School 2021 (2021)

Good Enough

Korean Drama "School 2021" was definitely not like the rest of the school series dramas.

It actually feels more like the other web school dramas, with a first love romance, friendship and some school drama that was more or less boring, though the love story was cute and the love triangle interesting and it had potential. Also, the second couple often stole the thunder from the main one, especially when the latter started getting tiring and cheesy. However, the mystery wasn't there, the school politics weren't something original, and the only thing that often saved the episode was the youthful mood that was at its best.

The performances, finally, were pretty good by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, 5 out of 10.

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Honestly just really boring and bland

This series was just very boring to watch honestly. The first 2 episodes did not appeal to me at all nor did you get a feel for the whole plot of the series. You also get introduced to the main characters whom are honestly very boring characters at the start with not much of an interesting relationship.
Another big issue i have with this series is the acting, be warned it is really bad, especially the 2nd male lead. Honestly its not the worst acting ive seen but its definitely not the best, you dont get any sense of chemistry from these characters nor their relationships, this gave you the feeling that the entire romance plot was kind of unnecessary and you didn't get a will to follow it.
The plot is another big issue with this series, i mean its so bad. Lets juts say this series does not have a consistent plot through its entire run, its made up of subplots that yes are dramatic and suppose to be interesting but at the end of the day lead to no big conclusion. The main plot i suspect was suppose to be the school corruption plot line, the problem was that it was so horribly done and messy that when watching you really wont care at all about that story line, it also basically only includes the 2nd male lead whom i know this is annoying to bring up again but is a really bad actor, but with him being at the center of this "main" story line did not do it justice. The story lie was already messy to start with, it left no conclusion nor feelings when watching it, and it was plenty boring. The supposed villain was also boring in this plot i mean honestly they really didn't try when it came to the story line.
So in conclusion this drama is not a great watch especially if you are looking for an interesting drama about high school. It wont give you the high school feel you're looking for nor will it you be blown away by anything,. But if you're looking for one of those background kdramas you need to have playing because why not, that you know you wont get emotionally attached to the yes i suggest this drama you'll most likely drop it when finding a more interesting kdrama.

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Training School Fairy Tale

While one can say this kind of fairy tale plot set in a carpentry training school is cheesy, foreseeable, full of cliche, moral philosophy, I might say, why not once in a while ? Aren't we all up to something like that once in a while when it's done well ?

Yes, you have your usual loveable 'good' characters, coming with all kinds of family and friends, tragic issues from the past and presence, and you have your 'evil' company & school superiors. While in the end some of them switch sides to the 'good' ones, contributing to the happy ending, especially also for the main two couples.

So all in all this could be set in any era, still I really liked the calm evolution of the plot and the continuous revealing of the events in the past. The cast was all good, starting from the three main couples, the grandfather and family members. Especially I would like to see more form the two main couple actors/actresses being the main cast in a more grown up setting as of course they'll grow up ;-)

Soundtrack was subtle but memorable.

Special bonus from my side for the carpentry aspect. It could have been explored a bit more in detail, but it was descent enough. All kind of handicraft work deserves a better coverage and attention nowdays as it's often underpaid work.

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High school Drama with Newbie baby actors

I'm not sure if it has the same look and feel as the school series, but if you want a drama about young kids in high school that like carpentry, then go for it.

I was curious to how the school series was going to be portrayed in 2021 and had it not been marketed as a school series, I wouldn't have had expectations. With that said, it was an okay drama for me.

I had mixed feelings on the casting. I do appreciate the young cast (everyone is 22) so it's very authentic but with that, you have a lot of newbie actors.

Jo Yi Hyun - Loved her. She is the FL and she was absolutely adorable. I loved her expressions of emotions and I also thought she was very good in "All of Us are Dead". I'm excited to watch her career.

Kim Yo Han - He has a baby face and as the ML, I felt like this wasn't cast right. I wasn't a fan of him in "A love so Beautiful" and although he has come a long way from his debut drama, he still has a long way to go. He's a decent actor, just not sure he fit the ML role yet.

Hwang Bo Reum - The thing with the second FL, I liked her character a lot. I think she is a really good actress with a unique voice, but she acted so well as the villain in "Dear M", I have typed cast her as the villain and I can't get that out of my mind.

Choo Young Woo - I thought he fit more of the ML type. He just has a bigger built and to me a little more handsome, although rough. I didn't like his character per say, They had to make him a little annoying but I think it's because he fits the ML role. I thought he was a decent actor and I'm excited to watch his career.

The first half of the series was a winner for me. I liked the interactions between the characters. I was curious to where the relationships were going to go and it just seemed very light hearted and warm.

I liked that the kids went to a specialized school that focused on wood working (a little far fetched?) probably but different.

I do feel like the budget was very apparent in this drama. The school was tiny and students that actually went to the school was probably the only ones that they showed in class. It just seemed like a very lack luster kind of drama. That being said, dramas don't always have to high budget, but you need a good plot to pull everything together.

I felt like the plot was very predictable and usually that doesn't bother me in dramas, but it made it a chore for me to watch the last 4 episodes. As were were going away from the relationships, we were getting into the nitty storyline of getting justice, but one main storyline can't carry the rest of the drama.

Overall, if you are looking for a high school drama with a little of puppy love and high school politics, this one will hit the sweet spot. But don't expect the school series level of caliber.

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It grew on me

At the beginning I was getting the "how many times have I seen this before" vibes. I didn't find it too interesting, but then about halfway in, I think I just decided to enjoy the ride.

It's a story about first loves, fractured relationships, budding friendships, with the obligatory corruption thrown in for good measure. It was enjoyable to get to know the people, some more than others. I thought the 3rd couple was irritating and unnecessary - lots of pouting, whining, and other very juvenile behavior.

The main couple was cute, though I saw them more as friends than anything else, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I did like how they didn't have any misunderstandings and were there for one another at all times.

BIGGEST DRAW FOR ME - Choo Young Woo as Jung Young Joo. I've not seen this actor in anything else and he was captivating. The ultimate bad boy, but with a strong sense of family and decency. I loved the way this character was written, and Young Woo embodied the part totally. He was very serious, but when he broke into a smile, watch out. And I have to say, surprisingly, that my favorite parts were the development of the relationship between Jung Young Joo and Kang Seo Young. Trying not to be in a relationship, but falling into a relationship, their scenes in the last couple of episodes were just darling.

Disliked - the head of the school (though I was supposed to, so she did a good job). Even more than my dislike of that character was the song Dream On. I swear, they must have played the one line of that song about 250 times. Fingernails on a chalkboard!

I don't feel the need to watch it again, because I didn't love it, but it was certainly worth watching for Choo Young Woo. It's a sweet, low-angst watch.

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The series is a comfort drama.

I beg to disagree with other people saying that this drama isn't good. The series is actually GOOD! Maybe you just expect it to be like "School 2015" which set the high standard and best KBS School series ever. But for me this drama is too good as it's own. Doesn't need to be more fancy like what you saw on other rom-com kdrama. It has it's new flavor for me cause it's really rare to find a drama that features an architect/construction story in kdrama plus it keeps getting interesting every episode.

About the cast, I really like how they chose the cast! ❤️ The chemistry between them was the first reason why I keep getting interested to the series. At first I just want to watch it because of Jo Yihyun after All of us are dead then it's getting interesting after the first episode. And this drama become my comfort. It doesn't have that big plot that will make your head tilt like what happened on School 2015 🤣 but it's just gave me a lot of butterfly in my stomach.

I agree that the acting of some actors at first few episodes need to improve but they improved afterwards! I can see the progress later on especially to the main leads.

Lastly, the things that lack about this drama I guess is the promotion? It doesn't get the attention it deserves. But still I hope people would try to watch it cause for sure you'll gonna love it! You'll get interested about carpentry too!

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Story could've been better

I think the storyline has potential, I have never seen a high-school theme Korean drama where the leads learn how to do carpentry in a technical high-school. However, the story itself is nothing new. The conflict between the male leads are similar to True Beauty. Also there has been too many stories about corrupt school officials.

The storyline itself was a little boring but there were moments that were actually exciting. The ending is not great to be honest. I want to see all the evil characters get their own karma, but they did not show it enough. Maybe it's just me being too greedy, but as long as the leads are happy at the end..

The actors did a great job. I especially like the ML and FL quirky and "awkward to each other" acting. They suit each other well. I noticed Kim Yo-han's acting is actually so detailed I was surprised. In K-drama, actors usually have an off expressions on acting awkward, but Kim Yo-han actually carried that expressions really well.

To conclude, the drama story could've improve better, but I think it's a decent drama to watch if you crave high-school themed Korean drama.

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Terrible Character Writing, Dull

My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.

I'm a fan of the School series, with School 2013 being my favorite. That's why I watched this one even though I didn't have high hopes for it.

Acting/Cast: A big reason why I figured this drama wouldn't be good is because of the cast. I haven't heard of most of the actors. The second male lead plays in The Tale of Lady Ok, but in that drama, he seems much more experienced. Jeon Seok Ho (전석호) plays support characters in a ton of dramas, so I knew he'd be good at least. In any case, I was right. The acting wasn't good for the most part. The two leads didn't have chemistry together, but to be fair, I can't see either of them having chemistry with anyone. This drama gave me Sweet Revenge vibes in regards to acting ability and overall quality, but both seasons of that drama are immensely better than School 2021 because it has charm. There's a really annoying character in this drama, too (the best friend of the male lead). He gets worse over the course of the drama. I literally felt like I was purposefully being tortured. 1/10

Writing: So boring...pretty much everything about this drama is incredibly boring. The character writing is terrible...the worst set of characters I've ever seen. Although, I did kind of like Kang Seo Young (the 2nd female lead), but she wasn't developed enough. The female lead is obsessed with the male lead for no reason. The male lead doesn't even seem like he likes her. Well, most of the characters aren't likeable anyway. The only decently written character is the woodshop teacher played by Jeon Seok Ho (전석호). The only plot point of the drama that has a shred of entertainment value is the court case surrounding the workplace injury. Other plot points are really weird and not fleshed out properly...like the random baby? That's actually when I would have dropped drama if it wasn't a part of the School series. 1/10

Direction/SFX/Music: This drama seems like it has a low production quality. At times, I got School 2013 vibes...but 95% of the time the drama just seemed like it was low budget. Dream on~ Dream on~ Dream on~ it's annoying at first, but it starts to become funny. The rest of the OST is a bunch of slow romance type songs. There is a good, upbeat musical score that plays when they're banding together to protest. That's about it. 1/10

Entertainment Value: I forced myself to watch this drama because it's part of the School series. It was torturous to watch this at times, it was cringey at other times, and it nearly puts you to sleep the rest of the time. 1/10

Overall, I gave this drama a 1/10. This drama takes the prize as being one of the worst dramas I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. I think this is the only time I've given a drama a 1-star rating in every category. It's just watching a bunch of annoying children (and amateur actors) do very uninteresting things.

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Love the story

I like the story but it's disappointing because why do hosung need to be a baby father but it's okay because I really love watching school dramas and I hope to see more dramas with this squad I will really miss this squad I love you Yi Hyun, Yohan, Youngwoo, and Boreumbyeol. Hope to see another drama with y'all congratulations to all of you guys and that's all keke ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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“Not bad but not good”

I completed this in a day (yes, binge watch all the way!) because of the second lead couple (Choo Young Woo and Hwang Bo Reum) and I wish their relationship had been explored even more than the main lead couple since they had great potential. Watched Jo Yi Hyun in Hospital Playlist and her portrayal was commendable there however, her role as Jin Ji Won did not stand out for me. The expressions and reactions felt a little forced at times but she is a cutie so it’s digestible.
The storyline was okay, they pulled in some great rookie actors so that’s a plus point!

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