High schoolers don helmets for Duty After School
by solstices
Would you rather take the SATs or fight off an alien invasion? In TVING’s upcoming sci-fi thriller Duty After School, third-year high schoolers fearing the former find themselves grappling with the latter. A year after unidentified flying spheres first appeared in the sky, hovering ominously over Earth’s inhabitants, the country realizes it needs all the manpower it can get. And that, unfortunately, includes students.
Without a doubt, the alien objects are hostile — not only do they crash down on buildings, but slimy tentacled creatures also emerge from within, itching to lash out at their next target. The country’s military forces are overwhelmed, leaving the government with no other choice than to cancel this year’s SATs and conscript all high school students as reserve forces.
Of course, there’s an incentive to sweeten the deal. All participating students will walk away with bonus points for the following year’s SATs, meaning they’ll certainly lose out to the competition if they refuse to become a soldier. Needless to say, that gets most students to sign the consent form, and their after-school military training commences.
Our story focuses on Class 2 of Sungjin High, who react to the news with confusion and apprehension. Bespectacled protagonist Kim Chi-yeol, played by Kim Ki-hae (End of Broadcast), can barely believe his ears. A similar wave of incredulity washes over the rest of the class, filled with fresh faces such as Moon Sang-min (Under the Queen’s Umbrella), Yeo Joo-ha (Love Alarm), and Kim Min-chul (Crash Course in Romance).
Platoon leader Lee Chun-ho, played by Shin Hyun-soo (Critical X), arrives to lead their training regime. Unlike their worried homeroom teacher Park Eun-young, played by Im Se-mi (The Empire), Chun-ho is tough as nails. As the students undergo rigorous training and face off against wrathful aliens, their days of feverishly studying for the SATs seem much tamer in comparison. “You are soldiers,” Chun-ho declares, “and this is war.”
Directed by Sung Yong-il (Class of Lies) and written by Yoon Soo, Duty After School is adapted from the webtoon of the same name by Ha Il-kwon (who also penned The Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara). The drama is slated to premiere this March.
Via News1
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1 drawde2000
February 21, 2023 at 3:11 AM
Lol. Kids, when negotiating with the government, be like the guys from Armageddon. Always ask for not paying taxes.
Teaser is excellent. Enough for me to be intrigued. Also, color grading is good. Very 1990s. Or is it my screen?
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2 Unaspirated
February 21, 2023 at 6:00 AM
Interested. We'll have to see where it pops up for watching!
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3 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
February 21, 2023 at 8:20 AM
Because calling back grown-ups who have done their mandatory military service and don't need so much training would be too logical.
But if they really want to crush the nasty space aliens, tell all the tiger moms that they have to sashimi-fy the tentacled aliens by sundown or their kids won't be able to take the entrance exam.
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Not just weather balloons?
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4 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
February 21, 2023 at 9:06 AM
Immediately after reading this post I went to Youtube and watched
"Psychedelic Assisted Therapy: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)"
So now I have another theory about the sudden appearance of lots of tentacled creatures everywhere.
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5 ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
February 21, 2023 at 9:51 AM
Let’s be real for a second, the world would not need something as dire as an alien invasion for world leaders to justify conscripting high schoolers as child soldiers. Just cook up some nationalist slog and you’re good to go.
I hope the show criticizes the military conscription system and comes out firmly on an anti-military, anti-conscription, anti-war perspective, but who are we kidding this is South Korea.
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DancingEmma
February 21, 2023 at 11:21 AM
Yep. The Military-Industrial Complex would like this. While living next door to a despotically-ruled NK is a unique problem, the aliens (so far at least) aren’t the problem. Generally, we should fear the globally profit-driven, environmentally catastrophic and brutal rule of the homo-sapiens’ ruling classes. Long Live THAT resistance.
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
February 21, 2023 at 2:29 PM
The military industrial complex would be fucking ecstatic in the event of an actual alien invasion. What better time than everyone buying weapons? Personally, I think these kids should team up and do something about the corrupt class of ruling elites and technocrats first. The aliens don’t seem that bad in comparison.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
February 21, 2023 at 2:34 PM
At this point in the worst timeline, an alien invasion might actually be a relief.
"Oh you're here to rule over us instead of these guys? Worth a shot."
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ladynightshade wants her own ryu sunjae
February 22, 2023 at 11:34 AM
Not even the worst timeline, I would prefer an alien invasion over most of our world leaders
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
February 21, 2023 at 5:20 PM
To be serious for a moment, the US already does this because it makes higher education so cripplingly expensive that kids are forced into military service to pay for it. It's a lot more subtle than Korea's current "if you're male, you will serve" conscription but also makes me wonder why the show is going after this particular concept right now. Unless it's instead a commentary on Korea's education system and the way its culture maybe aligns with its military system. Either way, unless it's satire I'm not particularly interested.
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