Teach you a Lesson

I shudder to think how teachers might react after viewing the "Teach You A Lesson" (2026) series, but I would caution them to view it as extreme problems dealt in an extreme manner.  And as I like to remind viewers, yes, foreigners do have different cultures, but also that they have similar basic problems.  A lot of action, maybe more than reasoning.

In Korea in some schools the students are extremely unruly to each other, teachers and even outsiders.  This series is conjecture of how the problems might be handled.  It may seem very right wing, but perhaps force people to look at the issues.  

The idea behind the Education Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB) is to provide students and teachers with an atmosphere conducive to learning.  Some of the issues deal with bullying, drug abuse, drug trafficking, teacher intimidation, teacher corruption, meddling parents, youth crime, gambling addiction and more.  Some students felt they could do anything as the law would not touch them for almost any crime done under a defined age.

The ERPB was inspired by the murder of a teacher who happened to be the daughter of Choi Gang-seok, a respected member of education administration and the fiancee of Na Hwa-jin, a man with special operations training.  The opposition kept accusing them of using the ERPB for revenge.  The ERPB responded to requests for aid in abusive situations as a tribute to their lost loved one.

Two of the ERPB were very adept at martial arts and more.  They were often confronted with belligerent opponents and responded in many cases with physical force.  The viewer sees a lot of disturbing behaviours from students, parents and politicians but assume that most teachers, students or parents are fairly reasonable. 

This series took a lot of  talent and skill.  Here are some who contributed..

Hong Jong-chan was the director.  He has 16 directing credits, 3 for producing and 2 for assistant director including "Live Up to Your Name" (2017) and "Juvenile Justice".(2022).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/07/live-up-to-your-name.htm and   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/03/juvenile-justice.html

Da Hee Kim was one of the writers.   Hee Kim has 8 credits for the animation department, 2 for writing and 2 for special effects including "Along With the Gods:  The  Two Worlds" (2017) and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" (2023).  See http://www.ttheherealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/daily-dose-of-sunshine.html

Kim Mu-yeol played Na Hwa-jin,  the head agent for NRPB.  He has 37 acting credits including "Forgotten" (2017), "Trolley" (2022), "Juvenile Justice" (2022) and "Phantom Lawyer" (2026).  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/02/the-trolley.htm and   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/05/phantom-lawyer.html

Lee Sung-min played Choi Gang seok, the founder of ERPB.  He has 80 acting credits including "The Attorney" (2013), "Misaeng" (2014), "The Good, the Bad, The Weird" (2018), "The Man Standing Next" (2020) and "Juvenile Justice" (2022).  

Jin Ki-joo played Im Han-rim agent for ERPB. She has 20 acting credits.

Pyo Ji-hoon played Bong Geun-dae, an ERPB assistant.  He has 15 acting credits.

Lee Bong-jun played Cho gya Cheol, the youngster who killed Choi Gang seok's daughter.  He has performed in musical theatre.  Bong-jun has 5 acting credits including a bit in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/08/extraordinary-attorney-woo.html

Ha-young played Choi Ga-yoon, the daughter of Choi Gang Seok and fiancee of Na Hwa-jin.  She has 12 acting credits including "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "Trauma Code:  Heroes on Call" (2025).    See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/08/trauma-code.html

Kim Jang-soo played  Hwang Gi-tae, a politicians opposed to the ERPB.  He was involved  with acting and directing in the theatre.  Jang-soo has 50 acting credits, 1 for visual effects and 1 for the animation department including "Misaeng" (2014) and "Tunnel" (2016).

Lee Sang-hee plays Jeong Sun-young, an abused teacher.  She has 50 acting credits including "Tunnel" (2016), "Diary of a Prosecutor" (2019), "Juvenile Justice" (2022), "Daily Dose of Sunshine" (2023) and "My Name is Loh Kiwan" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/daily-dose-of-sunshine.html 

I welcome comments from teachers.  The Korean Federation of Teacher Associations was supportive, commenting that they felt there was declining classroom discipline and violations of teacher authority as well a lack of institutional support for education.  Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union wanted the series cancelled.  They felt violence is not the solution and that teachers were portrayed as passive.  Netflix reported the series had reached their top 10 in 85 countries, proving it is entertaining as well as thought provoking.  

My attitude towards teachers is perhaps best expressed in http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/11/what-teachers-make-by-taylor-mali.html which includes a very dynamic video.  Vladimir Putin, who might have different goals than you do, has been quoted saying "War is not won by commanders.  War is won by teachers"--from Oscar winning film "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" (2025).  In high school I cringe to remember how some students mocked a dedicated teacher.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favourite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up. 

"Teach You A Lesson" is available on Netflix subtitled or dubbed.  Best to watch the series before commenting and you are likely to find it emotional.