An Ultra Fan Guide to Kim Da Mi
Kim Dong Hee has once again returned to the big screen after being in Itaewon Class to take on his first main role as the remarkable, crafty young high school student, Oh Ji Soo, in the Netflix exclusive 10 episode drama, Extracurricular. Now with some background on that, in my article, I will be talking about five reasons why you should be watching this delightfully, twisted drama.
WARNING: This article may contain spoilers from all 10 episodes
FYI: This article might contain and talk about some troubling topics.
If you are uncomfortable with this then please refrain from reading on.
Introduction
Oh Ji Soo (Kim Dong Hee from Itaewon Class) is ranked first in everything he does in high school. To pay for his recent struggles and future dreams he runs a business that involves serious crimes. Seo Min Hee (Jung Da Bin) is the school bully's (Nam Yoon Soo) girlfriend who partakes in Ji Soo's business to make an income for herself which leads her to do very risqué actions. Now, Bae Gyu Ri (Park Joo Hyun) is a rich girl who also goes to Ji Soo's school who wants to take part in his crimes. What will happen to these students as they take high risks to earn money?
EPISODES: 10 (55 min)
GENRES: Friendship, Psychological, Crime, Life, School, Youth, Drama, Mature
SCREENWRITER: Jin Han Sae
DIRECTOR: Kim Jin Min
NETWORKS: Netflix
Cast
Kim Dong Hee | Oh Ji Soo
Park Joo Hyun | Bae Gyu Ri
Nam Yoon Soo | Gwak Gi Tae
Jung Da Bin | Seo Min Hee
Five Reasons Why
1. Kim Dong Hee
Now that he has finally been handed his first main role, we have been given such an opportunity to see him shine. I think he did such an amazing job conveying his character and their story. This was a totally different role from all the other characters he has played. Yes, he has played a few roles consisting of him being a high school student like A-Teen, but this version of him being one will instantly blow you away. His actions, words, and facial expressions will make you feel bad but on the other hand, you will see many other sides of his versatility and how truly unstable Ji Soo really is.
2. Refreshing Tone
The way the drama expressed such a darkened tone at times reminded me of Parasite. It was so unique since the very start. Usually, when you watch a Korean drama on its broadcasting TV station there are many things filtered out to make it friendly for everyone, however, Netflix is a whole other story; they don't care how violent and gory it is, all they care about is the audience's thrill and entertainment. This is why the tone and way it was expressed was so much more flexible since they had the freedom to be more creative and more out of the box on how they told the story. This is why it keeps you glued to your seat waiting to find out what happens next.
3. Story & Characters
Apart from the story, each character has flaws which makes the drama much rawer and more realistic. The characters show you their situations and it just makes you want to know and learn why they are showing the audience their reasons and imperfections. Yet, this keeps the story going and when you keep seeing it unraveling truths, you finally know that this story and characters are 100% amazing!
4. Controversial Topics
The fact that this story showed many moments of sex trafficking, prostitution, and underage or illegal consent in South Korea means they were touching on the fact that this happens. Well, this can happen anywhere, in other countries, time, etc. Yet, this was brought up to make the story what it is; to show how a business of this kind can be run. It is very scary and thought-provoking. It's just interesting that this also had violence, bullying, self-harm, and many more topics that were shown in the drama. It can make anyone want to think and exchange a conversation about what is going on. This means at the end of the day they are shedding light and making a difference in how they can impact others on such troubling topics.
5. The Lesson Out of It
From my perspective and hopefully yours too, there is something we can all learn from this drama. That everyone has their problems and flaws that can bring someone down to such a level that they would literally do anything to gain their desires or wants. We are only human and tend to forget that not everyone is very fortunate. Not everyone has a good relationship with loved ones or makes a steady income that can help them through their days in a positive manner and even be happy all the time. With gratitude to what we do have and the aspirations we want in our life. We can make each day better for ourselves and be successful in our happiness and life.
Overall Thoughts
I truly enjoyed how much of a rollercoaster it put me on. I literally binge-watched this in four days. This just tells me that I really enjoyed it and the drama only having 10 episodes makes it a quick binge for anyone. It was fun, mysterious, thrilling, made me question everything that went on, had many WTF moments, and well hope and wonder if there will be a season two because of the open-sided ending. What happened to Ji Soo and Gyu Ri? Where did they go?
For those who are/finished watching: What are your thoughts so far or final thoughts on this drama? What types of feelings did you get from watching? When watching this drama did you learn anything new that opened your perspective in any way? If so, please tell me why!
For those who are not watching: Did I by any chance persuade you to watch this? If so, please tell me in the comments!
Thank you so much for reading my article!
Until next time~
Most of the pictures/gifs I used are not mine so thank you to those of where I have found them from.
I made the synopsis myself, I apologize if it isn't long or descriptive enough but I did my very best. I will get better as I write more so please bear with me.
I have also created the cover and banner which was a first for me. I hope you liked it. I have some experience creating these types of graphics but truly it's not something I'm the greatest at :)
Edited by: Jojo (1st editor)
