1. Duty After School has no lead role. All the students are the main characters. Some people think that Lieutenant Lee is the main lead since he's at the top credits, but it's only due to the fact that he's their leader and the adults are listed first. It's an ensemble cast and everyone of them plays as one team.
2. We don't know what happened to the world except for some parts with the soldiers. The alien invasion is a mystery and we can only see what's happening through the students' point of view. This drama focuses more on the characters' growth than the sci-fi story. (The alien genre was the first reason why I watched this drama, so I would also love it if they reveal more stuffs about the spheres in part 2)
I'm a huge fan of narratives that just pick up from somewhere and don't feel the need to delve into backstories.…
There are also some parts where they wore casual gym clothes though. But I think the reason why they mostly wear uniform is because their school uniform is their identity. It can make them easily recognizable.
TVING is an OTT platform owned by CJ ENM, one of the biggest corporation in Korea and they also have partnership…
Oh, I'm just adding more info since OTT platforms has been on the rise and competitive. TVING is only available domestically and Netflix is a global platform with a wider reach. TVING is putting a lot of budget and effort on producing their original dramas (I forgot about Drink Now, Work Later that also contributed to their success) but they're still getting less attention compared to other dramas. Their lineup are mostly live action adaptations of webtoons with high quality production and I hope they keep on gaining attention from general viewers (so it's understandable that they do the part 2 strategy that became a trend among OTT platforms). I'm rooting for TVING original dramas to succeed both domestically and globally (when they make more move for it).
I see a lot of comments saying they don't understand why tving (production) split it into 2 parts, but that's…
TVING is an OTT platform owned by CJ ENM, one of the biggest corporation in Korea and they also have partnership with Paramount. TVING is currently the biggest domestic OTT platform and they want to beat Netflix as the leading OTT platform in Korea that's why they're investing 400 billion won for their original dramas. Their original dramas are high quality but it's just that it gets less attention for now (Yumi's Cell and Island are their only mainstream dramas and now Duty After School is gaining attraction). It became a strategy for OTT platforms to split 2 parts to gain more subscribers.
If the lieutenant is alive, my theory would be: Before the spheres caught him and the bomb exploded... He realized he wanted to live so he managed to jump from the window, landed on a bush, and rolled over under the car that shielded himself.
But if we're taking the ending literally, he's dead. Even though he's an important character that led the students. Tbh he's not the main lead, everyone of them are the main characters. And sadly expect more of them to die in part 2...
i think this has the most realistic set of high school teenagers reacting to a crisis. no one is inherently evil…
True. The high school teenagers in this drama are so realistic. This is why I got attached to them because of how real and normal they are while showing their perspective and growth during a crisis. They're flawed but also encouraging. Their teamwork is what makes them improve to be better.
It's disappointing how some people fail to see/understand that and just hate on them.
If Duty After School was a Netflix original drama, this would have already blown up and become international hit. It's the kind of unique and exciting survival drama like All Of Us Are Dead, Sweet Home, Kingdom, Squid Game that a lot of people would hype (including non-kdrama fans).
TVING is an OTT platform like Netflix, but it's only domestic (and they use VIU as their global distributor). The promotions and exposure for TVING original dramas doesn't look good though. They have other survival dramas like Bargain and Monstrous but it didn't get attention. I'm glad Duty After School is getting attention and some viral posts despite the rookie and unpopular cast. It deserves more recognition!
I've been waiting for Duty After School since 2021 but I'm kinda annoyed that TVING decided to split it to 2 parts. I thought they will release all 10 episodes at once. Other people said they did it for marketing strategy. I'm not sure if that's effective, but I just hope it will keep gaining popularity. This is actually the first Kdrama about alien invasion that's why I was anticipating it so much. I love apocalypse/survival genre and I'm so satisfied while watching this. It's so intense, emotional and also funny. I came for the aliens, but I got more interested to the students. Their teamwork is one of the best parts in this drama.
(There are other alien themed Kdramas before, but My Love From The Star is a romcom about alien in human disguise and Glitch is a mystery more about cults.)
I don't really get why people are obsessed with Nara's character, I get she is cool sometimes but thats just it.…
"she is cool" "shes good at using the gun"
lol you guys already know the reasons but you're still downplaying it as "that's it" when she's actually HELPFUL with those qualities and that's what makes people INTERESTED in her. just because she's quiet doesn't mean she's boring. compared to the other kids who are loud and always doing something... she has a calm personality, fast learner and didn't cause trouble. she knows how to focus and not get affected easily. she's the balanced character who doesn't need any drama (background story or character development) since she's already good and competent since the start. she's calm yet badass. that's why people love her. and in every kdramas, the badass women will always get the hype and praise they deserve.
PS. If you look at the viral posts of Duty After School, most of them are Nara's action scenes. She's obviously the attention grabber in the drama. Why is this even getting questioned and complained lol. Just let people love Nara.
This was a beautiful but depressing movie. Something about "time" movies like this always makes me feel empty and wondering.
I'm really curious about Park Ji Bin's character... Those other people who failed to die had their time reverse, right? He's one of them but unlike the female lead who want to break free from the "miracle/curse", he decided to stay that way since he's happier when he's younger. But I'm also confused... He said something about 70 years? And in the ending credits, did he meet his future wife? There's no English subtitles so I didn't understand what he said to her, but it looks like he's letting her go or something. Overall, I want to see his side of story and life where he accepted turning back his time. The day he is born is the day he dies. It's really interesting and I hope they make a sequel or new movie based on it.
Actually, I was immersed in this drama that I didn't get annoyed by the characters. I thought all their reactions — crying, complaining, panicking, fear, ignorance, selfishness, weakness — were all natural and normal to have during an apocalypse, especially coming from teenagers who didn't expect it. That's what makes it realistic. And it makes me root for the characters because I can feel them.
The only annoying parts for me were the bully in episode 1 and the impatient guy when they got stranded. But my dislike to these characters didn't last long since they weren't all bad. They easily redeemed themselves by caring and helping their classmates. I'm really glad that there's no villain or psycho characters who tries to ruin anyone like in other survival dramas.
This drama is more than an alien invasion. This drama is all about the teenagers' emotions in times of crisis, where they are forced to mature in a dark new world, and how they learn to be strong and work all together as a team to survive.
Actually, there's no lead role in this drama. It's an ensemble cast (Duty After School is probably the first kdrama to have it). The soldiers and teacher are only listed in the top credits since they're the adults.
I'm surprised to see some people hating and wanting the characters to die without understanding them at all... Gonna add this to remind people what they're watching:
— The characters are HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS who are suddenly forced to do military training. They participated on it since it will give them extra points for their college entrance exams, but they were actually being deceived and used by the government as a tool for the real war. And it's not just a normal war, it's an ALIEN INVASION. They weren't informed about the true situation and they're being restricted from using their phones, making them unable to get news and communication while they're inside the school.
— That's why it's understandable if they're dumb (clueless). They were extremely scared and traumatized after their first encounter with the aliens and death of their teacher and classmate, and they just keep on witnessing more people dying and dead bodies everywhere while trying to escape. It's too much draining for them and they couldn't think straight. Their military training only started for 2-3 weeks and it's not gonna make them automatically strong physically and mentally. The students from another school that they found were already broken and not in the right mind after what they went through, but the main class remained sane and they still tried their best to get used of what they learned from their training while helping each other.
— Every one of them have the right to cry, complain and get angry all they want. They are literally just TEENAGERS who felt confused, wronged and hopeless. They are easily vulnerable and weak. They didn't know anything, about what to do and who to trust. That's why they are so desperate to see their family and go home because that's the only thing that can make them "feel" safe and comfort in times of chaos. They even made their own plan and united with the other classes to make a protest. And later, they realized they have no one but each other. They need to stay in the military in order to protect themselves and learn to fight, while being guided by their troop leader (who genuinely cares and takes responsibility for them).
— Other military units and soldiers were killed by the spheres and their military power isn't big enough to fight against the thousands spheres and more to fall down. That's why the government chose the 3rd year High School students to enlist since they're the easy way (given that they're graduating and going to take college entrance exams, the condition about gaining extra points while training was just a scam to make them join the military immediately before the spheres start spreading). But later, it was also showed in the news that males and females in their 20s were being enlisted. Other citizens are being moved to the shelters, but it's not guaranteed if they arrived or safe inside. The aliens are fast and also intelligent so it's hard to get away from them.
PS. I'm actually curious about what happened to their city and the whole world since the spheres broke out, but Duty After School only focuses on the students and what's happening in their point of view.
I love that Duty After School has no specific main characters and it focuses on each students as a team. Some may find them annoying and dumb, but they're realistic. They're still kids who are whiny, reckless and clueless about the sudden situation they got into. All they know is they joined the military training to gain extra points for their college entrance exams. At first, they treated it like a camping with fun and games. They're even joking and mocking the soldiers instead of being scared. They don't have access to the news and internet that adds to their ignorant behavior. Then they realize how serious the training is and the other students chose to leave, but it took a dark turn when the real situation hit them and the rest of the students have no choice to leave anymore.
Before and during their training, I already love their class harmony. I love how relatable they are and it made me feel like I was with my real class. Because that's how real teenagers are, immature and carefree. There's a lot of funny scenes but there's more intense scenes. After the alien attack, I really love their teamwork and growth. When they couldn't rely on the adults and have to be independent while working together, I was rooting for them so hard. Despite everyone's differences from personality/mindset/ability, their bond and trust for each other is so heartwarming and admirable. I became attached to the students who gradually build their strong teamwork during the apocalypse.
The plot wouldn’t exist if she just came back a little more in time and stopped him before he went out ??? It’s…
Same thoughts. I was so annoyed in her never ending time travel scenes that felt so unnecessary. She only missed her father for a few seconds, if he left at 7:00 then she could turn back time at 6:59 and easily save him. But after the plot twist, I realized that her trying to save her father was like a symbol of her real life where she couldn't save her son from the car accident that resulted to his leg injury. Unlike in her imagination, she managed to save her father (son in real life) after trying hard many times since she had the chance.
I don't have words to say since this drama made me cry so much, the ending monologue literally made me burst to tears.
I'm just bothered why some people thought or was expecting this drama is a "cheesy romcom" before watching, when the poster and sypnosis clearly shows the opposite. It's also not tagged in the genres. This is a melodrama romance and slice of life focused on the female lead. And the only comedic part was the brother's scenes.
This was such a great survival show. It's not the usual show with entertainment and drama that relies on the general…
Just my other random opinions while watching this show:
1) I was rooting for Team Charlie but after the car in mud mission, I got turned off by them. It's because they paused and wasted their time again, similar to the previous mission carrying the log. That's why the other team behind them surpassed them, Team Bravo who keeps on going and persevering no matter what.
2) I like Team Charlie's leader, he feels approachable and wasn't that serious/scary looking compared to the other leaders. But then I realized he wasn't that great since he's not using his authority as a leader. He's good since he really cares for his members and prioritizes their health more than winning, but he's just too nice that he's being easy on them. He doesn't have that strong aura that can make them waver. It's also because they have that one member who only thinks of himself and doesn't have the teamwork mindset, which ruined their team harmony. The leader should have scolded him.
3) I didn't really care about Team Alpha since it's already obvious that they're the strongest team who will win. I like Kim Chang Wan and Hong Beom Seok, but I wasn't rooting for their team.
4) I don't like Team Alpha's leader. Something feels off about him and I first noticed it on their combat battle when he made an example. Then it was clear when they did arm wrestling and he easily won. Other people also have speculations that it's scripted and they intentionally put the Korean leader first. During Team Alpha's first meeting, he made them do push ups and tried to overtake. It feels like he's being pretentious and the show is putting a better image on him. And in the missions, he was mostly relying on Hong Beom Seok unlike the other team leaders who are guiding their members.
This was such a great survival show. It's not the usual show with entertainment and drama that relies on the general public and there's also no celebrities to get attention. As expected since it's genuinely all about military. All the contestants are professional soldiers from different units and the show focuses on their serious hard work. It's realistic and feels more like a documentary. As a viewer, it hooks you in and makes you feel admiration and inspired, but definitely more on the exhaustion and pain they went through. Determination, perseverance and teamwork are the best lessons in this show.
But I have to admit, this show kinda disappointed me when I noticed that it's scripted (I mean, all TV shows are basically scripted). It started in the simple arm wrestling, they obviously made the Korean leader win and the British leader didn't even put strength to it. Their group names already ranked them before the missions (ABCD). Their 2 aces (Hong Beom Seok and Kim Chang Wan) are also under the Korean leader that's why Alpha is the strongest team. At the end, the show will obviously pick the Korean leader's team since the winner will be the representative of Korea for the national competition. It has already been decided.
And just like what the comment below said, it's unfair that the other team's leaders are foreigners with language barrier and miscommunications that affected their teamwork. They were at disadvantage during their missions. It would have been better if all leaders were Korean (even though the leaders from US, UK, Sweden were all good and did their best).
PS. In my opinion, if Hong Beom Seok and Kim Chang Wan weren't under the Korean leader's team, the results would have been different. Though, Beom Seok chose the Korean leader since they already know and have work together in real life before, another advantage to their team.
Finally women in a fu*king action movie !! I hope they have more than 5 minutes of screen time
There's actually A LOT of Korean action movies with female main leads since before. You even mentioned 12 movies which is already proven that it's many, but I'll add more: 1. Justice High 2. She's On Duty 3. My Mighty Princess 4. My Girlfriend is an Agent 5. My Wife is a Gangster 6. Part Time Spy 7. A Special Lady 8. Memories of the Sword 9. Jung_E 10. Special Delivery 11. Sector 7 12. Slate 13. Blood: The Last Vampire
Other Korean movies with badass female leads doing action: Alive, Alienoid, Space Sweepers, Peninsula, Cold Eyes, Blind, Assassination, Windstruck, The Silenced, Hot Young Bloods, The Legend of Seven Cutter, Marrying School Girl, Arahan, Duelist
There's probably more out there, you just need to dig deeper. And there's a new one coming - Kill Boksoon.
1 
1 
2. We don't know what happened to the world except for some parts with the soldiers. The alien invasion is a mystery and we can only see what's happening through the students' point of view. This drama focuses more on the characters' growth than the sci-fi story. (The alien genre was the first reason why I watched this drama, so I would also love it if they reveal more stuffs about the spheres in part 2)
But if we're taking the ending literally, he's dead. Even though he's an important character that led the students. Tbh he's not the main lead, everyone of them are the main characters. And sadly expect more of them to die in part 2...
It's disappointing how some people fail to see/understand that and just hate on them.
TVING is an OTT platform like Netflix, but it's only domestic (and they use VIU as their global distributor). The promotions and exposure for TVING original dramas doesn't look good though. They have other survival dramas like Bargain and Monstrous but it didn't get attention. I'm glad Duty After School is getting attention and some viral posts despite the rookie and unpopular cast. It deserves more recognition!
(There are other alien themed Kdramas before, but My Love From The Star is a romcom about alien in human disguise and Glitch is a mystery more about cults.)
"shes good at using the gun"
lol you guys already know the reasons but you're still downplaying it as "that's it" when she's actually HELPFUL with those qualities and that's what makes people INTERESTED in her. just because she's quiet doesn't mean she's boring. compared to the other kids who are loud and always doing something... she has a calm personality, fast learner and didn't cause trouble. she knows how to focus and not get affected easily. she's the balanced character who doesn't need any drama (background story or character development) since she's already good and competent since the start. she's calm yet badass. that's why people love her. and in every kdramas, the badass women will always get the hype and praise they deserve.
PS. If you look at the viral posts of Duty After School, most of them are Nara's action scenes. She's obviously the attention grabber in the drama. Why is this even getting questioned and complained lol. Just let people love Nara.
I'm really curious about Park Ji Bin's character... Those other people who failed to die had their time reverse, right? He's one of them but unlike the female lead who want to break free from the "miracle/curse", he decided to stay that way since he's happier when he's younger. But I'm also confused... He said something about 70 years? And in the ending credits, did he meet his future wife? There's no English subtitles so I didn't understand what he said to her, but it looks like he's letting her go or something. Overall, I want to see his side of story and life where he accepted turning back his time. The day he is born is the day he dies. It's really interesting and I hope they make a sequel or new movie based on it.
The only annoying parts for me were the bully in episode 1 and the impatient guy when they got stranded. But my dislike to these characters didn't last long since they weren't all bad. They easily redeemed themselves by caring and helping their classmates. I'm really glad that there's no villain or psycho characters who tries to ruin anyone like in other survival dramas.
This drama is more than an alien invasion. This drama is all about the teenagers' emotions in times of crisis, where they are forced to mature in a dark new world, and how they learn to be strong and work all together as a team to survive.
— The characters are HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS who are suddenly forced to do military training. They participated on it since it will give them extra points for their college entrance exams, but they were actually being deceived and used by the government as a tool for the real war. And it's not just a normal war, it's an ALIEN INVASION. They weren't informed about the true situation and they're being restricted from using their phones, making them unable to get news and communication while they're inside the school.
— That's why it's understandable if they're dumb (clueless). They were extremely scared and traumatized after their first encounter with the aliens and death of their teacher and classmate, and they just keep on witnessing more people dying and dead bodies everywhere while trying to escape. It's too much draining for them and they couldn't think straight. Their military training only started for 2-3 weeks and it's not gonna make them automatically strong physically and mentally. The students from another school that they found were already broken and not in the right mind after what they went through, but the main class remained sane and they still tried their best to get used of what they learned from their training while helping each other.
— Every one of them have the right to cry, complain and get angry all they want. They are literally just TEENAGERS who felt confused, wronged and hopeless. They are easily vulnerable and weak. They didn't know anything, about what to do and who to trust. That's why they are so desperate to see their family and go home because that's the only thing that can make them "feel" safe and comfort in times of chaos. They even made their own plan and united with the other classes to make a protest. And later, they realized they have no one but each other. They need to stay in the military in order to protect themselves and learn to fight, while being guided by their troop leader (who genuinely cares and takes responsibility for them).
— Other military units and soldiers were killed by the spheres and their military power isn't big enough to fight against the thousands spheres and more to fall down. That's why the government chose the 3rd year High School students to enlist since they're the easy way (given that they're graduating and going to take college entrance exams, the condition about gaining extra points while training was just a scam to make them join the military immediately before the spheres start spreading). But later, it was also showed in the news that males and females in their 20s were being enlisted. Other citizens are being moved to the shelters, but it's not guaranteed if they arrived or safe inside. The aliens are fast and also intelligent so it's hard to get away from them.
PS. I'm actually curious about what happened to their city and the whole world since the spheres broke out, but Duty After School only focuses on the students and what's happening in their point of view.
Before and during their training, I already love their class harmony. I love how relatable they are and it made me feel like I was with my real class. Because that's how real teenagers are, immature and carefree. There's a lot of funny scenes but there's more intense scenes. After the alien attack, I really love their teamwork and growth. When they couldn't rely on the adults and have to be independent while working together, I was rooting for them so hard. Despite everyone's differences from personality/mindset/ability, their bond and trust for each other is so heartwarming and admirable. I became attached to the students who gradually build their strong teamwork during the apocalypse.
I also included the upcoming dramas.
I'm just bothered why some people thought or was expecting this drama is a "cheesy romcom" before watching, when the poster and sypnosis clearly shows the opposite. It's also not tagged in the genres. This is a melodrama romance and slice of life focused on the female lead. And the only comedic part was the brother's scenes.
1) I was rooting for Team Charlie but after the car in mud mission, I got turned off by them. It's because they paused and wasted their time again, similar to the previous mission carrying the log. That's why the other team behind them surpassed them, Team Bravo who keeps on going and persevering no matter what.
2) I like Team Charlie's leader, he feels approachable and wasn't that serious/scary looking compared to the other leaders. But then I realized he wasn't that great since he's not using his authority as a leader. He's good since he really cares for his members and prioritizes their health more than winning, but he's just too nice that he's being easy on them. He doesn't have that strong aura that can make them waver. It's also because they have that one member who only thinks of himself and doesn't have the teamwork mindset, which ruined their team harmony. The leader should have scolded him.
3) I didn't really care about Team Alpha since it's already obvious that they're the strongest team who will win. I like Kim Chang Wan and Hong Beom Seok, but I wasn't rooting for their team.
4) I don't like Team Alpha's leader. Something feels off about him and I first noticed it on their combat battle when he made an example. Then it was clear when they did arm wrestling and he easily won. Other people also have speculations that it's scripted and they intentionally put the Korean leader first. During Team Alpha's first meeting, he made them do push ups and tried to overtake. It feels like he's being pretentious and the show is putting a better image on him. And in the missions, he was mostly relying on Hong Beom Seok unlike the other team leaders who are guiding their members.
But I have to admit, this show kinda disappointed me when I noticed that it's scripted (I mean, all TV shows are basically scripted). It started in the simple arm wrestling, they obviously made the Korean leader win and the British leader didn't even put strength to it. Their group names already ranked them before the missions (ABCD). Their 2 aces (Hong Beom Seok and Kim Chang Wan) are also under the Korean leader that's why Alpha is the strongest team. At the end, the show will obviously pick the Korean leader's team since the winner will be the representative of Korea for the national competition. It has already been decided.
And just like what the comment below said, it's unfair that the other team's leaders are foreigners with language barrier and miscommunications that affected their teamwork. They were at disadvantage during their missions. It would have been better if all leaders were Korean (even though the leaders from US, UK, Sweden were all good and did their best).
PS. In my opinion, if Hong Beom Seok and Kim Chang Wan weren't under the Korean leader's team, the results would have been different. Though, Beom Seok chose the Korean leader since they already know and have work together in real life before, another advantage to their team.
1. Justice High
2. She's On Duty
3. My Mighty Princess
4. My Girlfriend is an Agent
5. My Wife is a Gangster
6. Part Time Spy
7. A Special Lady
8. Memories of the Sword
9. Jung_E
10. Special Delivery
11. Sector 7
12. Slate
13. Blood: The Last Vampire
Other Korean movies with badass female leads doing action: Alive, Alienoid, Space Sweepers, Peninsula, Cold Eyes, Blind, Assassination, Windstruck, The Silenced, Hot Young Bloods, The Legend of Seven Cutter, Marrying School Girl, Arahan, Duelist
There's probably more out there, you just need to dig deeper. And there's a new one coming - Kill Boksoon.