've seen in Plus Nine Boys I can trust Sungjae but I never saw Joohyuk so I'm a bit worried.
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29 porninja
April 13, 2015 at 7:59 PM
I was thinking about Angry Mum the whole time I was reading this and then I read the last paragraph where you brought it up, and you literally took the words right from my mouth. I really wonder how School 2015 will distinguish itself since it really seems to also be tackling very similar subject matter in a gritty, realistic way.
I couldn't get past the first two episodes for School 2013 but I'll give this one a go because I'm curious about the actors and interested in seeing Kim So Hyun's first proper leading role in a primetime drama. I'm hopeful about the two male leads because they have great charm and showed lots of potential in their respective drama debuts. I think this show will be good for them, because it'll challenge them and push them to be even better - especially when acting opposite such an experienced actress in Kim So Hyun.
On a superficial note, I do wish Sungjae's hair wasn't so light. ><
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30 Viki
April 13, 2015 at 8:56 PM
Excited for this!
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31 Julia Fitri
April 13, 2015 at 9:27 PM
Eggs and flour? LOL, that's usually what we got for birthdays back in my days. It's like a friendly hazing. In short, when it's your birthday, expect to be showered in flour and eggs and when you're unlucky, chili powder as well. Always bring spare clothes and showering utensils. Most of us wait for the school to be over before pelting you with eggs.
Luckily, my birthday is always on school break so I never got egged.
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32 niKai
April 14, 2015 at 5:08 AM
Out of curiosity, is school bullying really at large in Korea?
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33 Sophie
April 14, 2015 at 12:58 PM
Hey, anyone heard of the manga "Six Half"?
The plot sounds sooo similar to this. There was a girl who got lost and came back to her old school and family without her memories in this manga too.
I wonder if that'll be a remake? Or just a very influenced series? :D
ps. Six Half is highly recommended!! Very realistic and it's hard to find a shoujo in which the main character keeps her feet on the ground hehe.
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34 maknae_reader
April 15, 2015 at 2:49 AM
OMG! Cap! I remember having commented on the news of Lee Yubi if we can have Cap as the teacher and HOLY COW DRAMAGODS DID HEAR IT! So sad Lee Yubi is not the one headlining.
DEFINITELY GOING TO WATCH THIS! FOR CHIEF! FOR CAP! :D
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35 Hawraa mohammed
May 13, 2015 at 2:30 PM
Love it
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