The Difference Between Hell And Purgatory
This is lots of fun, and more thoughtful than I expected.
It has a similar vibe to Study Group, and while it is also quite funny in parts, it's less goofy and slapstick.
It is extremely entertaining while also critiquing the inefficiency (and ultimately the failure) of systems meant to protect people, the culture surrounding education of emphasizing results, grades and excellent jobs over the growth and cultivation of moral integrity in schools, the horrifying nature of some parenting practices, and the danger of jeopardizing safe spaces for young people to learn and grow if bullying and drugs are not addressed in them.
The part that was most satisfying and which I'd not seen attempted in quite this way before, was the way every bully (whether student, parent, or teacher) got a turn to experience a dose of their own medicine. A few used the lesson to grow, (most) others just grew more resentful and bitter.
If your criticism is that it's unrealistic or over-the-top...well, that's kind of the point.
The ERPB could never exist, just as a politician as good-hearted and upright as Minister Choi Jang Seok could probably never exist, but the issues they highlight are obviously on a spectrum of the real.
The question the drama is posing is: Will we actually address the root problem? Will we just put bandaids on our festering societal injuries and let the wound grow worse or will we do the painful, agonizing, image-destroying work of surgery to bring actual healing and long-term restoration?
There was this thoughtful (though not always perfect) balance of the tension between compassion/grace and punishment. All the perpetrators are given a chance at redemption (and enlightenment is offered through the Dante-like contrapasso punishment the perpetrators suffer), but not everyone takes it.
As Dante highlights, this response to punishment is the difference between Hell and Purgatory. 😉
It has a similar vibe to Study Group, and while it is also quite funny in parts, it's less goofy and slapstick.
It is extremely entertaining while also critiquing the inefficiency (and ultimately the failure) of systems meant to protect people, the culture surrounding education of emphasizing results, grades and excellent jobs over the growth and cultivation of moral integrity in schools, the horrifying nature of some parenting practices, and the danger of jeopardizing safe spaces for young people to learn and grow if bullying and drugs are not addressed in them.
The part that was most satisfying and which I'd not seen attempted in quite this way before, was the way every bully (whether student, parent, or teacher) got a turn to experience a dose of their own medicine. A few used the lesson to grow, (most) others just grew more resentful and bitter.
If your criticism is that it's unrealistic or over-the-top...well, that's kind of the point.
The ERPB could never exist, just as a politician as good-hearted and upright as Minister Choi Jang Seok could probably never exist, but the issues they highlight are obviously on a spectrum of the real.
The question the drama is posing is: Will we actually address the root problem? Will we just put bandaids on our festering societal injuries and let the wound grow worse or will we do the painful, agonizing, image-destroying work of surgery to bring actual healing and long-term restoration?
There was this thoughtful (though not always perfect) balance of the tension between compassion/grace and punishment. All the perpetrators are given a chance at redemption (and enlightenment is offered through the Dante-like contrapasso punishment the perpetrators suffer), but not everyone takes it.
As Dante highlights, this response to punishment is the difference between Hell and Purgatory. 😉
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