High School Return of a Gangster

The ending is nuanced and here's why:

⭐ My Review of Highschool Return of a Gangster

(My rewatch values don't matter because I never re-watch and music doesn't matter to me. So, take those specific ratings with a grain of salt!)

So I just finished Highschool Return of a Gangster and honestly? I loved it. I know a bunch of people were dragging the ending, but I’m gonna be real their complaints don’t make sense to me at all.

The drama follows this suicidal, depressed student who actually ends up killing himself. A gangster dies at the same time while trying to save the kid—their souls switch and the gangster ends up in the student’s body. The whole story is basically the gangster trying to fix the student’s life so that when the soul eventually returns, the kid can live peacefully.

But the twist? At the end, the switch almost happens, but Yi heon refuses. He literally says he has no will or energy left to continue living, and that it’s enough for him that the gangster can be happy in his body. His soul just… disappears. And I liked that. I genuinely get where he’s coming from. Depression isn’t “fix someone’s problems and poof, they’re fine.” It’s about your will to live, the energy to keep going . And he didn’t have that anymore, even with the “better” life waiting for him.

People were mad that the KDP ended up taking over the kid’s life “too easily,” but honestly? The man actually wanted to live. He tried. He fought. He even hesitated when the Yi heon refused to switch back. But if someone has decided they can’t keep going, and somebody else actually can live that life happily, then yeah that person is the one who’s able to live it. That was Yi heon's choice.

Then there’s the whole “friend” discourse. People were losing it over how Se kyung was okay with the KDP staying but not his “old friend.” Like… THEY WERE NEVER FRIENDS. Y’all blind. He avoided the Yi heon the whole time. He didn’t hurt him on purpose, sure, but he also didn’t help him. The real friendship only forms after the soul switch, with the gangster. So of course he wants the gangster to stay. That’s literally the person he bonded with. We get to watch the scene where the friend apologizes and that's the only reason the yi heon's soul lingered around. Se kyung wanted Yi heon's soul back because he wanted to apologize and genuinely didn't understand who the stranger was in his classmate's body. That doesn't mean Se kyung was anything more than just a classmate to Yi heon, his real friend or should I say—his bestfriend is and always will be KDP.

And honestly, everyone whining about “bad writing” seems to forget the most important detail: the Yi heon died that day. Whether there was soul-switch sorcery or not, the boy who jumped off that bridge did lose his life. KDP fixing things wasn’t the “purpose” of the story. He didn’t even know he’d stay in the body forever. He just wanted to do one good thing before actually dying.

To me, the real point of the drama shows itself at the end: Yi heon's choice, the reality of his depression, KDP’s will to live and how their stories collide. It’s messy but meaningful and that’s exactly why I liked it.

The reason why I gave this a 8.5 and not a 10 is because of my own expectations. I was expecting this drama to be more mafia focused. Perhaps a balance between the highschool and mafia theme. I also didn't like the way the female antagonist was handled and the poor representation of addiction recovery.

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great even for adults

"High School Return of a Gangster" (2024) is a thrilling, heartwarming K-drama that earns a perfect 10/10. This series masterfully blends action, drama, and comedy, following a former gangster returning to high school, a unique premise executed brilliantly. The writing is sharp with witty dialogue and unexpected twists. The lead actor's nuanced performance and the strong supporting cast create genuine and engaging relationships. Top-notch cinematography and a well-curated soundtrack enhance the viewing experience. Exploring themes of redemption and identity, this show is both entertaining and meaningful. A must-watch hit of 2024!

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The queerbaiting made me a little mad

Ok, so, the story is really good and I liked the main actors, it's just... It became very clear to me that this story was supposed to be a BL. Throughout the whole show they hint at the romantic feelings Se-kyung has for Yiheon (aka Deuk-pal), to the point they even show how upset Se-kyung becomes when he sees a girl flirting with Yiheon AND THEY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THEY´RE JUST FRIENDS??
Ok, fine, I understand people could feel unconfortable with the fact that Yiheon's soul is 40 years old and Se-kyung is 18... BUT STILL COME ON we accepted Edward's 100yo ass dating a minor, but can´t deal with two legal adults?
IDK I'm still upset they didn't have any romantic interactions

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When a Charismatic Protagonist Carries the Story

This is what happens when you write a truly charismatic protagonist. Every side story and subplot in the drama exists for a reason — there are no meaningless characters or filler moments. Everything feels well-placed and intentional, making it an enjoyable watch within the school drama genre.

The story has a clear purpose that’s revealed right from the start: a gangster wishes he could go to high school. That simple setup plants a question in the viewer’s mind — “What would it be like if a gangster actually got the chance to finish high school?” The rest of the well-structured story unfolds naturally to explore and answer that central question.

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A Heartfelt Revenge Drama

This drama really surprised me with how much it was able to do in the short amount of time it had. Reading the description, I was a little worried with how much background and world building we might have to go through, but honestly there was the perfect amount of information given to the viewer to make things make sense, but not too much exposition where it felt like they were overexplaining things.

Song Yi Heon is a high schooler who has been horribly bullied for years, and decides to take his own life. As he is jumping off an overpass, 47-year-old gangster Kim Deuk Pal sees him and saves him - except, as he catches Yi Heon a truck drives by and kills Deuk Pal. In a strange occurrence, Deuk Pal's soul is transported into Yi Heon's body. Deuk Pal wakes up in the body of this high schooler, and decides to get back at the bullies and sort out Yi Heon's school and family life (while also attempting to pass high school classes).

I was honestly worried that we would get too much with the whole soul-switching thing, but they discussed it the perfect amount for this show. I loved how Deuk Pal's gang ended up getting involved in Yi Heon's life, and how Yi Heon's family businesses all tied together with it. The twists and messiness of this show was perfect, because they still managed to have everything tied up nicely even with just 8 episodes. I do wish we could have gotten a little more time with high school Yi Heon before his suicide attempt, and that we got more drama with some of the characters involved in Yi Heon's personal life, but overall this was a fantastic watch. The goofiness of an adult not understanding high school kids' lingo and style paired with the intense fight and drama scenes worked perfectly. I would highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys gang/revenge/high school drama shows. It checks all the boxes and does it well.

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The ending defeated the purpose

yeah it was a good drama the plot made sense until the very end when Yi Heon decided to leave instead of Deuk Pal. the whole point of his soul being trapped in his body was to help Yi Heon be able to live life without struggling with the bullying and his family issues. I guess it just bothered me that that was the plot twist and it didn't really come full circle. The task Deuk Pal took on was supposed to give Yi Heon an better life he could actually look forward to. Of course this is just an opinion but the ending was disappointing although i loved everything else about this drama.

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Interesting drama with good pacing

was on my to watch list because of Yoon Chan Young.

With a total of 8 episodes, I felt that the drama was paced quite well, there wasn't any parts of the show that I felt bored or could be removed from the show entirely.

I personally like to watch "revengy" dramas, so this drama suited me well, as it shows how Yi-Heon slowly starts to fight back against those who bullied him (even though it was through Deuk Pal's spirit and consciousness).

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Acting wise, this is my 3rd drama of Chan Young, so I expected a stellar acting from him (which he delivered as always). I personally think Bong Jae Hyun also did a great job as Choi Se Kyung as well.

I do recommend the show if you are interested to watch some "revengy" drama that is not too heavy, though some might not prefer the fact high school bullying and domestic abuse are topics that were discussed in the drama.

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I don’t know what to feel

I don’t know what to feel about this mini serie, it certainly has good characters, good writing for a plot like this, and has funny scenes and dialogues. I like that the bullies had to face consequences, and I enjoyed the most part of the serie, but about the final scene I don’t even know if it was good or not, but at least the old guy could insist more in leaving the kid to live his life, but well, things turned right and some other people like the end of the series with that twist even though it didn’t feel like a happy ending for me. I will give it a 8. The English Korean jokes made me laugh a lot.

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BEST WAY TO FINISH...

I don't know the history of the BL in which this drama was based, however, although I criticized in previous posts that the drama should have followed the original story to the letter, now I understand and agree with the means and ends to reach this slightly exciting and simple ending. It would be very uncomfortable to have a middle-aged man have a romance with a teenager, even with the mitigating factor that he was in the body of another teenager.

That being said, it was a very low-budget drama, but it showed a well-written script and a premise built in detail. I found the last episode to be quite slow and lukewarm, but the closure was good, where the one who had the desire to live, will live and the one who was exhausted from this life, will rest. In conclusion, I commend the performance of Yoon Chan Young, an excellent protagonist.

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