In HS, "Ko" Ha-neul's life was saved by a teacher who lost his own life in the process. It's an asteroid that changes the trajectory of her life. Years later she's back at school... to teach.
"Every grass seems a weed if you look at it with hatred. Every person is a flower if you look at them with kindness," Ha-neul muses to herself. Earlier in life, she heard the opposite. "You shouldn't raise a black dog," Ko is told by a petshop owner when she's young. "It's unlucky. They're {unlucky} from birth." "That black dog probably continued to waive its tail as soon as it felt someone's presence, with the hope that someone might show it some affection," we hear as Ko exits with her new fluffy /white/ dog. "But what happens if someone shows interest in the black dog that has always been alone?" That forlorn black doggy made me tear up, and I'm more of a cat person. Cats and dogs are easier to love than humans, but humans need love more. Much more, actually. Pet owners know their 'babies' thrive on love; a small investment yields ample returns. Humans take more effort and more patience, and the results are not guaranteed, but the rewards can be incredibly satisfying.
Rumors are churning, however. The buzz is that someone was hired via connections. Ko has done everything on her own, though! She didn't ask her "connected" uncle for help. Nevertheless, she encounters an early frost at her new job.
BD makes the mundane moving. A 2019 release that is rated 88 on AWiki, it is 1 season consisting of 16 80-minute episodes. Most entertainment takes us to places that are more dramatic than life. BD features everyday mini dramas that flare up in life and work. It's the stuff that is stressful to all of us, even though it's the same-old-same-old. What makes it engaging is the acting, scripting, and directing. I recognize the importance of education (it is the 2nd most important thing in society, right behind a decent and moral populous), but education in Korea doesn't interest me significantly. I stuck with this show because journeying with these characters is not only enjoyable, but emotionally fulfilling.
BD sniffs out the politicking involved behind the scenes in education. Most of the teachers are doing their best, paddling against the current and sincerely attempting to make a difference. Seo Hyun-Jin (Dr. Romantic, You Are My Spring) is Ko. She's precariously kind. Coming into BD, I'd only seen Ms Seo as a frustrated FL in the cute romcom Another Miss Oh-7.5. She's wonderful here as a wide-eyed new teacher who wants to fit in & do good while working to minimize the friction between her idealistic dreams and real life. Ra Mi-Ran (Reply 1988-8.6, The Good Bad Mother) plays Park Sung-Soon - "Why did you cause a commotion at the interview?" "I'm the crazy b¡+ch around here, I needed to remind them." She reminds me of Manager Oh in Misaeng-9.1: You wouldn't pick her out of a lineup as anything special, but she makes the show. Ha-Joon is Do Yeon-Woo. He plays a friendly person in Crazy Love-7.8. He's almost unrecognizable here, which is a testament to his acting skills. The director is Hwang Joon-Hyeok (Song of the Bandits) and the writer is Park Joo-Yeon.
"It seems like cheaters have better lives, nowadays... Is the Republic of Korea the land of civil complaints?" It's the same in the USA. People always take advantage and abuse power. Abuses can become rampant in a free society as freedom grants powers of pushing back and complaining, so it creates an environment where everyone has some power. With all its problems, freedom is still preferable to tyranny, but freedom only works when people are decent. A lack of decency leads to a rageful, complaining, abusive, and cold society. It's lonely to be the one to try and stop the cycle. It takes courage... and humility. Wisdom is knowing when to speak up and when to let things slide.
We must set aside our pride, sometimes, for the greater good. When Ko acquiesces to a bully teacher, she's asked: "That's your way, Miss Ko? I don't like fighting, but I don't like not fighting either." Her response: "It's not losing... I just thought about what my priorities are. If we keep fighting for power, who ends up suffering the most?" Our pride is usually not the most important thing, though many people act as though it is.
Cultures are different, but people are the same everywhere. There's a myriad of reasons that our educational system is in disarray, but one of them is that, generally, the very best students go on to high paying jobs and don't teach. Before women were permitted in the workplace, teaching was one of the few options available to them. Thus, some of the smartest people, who happened to be female, were teachers. Going back to the mid-20th century isn't the answer, but what we have, currently, is a mess as well. It's obvious that politicians do not want to fix anything. They love their political footballs and they hold onto them tighter than Lucy does when Charlie Brown is trying to kick them. Instead of dumping money into politicians in hopes that one of those narcissists will grow a conscience and try to do some good rather than solidifying their power, the people need to step up. There have been studies to indicate that merely getting rid of the bottom 5% of teachers, the worst performers, could turn our schools around. Students who are performing satisfactorily sometimes never recover after encountering a bottom level teacher. I am not attacking teachers! I come from a family of educators. That's how my father put food on our table. Every profession has poor performers and bad actors. They should be released to go on and do something they are actually good at.
Some countries have mandatory military service. Anything mandatory won't work here, but programs to promote voluntary service, with student loan and tax benefits as well as future job holding/placement, could be an answer - Maybe some volunteers will stay and teach as a career. There are some wonderful programs out there already - a good start. For those who must work a regular job, volunteer tutoring programs might be useful. While not always easy, volunteering can be fulfilling and provide profound satisfaction. Attracting our best to spend a couple years teaching (or other forms of community services) could turn our schools and our society around. Paying taxes and leaving it to the government bureaucrats does not work and it never, ever has.
Ko navigates the school year with its difficulties: Troubled students, difficult coworkers, super-difficult college entrance administrators, extremely difficult parents, The Great Banana Scandal, and some difficult goodbyes. "You can't cover up the sky with your hand," says the principal to a teacher, meaning one can't force all the kids to see things one's own way, particularly when one is wrong. Ko rarely is the one who is wrong. When things get most problematic are the times when she believes the students are right and the administration is wrong. Ko sees how people gravitate to the prettiest, the smartest, and the wealthiest - the opposite direction of the black dogs. Therefore, looking out for those that are less fortunate takes more energy and more character as it's swimming against the current. "It actually hurts you, in the end, to live with convictions. You just make more enemies of the people around you," she says in despair, one night. This is true, but it doesn't have to stay that way. Stubbornly proceeding to do the right thing will cause friction, but in the end, with some decency and perseverance, right can prevail. Can Ko prevail?
In ep1 she tries to board the train and stumbles in the rush. She also falls in the school cafeteria. At the end of ep1, she boards the train with /determination/. Ko will prevail because she has /decided/ that she will. Now, she just needs to pass that fl🔥me along to the kids.
QUOTES📢
If you're in complete, pitch-black darkness, all you can do is to keep your place until your eyes are accustomed to the dark.
People with overly unwavering conviction are difficult to deal with. The world they live in is so sturdy, so they refuse to step outside of it.
There's something called the 2-6-2 rule. If you enter a room with 10 new people, 2 will like you, 6 will have no interest in you, and 2 are bound to hate you. It's a rule of nature.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8 📝8.3 🎭8.5 🌞6 🎨6 ⚡2 🎵/🔊7😅3 😭4 😱3.5 😯4 😖2 🤔6.5 💤0 🔚7.5
Age 11+ Language: b!+ch. Rated TV-15
Re-📺? Not against it.
