Undercover High School: Satire, Spies, and Amazing Female Leads
Hello, beautiful human! 👋
How are you today?
Last Saturday, we saw the end of Undercover High School, a 12-episode series written by Lim Young-bin (from KBS2’s Bad Prosecutor) and directed by Choi Jung-in (from MBC’s Knight Flower).
If you didn’t follow the show, it tells the story of Jung Hae-seong (Seo Kang-joon), an NIS agent who, after a demotion, is assigned to find King Gojong’s missing gold bars. His investigation leads him to the renowned Byeongmoon High School, where he goes undercover as a student. His homeroom teacher is the dedicated Oh Soo-ah (Jin Ki-joo), a Korean history teacher.
If the premise sounds a bit silly, that’s exactly the goal.
Undercover High School is a satire of your classic spy film with a surprising dose of social commentary and well-delivered comedy. The show never takes itself seriously, which is made clear by the stupidity of our supposed secret agents, the impracticability of their undercover mission, the exaggerated paranoia of our villain, and the miraculous events of the narrative.
You shouldn’t attach any particular importance to any of these elements — they are all played for laughs (and some episodes are extremely entertaining indeed). However, Undercover High School does have a heart, which is the real reason why the show, despite all its silliness, works.
First, Undercover High School allows Byeongmoon High School, where most of the action takes place, to become a microcosm of society. Social class, money, and power are all important elements of the narrative. Shouldn’t education be a right? Shouldn’t students receive equal opportunities? Does money make a person better? How can money affect one’s sense of identity and personal accomplishment? All of these questions are explored in between the jokes and the slapstick. Hae-seong and Soo-ah then become leaders of a revolution, igniting a sense of justice and self-respect in the teenagers around them.
That leads to a vital element of Undercover High School: even though characters don’t really have a proper character arc, it’s their relationships that evolve and become ever more solid. Hae-seong’s relationship with the Byeongmoon students prompts the teenagers to become braver, fight prejudice, and create stronger bonds of friendship between them. Meanwhile, Hae-seong’s relationship with his father and his teammates offers a “familial” charm that grounds such an implausible tale.
The real “twist” in Undercover High School is how they break away from cliché by removing the drama and injecting naturality into the communication between characters. Adults in the series never fail to express what they feel or want to one another, which makes for some incredibly natural dialogues at times. For instance, the scene in which Hae-seong tells Soo-ah he’s actually her childhood friend might be the least dramatic “childhood-connection revelation” I’ve ever seen. He tells her, she’s understandably surprised for a moment… and that’s all. Also, Hae-seong openly tells Soo-ah when he believes she shouldn’t do something because it’s too dangerous. They often tell each other what they think without any misunderstanding or dramatic deliveries.
What also helps is that Seo Kang-joon and Jin Ki-joo are endlessly charismatic. Their chemistry is lovely but, most importantly, they deliver two extremely likeable individuals. Hae-seong is an amazing male lead — he’s sincere, kind, and fair — but Undercover High School truly succeeds with Soo-ah, its female lead. Soo-ah is determined, proactive, pragmatic, warm-hearted, and full of self-respect. She’s also brave and often, much stronger and more intelligent than our secret agents. Instead of being a fragile girl who needs protection from our strong male lead, Soo-ah fights her own battles (sometimes quite literally) and actively helps in the development of the narrative.
The plot itself is an exaggeration of all the spy tropes you’ve ever seen — which perfectly works as a parody when events are paired with comedy (and there’s plenty of that in Undercover High School). In the few sequences where the show tries to deliver its plot with a bit more seriousness, you might find yourself rolling your eyes a bit. The pacing isn’t perfect either, as the show only finds its rhythm in episodes 3-4 and stumbles in the unravelling of episodes 11-12.
But, honestly, that doesn’t matter much. Undercover High School makes for a lighthearted, uncomplicated, and optimistic watch. With the charm of its leads and their relationships and the cast’s excellent physical comedy, Undercover High School encourages you to laugh at the face of the world’s absurdity.
I’ll leave you with Soo-ah’s excellent line from the finale:
“The powerless masses always change the world.”
You can watch Undercover High School on Kocowa, Viu, or Viki.
Shall We Take A Stroll Around the World of Japanese & Korean Media?
1. Cinema
The Korea Times released a marvellous article about the success of Yutaka Matsushige’s The Solitary Gourmet The Movie in Korea, called “'The Solitary Gourmet' falls for Korean cuisine in the land of mukbang.” The piece discusses why food culture — and, consequently, food content — is so important in Korea. A must-read if you would like to understand more about the mukbang (that is, videos of people eating) trend and how it connects with the current Korean society.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Weekender raises a curious discussion about “Johatsu: A Haunting Documentary About Japan’s ‘Evaporated People’.” Johatsu: Into Thin Air is a documentary produced by German filmmaker Andreas Hartmann and Japanese director Arata Mori that explores the “johatsu,” people who “vanish without a trace after engineering their own disappearances.” Make sure to read Matthew Hernon’s article, which discusses the production process of the documentary in detail.
2. Literature
I’m a big fan of Mizuki Tsujimura and I can’t wait to read her new book, Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon, which is coming out on April 3rd. Mizuki’s latest novel was translated by Yuki Tejima, a bookfluencer and professional translator with a very curious career. She’s the topic of Japan Times’s “Yuki Tejima's metamorphosis from bookworm to literary translator” — here are my favourite excerpts from the piece, which I hope will encourage you to give it a read:
“I used to cringe when someone would tell me their favorite genre was Japanese literature, as if you could lump all Japanese books into one genre,” Tejima says. “Publishing right now favors diverse writers who have a strong voice and I think the translators are also reflecting that trend to seek out more diversity.” (…)
Tejima is not surprised by the current spotlight on Japanese women writers. “There have always been very vocal and strong, powerful women in literature in Japan,” she says, “but I think now there's a momentum that is thrilling to watch, being in Japan, seeing all of these new novels by women. And then seeing a handful of those translated into English.” (…)
For a Japanese national who grew up outside of Japan, reading and now translating Japanese literature has helped Tejima connect to parts of her own culture. "Japanese literature has been a way to see the inner lives of Japanese people,” she says. “And hopefully it might give me further insight behind why I think the way I do and why I act the way I do."
3. Interviews
The Korea Times released an interview with “Baek Ji-yoon, Korea's 1st theater actor with Down syndrome, [who is] gain[ing] confidence on stage.” The interview highlights Baek Ji-yoon’s success in Jellyfish, a play running through April 13 in Korea, and explores her career, goals, and the parallels between her character on stage and her real life. Highly recommended!
If you loved Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines as much as I did, make sure to read Park Bo-gum’s interviews with The Korea Times (“Park Bo-gum finds Gwan-sik admirable in 'When Life Gives You Tangerines'“) and with Korea JoongAng Daily (“Park Bo-gum talks 'unicorn' husband role in Netflix's 'When Life Gives You Tangerines'“). And remember that our review of When Life Gives You Tangerines is coming to The Blossom Review on Wednesday + YouTube on Thursday!
And since we’ve been talking about theatre and translation, “How 'Once' translator Hwang Seok-hee honored one of Broadway's most beloved duets” from Korea JoongAng Daily is an amazing read if you like Once or if you’re just interested in the challenges of translating musicals into different languages!
4. Korea & Japan Being Recognised Around the World
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Korea will be the inaugural country of honor at this year’s Banff World Media Festival as the TV industry conference and market spotlights the growing strength of K-content internationally.” Banff executive director Jenn Kuzmyk explained:
Korea has emerged as a powerhouse in global entertainment, captivating audiences worldwide with its innovative storytelling and world-class productions. We look forward to welcoming Korean creators to Banff and fostering new opportunities for international collaboration.
The Hollywood Reporter also announced yesterday that “Japanese composer and pianist Yoko Shimomura will receive the BAFTA Fellowship at the BAFTA Games Awards on April 8 for her contribution to the games industry.” BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip announced:
A pioneer of video game music, pianist and composer, Yoko has created unforgettable soundtracks for so many beloved games and paved the way for women in the industry at a time when it was overwhelmingly male-dominated. Her groundbreaking work has already inspired countless artists and will continue to resonate for generations.
Another female Asian artist being recognised internationally is Blackpink’s Jennie, who “became the first K-pop solo artist to receive an award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards on Saturday,” according to Korea JoongAng Daily. How amazing is that?
Meanwhile, on The Blossom Review:
Last week, we shared 10 exciting K-dramas coming out in April 2025 and 20+ spring J-dramas. Have you decided which ones you’ll be watching?
This week, we’re talking about a show I fell head over heels in love with recently: Netflix’s When Life Gives You Tangerines! Make sure to stop by The Blossom Review on Wednesday and/or our YouTube channel on Thursday for our review!
I hope you have a fantastic week ahead! Thank you so much for being here today! 😊
Karen, Thanks for your review on Undercover. I have seen the poster for it come up on Viki with other suggestions. After reading a synopsis somewhere I thought that the whole premise of an undercover operation in a high school to find an ancient treasure of gold seemed a bit ridiculous. You are telling me that Undercover is a form of ridiculous. After reading your review I'll have to at least try an episode or two o Undercover.
Your commentary about this kdrama is spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed the tone and acting of the drama at the moment, something light, relaxing and with human touch.