Korean drama about schools becomes a hit

Teach You a Lesson, a new Korean drama directed by Hong Jong-chan, reached the top of Netflix’s global non-English rankings shortly after its release. The 10-episode series is adapted from the web comic Get Schooled. It centres on a government-backed unit that enters troubled schools and tries to deal with serious problems. The story takes place in a society where school violence is rising and teachers have less authority. The unit’s leader, Na Hwa-jin, works with other inspectors to confront bullying, corruption, academic cheating, gambling, drugs and exploitation. Some episodes also focus on parents, social media abuse and the pressure to succeed. The show has been praised by some viewers for its strong characters, but it has also been criticised by educators for violence in its story. At the centre of the drama is a bigger question: what is education for?