This review may contain spoilers
A Massacred Adaptation That Softens the Webtoon’s Hardest Truths
As a massive fan of the original True Education manhwa, which is easily my number one favorite non-Murim series, I went into this live-action adaptation with high hopes. Unfortunately, Teach You a Lesson fails to capture the charisma and raw grit of the source material. In fact, the only saving grace for my mental health is that Gu Sera wasn't in this season to be ruined too.
The adaptation completely destroys Im Hanrim. In the manhwa, Hanrim is an absolute icon: attractive, lethal, confident, and calm. She commands the room in her perfectly fitted black suit, white shirt, and high heels. Here? They gave her a weird hairstyle, dressed her like an ajumma in the beginning, and put her in oversized suits with flat shoes. Worse than the look is her butchered personality and backstory. She went from a dangerous, elite special forces veteran to a standard soldier who was apparently a bullying victim. Instead of a cool, calculated operator, she spends half her time screaming at the top of her lungs in a very grating voice. The writers even added a live-action-exclusive, stereotypical nerdy character named Bong just so Hanrim could tease him. Manhwa Hanrim is classy and respectful, but here, she loses her elite focus over food and fails to stop him from being kidnapped. It’s pathetic writing for someone who is supposed to be highly trained. As for Na Hwajin, the actor lacks the sheer presence and look needed for the role. However, I will give credit where it's due: he actually acts the part well, and his personality feels accurate to the webtoon.
When it comes to the scenario, a lot of it matches the original, but the changes they did make speak volumes. The manhwa is famous for being completely unapologetic about its political stance and tackling systemic issues head-on. Netflix, predictably, sits on the exact opposite side of that aisle. Because of this, the live action feels like it passed through the hands of the very people who vote for policies that cause the problems this series denounces, which makes for a very uncomfortable viewing experience. They diluted the teeth of the original commentary. For instance, I highly doubt that even if we get a Season 2, they will ever dare to adapt the storyline featuring the radical feminist teacher who brainwashes kids into classroom warfare, or show Hwajin exposing how a progressive agenda can create division and monsters.
The one positive thing I can say is that by keeping most of the core cases, the show might still make people realize that modern education has a major crisis. Ironically, the fiction here is actually softer than the truth. The real-world cases these stories are based on didn't have happy endings or a TRPA coming to save the day, reality is much worse.
If you've never read the manhwa, you might find this to be an average, passable action drama. But if you love the original webtoon, it’s going to hurt to watch. Gu Sera is so popular she caught her own spin-off webtoon, and I desperately hope there won't be a Season 2 because I cannot bear to watch them massacre her the way they did Hanrim.
The adaptation completely destroys Im Hanrim. In the manhwa, Hanrim is an absolute icon: attractive, lethal, confident, and calm. She commands the room in her perfectly fitted black suit, white shirt, and high heels. Here? They gave her a weird hairstyle, dressed her like an ajumma in the beginning, and put her in oversized suits with flat shoes. Worse than the look is her butchered personality and backstory. She went from a dangerous, elite special forces veteran to a standard soldier who was apparently a bullying victim. Instead of a cool, calculated operator, she spends half her time screaming at the top of her lungs in a very grating voice. The writers even added a live-action-exclusive, stereotypical nerdy character named Bong just so Hanrim could tease him. Manhwa Hanrim is classy and respectful, but here, she loses her elite focus over food and fails to stop him from being kidnapped. It’s pathetic writing for someone who is supposed to be highly trained. As for Na Hwajin, the actor lacks the sheer presence and look needed for the role. However, I will give credit where it's due: he actually acts the part well, and his personality feels accurate to the webtoon.
When it comes to the scenario, a lot of it matches the original, but the changes they did make speak volumes. The manhwa is famous for being completely unapologetic about its political stance and tackling systemic issues head-on. Netflix, predictably, sits on the exact opposite side of that aisle. Because of this, the live action feels like it passed through the hands of the very people who vote for policies that cause the problems this series denounces, which makes for a very uncomfortable viewing experience. They diluted the teeth of the original commentary. For instance, I highly doubt that even if we get a Season 2, they will ever dare to adapt the storyline featuring the radical feminist teacher who brainwashes kids into classroom warfare, or show Hwajin exposing how a progressive agenda can create division and monsters.
The one positive thing I can say is that by keeping most of the core cases, the show might still make people realize that modern education has a major crisis. Ironically, the fiction here is actually softer than the truth. The real-world cases these stories are based on didn't have happy endings or a TRPA coming to save the day, reality is much worse.
If you've never read the manhwa, you might find this to be an average, passable action drama. But if you love the original webtoon, it’s going to hurt to watch. Gu Sera is so popular she caught her own spin-off webtoon, and I desperately hope there won't be a Season 2 because I cannot bear to watch them massacre her the way they did Hanrim.
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