The Education Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB) established by Education Minister Choi Gang-seok (Lee Sung-min) stirs up controversy wherever it goes while attempting to address school violence, and the flagrant disregard of learning rights, taking a leaf right out of the Harry Callahan manual for dealing with hard core criminals. The ERPB exists due to the fact that schools have been transformed into battlegrounds emulating the wider dysfunction and violence that afflicts the supposed world of adults. Hence, a case can be made that the adults have exported the worst behaviours to the impressionable via modern tools — and at the speed of light.
Na Hwa-jin (Kim Mu-yeol) is the front man of the ERPB. He’s a newly appointed school inspector in search of trouble spots and given the heavy responsibility of taking out the rubbish because the school refuses to do so. Kim Mu-yeol is the picture of affability and there lies the mistake of many a school ruffian. They think he’s just another weak-kneed substitute teacher so they throw a punch to exploit loopholes in the system. That is until he punches back. At that moment the delinquents don’t know what hit them. First impressions can be very misleading indeed. Hwa-jin is ex-special forces with a personal reason why the ERPB has become his new mission. Behind him is Minister Choi who bears the brunt of any political fallout.
After his surprise introduction Hwa-jin is joined by Bong Geun-dae (P.O) and the over-the-top screechy Im Han-rim (Jin Ki-joo). The trio are in effect the clean up crew and if the stories are to be believed, the purging of South Korean schools of nasty elements is a herculean job. There are deep-seated cultural attitudes at the core of everything.
Not too surprisingly, there are those who don’t want the ERPB to succeed. Choi Gang-seok has fought tooth and nail for its existence but his political enemies are just waiting to pounce on any mistake to dismantle this new task force in a heartbeat. Assemblyman Hwang Gi-tae is such a figure, framed as one of the shows many villains. The actions of ERPB inevitably ruffle feathers. The eye for an eye approach taken by the bureau causes some uneasy but as the show demonstrates, the language of violence is the only one some will understand.
The ERPB is the equivalent of Avengers or Justice League tackling intractable school issues. The show follows the template of the superhero narrative almost to a T. Injustice cries out for a saviour. Who will come to the rescue of the vulnerable from the evil powerful forces? Everyone can only cower in fear and despair. Oh look! It’s the ERPB giving the baddies a dose of their own bitter medicine. I don’t mind admitting that there’s something quite satisfying about watching an unpleasant character get their just desserts soon after the rage bait that sets it up. It’s catharsis at work. There would be no need for superheroes if the rule of law was adhered to and therein lies the problem.
The primary of the show is to explore the underlying toxic culture that feeds not just the school violence or the ridiculously competitive incentive structures that perpetuate the problems for young learners. Education systems which are meant to democratize the access to a better future is all too easily hijacked by all kinds of vested interests. The rich can pay their way into intensifying the competition and set the terms for what is “normal”, leaving low income families in the dust. This is eloquently exemplified in one of the later episodes where a son is being given regular doses of ADHD drugs to keep him on track to fame and glory — snagging a spot in SNU’s medical programme. Not only that, she also withholds food, sleep and affection punitively while turning a blind eye to symptoms of physiological and mental health issues. Many dramas have addressed this but none have come up with a strategy quite like the one conjured up by Na Hwa-jin.
Despite the gravity and horrors of the subject matter, this show manages to be one of the more humorous offerings in recent times. It is surprisingly funny — darkly slapstick in action sequences and in the execution of so-called “revenge”. Like in Taxi Driver, revenge in the ordinary sense isn’t really the agenda. Minister Choi and Na Hwa-jin have a common grievance, it would be understandable to retaliate on some level. But that’s not what they’re after in essence. They want to radically change attitudes and remove unjust gatekeeping. What Na Hwa-jin wants is for really bad kids to be punished and perhaps be redeemed. Sadly, however, not every offender can change or wants to change their trajectory.
In a real enough way the show is not about them. Although they have a personal stake in making sure the ERPB succeeds, this is a show about the victims and the perpetrators as well as the broken system that perpetuates the vicious merry-go-round. The interventions dished out may seem extreme but there’s a satirical season that’s unmistakable. If the Taxi Driver met Mary Poppins and somehow took a few classroom tips from Mark Thackeray, the result would be something akin to the ERPB.
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Hello, hello. :) I absolutely adored this drama, more than I thought to be honest. While I don't think I am usually a violent person (maybe I am secretly LOL), this drama was incrediblyyyy satisfying to see victims be given justice and bullies getting a dose of their own medicine. For so long, I think much of this has been swept under the rugs, still so. Maybe because I am also in the field of education, and while I am lucky I've not encountered the extreme situations like in the drama, which I know are all based on real stories, the sense of entitlement and what people get away with is so disheartening.
And with all that is happening in the world, I find that often, it feels like evil keeps winning. All the bad guys and bullies are positions of power, and there's no light to the end of them existing in the real world right now. So TYAL delivered with its way of delving out justice and remains heartfelt. I found myself feeling the screams of Im Han Rim so cathartic too.
I am so glad you had a chance to watch this drama and write about it too.