Who Are You: School 2015 Korean Drama Review

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Please note that this review is based on my personal thoughts on this drama. All photos used were taken by google, neither of them used belongs to me, and rightfully belongs to the owners. 



Who Are You: School 2015

What first caught my attention and drew me to watch this drama was firstly, Kim So Hyun. Secondly, I have an extreme love for dramas revolving around high schools and youth.  A drama that depicts the lives and various struggles faced by 18-year-old high school students, School 2015 "Who Are You" is part of the South Korean School series, starring Kim So Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk and Yook Sung Jae as the main leads. 


The story revolves around Lee Eun Bi (Kim So Hyun), a student who is being terribly bullied and hurt at Tongyeong Girls High School. The story then shifts towards her living life as her twin sister, Go Eun Byul (Kim So Hyun), at Segang High School after an incident, where she also gets caught in a high school romance between Han Yi Ahn (Nam Joo Hyuk) and Gong Tae Kwang (Yook Sung Jae). Unfortunately, the bully - Kang So Young (Jo Soo Hyang) - coincidentally transfers there as well...

So how did Lee Eun Bi get through all her difficulties? 




This drama felt like a roller coaster ride of emotions ranging from the thrills of the mysteries to the laughter from the comedy, to the heart fluttering moments from the romance, and then the warmth and uncontrollable tears from the sad yet touching scenes. 





Actors & their characters




Kim So Hyun

Still a young and uprising actress, we all know that Kim So Hyun has been acting since she was a child and had acted in a fair number of dramas as the child versions of significant female leads. Although I've by far only watched 3 of her dramas apart from School 2015 "Who Are You", namely I Miss You, The Moon that Embraces the Sun and I Hear Your Voice; they were distinctively good enough to catch my love and interest for her acting skills, especially since she's still young. 


In the drama Who Are You: School 2015, Kim So Hyun takes up on 2 roles of characters with 2 completely different personalities. 


They are known as the twins Lee Eun Bi and Go Eun Byul in the drama.

The main character: Lee Eun Bi

Lee Eun Bi is the younger twin of the pair, and is a very gentle, well-mannered and kind hearted. She grew up in an orphanage in Tongyeong called Love House, and takes really good care of her younger siblings there. Lee Eun Bi is also known as an outcast in Tongyeong High School who is frequently bullied by a group of girls in school. Her life later changed all of a sudden due to an accident. Watch the drama to find out more Twin Sister: Go Eun Byul

Go Eun Byul, the older one among the twins, is on the other hand known as a cold and rude yet popular girl in Seoul's Segang High School (she even hits people). She was adopted by Song Mi Kyung (Jun Mi Sun) when she was 5 years old while she was at another orphanage and since then grew up in a pretty well-to-do family environment. However she was actually facing some problems which none of her close friends were really aware of.

In the drama, Kim So Hyun portrayed the lovely and caring side of Lee Eun Bi really well, especially during the scenes of Lee Eun Bi and the little kids. She is the kind of person who would stand up for someone who got bullied, and in return gets bullied herself. Her fears can later be seen changing into courage and at the same time, becoming someone lively as she lives her life as her twin sister. 

On the other hand, Kim So Hyun also portrayed the bold & daring personality of Go Eun Byul really well - a complete opposite personality from Lee Eun Bi.


My thoughts:
In my opinion, Kim So Hyun's acting really pulled off very well, and there was a clear distinguish between the two characters. I have to say that at times, I honestly forgotten that the 2 characters were acted by the same person. I truly admired her acting, it must have been very tiring and confusing to act as 2 different persons - not to forget that she had quite a number of crying scenes, and would have had to switch roles often as well as her make-up, clothes, etc. 
There was also an obvious difference in the two girls' gaze shown by Kim So Hyun, where Lee Eun Bi's was of course, a softer, gentle gaze and Go Eun Byul a cold, fierce, and piercing gaze. (You would get what I mean when you watch the drama)
I would really give her a 10/10. Somehow, her passion for acting can be seen especially in this drama. You can't deny that although she still has many rooms for improvements at her young age, she is really doing a good job in her acting career.

Make a guess based on her gaze... 
Lee Eun Bi or Go Eun Byul?





Make-up & Dressing style of the twins
I actually loved the distinguishable look of the twins based on their make-up and style of dressing. Unlike other shows involving twins, this pair can be distinguished from their make-up and hairstyle. Not only that, the individual distinctive look and style of both characters matched each of their personalities well.



Lee Eun Bi

 

 

Very clearly, Lee Eun Bi's make-up & style is more simple and nothing really fancy. Her hairstyle is also simple and straight, which definitely shows the soft, gentle personality of hers. 





Go Eun Byul

As you can see, Go Eun Byul's make-up and style is more chic, fashionable and bold as compared to her younger twin sister. Her hair, unlike Eun Bi's, is wavy. This look for sure matches that straight-forward and upfront personality of hers. 

Despite both characters having that similar bangs, the distinguish was clear from the wavy hair of Go Eun Byul and the black eyeliner drawn on her eyelids. I truly find that the matching of their styles with their personalities was great, and prevented any confusions which could have been seen in other shows casting twin characters. It also gave life to both characters with a different feeling given off on-screen.


Although towards the end of the drama Lee Eun Bi had dolled up a little, you can still clearly see the gentle side of her with this hairstyle, which is simple yet easy for viewers to identify who she is.

Ah, you can definitely tell how much this litte child actress has grown up into a beautiful young lady!  Her make up these days sure make her look slightly mature too!






Nam Joo Hyuk

Seemingly a model who has recently debuted as a newbie actor last year in 2014, this drama was only his second one and surprisingly he was casted as one of the male leads. Nam Joo Hyuk plays the role of a swimmer named Han Yi Ahn, in School 2015 "Who Are you".



Han Yi Ahn

Han Yi Ahn is a swimmer and also the childhood/best friend of Go Eun Byul. The two met each other since 8 and were very close since then. He is very loving and caring towards Eun Byul despite being yelled at or treated coldly at times. Han Yi Ahn is in the same class as her, but often absent due to his swimming meets. However through the drama you can observe what meant more to him than just swimming. He is also very protective of his father and has a very good relationship with him.

 

My thoughts:
Despite having heard of his name in variety shows before, I wasn't exactly sure or remembered who Nam Joo Hyuk was - I did not even realise who he was when I watched the drama, although he seemed a little familiar. I only found out that he started acting last year (after modelling since 2013) when I had finished watching the whole drama. I wouldn't say that his acting was very outstanding to a huge extent, but it was satisfying enough for a newbie actor - at the very least, I actually thought that Nam Joo Hyuk was an actor with quite a fair amount of experience in this field. Being a model, his tall & lean build definitely suited his character who is a swimmer, and it is undeniable that he was of a good visual on-screen. He portrayed his close relationship with Eun Byul/Eun Bi pretty well, and I definitely liked their chemistry. Really looking forward to seeing more of his dramas in the future!






Yook Sung Jae

I thought he looked rather familiar when he first appeared in the drama. So I google searched and realised that he had been acting for a while and even made a cameo appearance in the well-known drama The Heirs. Sung Jae is also a member of the K-pop group BtoB. Although admittedly, I don't really know any other groups - apart from B.A.P and a slight knowledge of Shinhwa - since I hardly read up on kpop idols, I really enjoy watching idols act in dramas. Can't help but think that they are multi-talented! 
Yook Sung Jae plays the role of the character named Gong Tae Kwang in School 2015 "Who Are You".



Gong Tae Kwang

Gong Tae Kwang is a classmate of Go Eun Byul, who hardly treated him like 'human'. It was said that Go Eun Byul disliked him and have had hardly held a conversation with Tae Kwang. However, everything changed when Lee Eun Bi attended school in place of Go Eun Byul. He is also the son of a very well-to-do & rich (but broken) family, whose father is also the director of Segang High School. On the other hand his mother is a top star actress. Although he seems like a carefree and lively person in most parts of the dramas, Tae Kwang was slowly revealed to be a lonely person yearning for greater love and care from a warm family. He is also known as the 'trouble-maker' and a person full of nonsense in school, and this somewhat funny character added a little laughter to the drama.
Gong Tae Kwang also helped Lee Eun Bi to live as Go Eun Byul.
 Watch the drama and find out how Gong Tae Kwang changes after he met Lee Eun Bi

 

My thoughts:
I personally adored this character played by Yook Sung Jae, and he did a great job in acting as an ignorant yet playful and carefree person. I really enjoyed the comedy scenes he was in and I had a great share of laughter watching this drama. Not only that, the things his character does for Lee Eun Bi showed great love and concern, probably making the hearts of female viewers flutter just as much! He also portrayed Gong Tae Kwang's feelings towards his family really well and through the drama, viewers can expect to see the changes in his family relationships.






Jo Soo Hyang

It seems to me that she is also a relatively fresh face in the entertainment industry as an actress, based on what is seen in the dramawiki page (though I may or may not be wrong). However, it must have been a pretty hard decision - in my opinion - to play the role of an antagonist in a drama. Nevertheless, I respect her acting skills that were seen in the drama.

Jo Soo Hyang plays the role of a bully by the name of Kang So Young, who continuously harassed and hurt Lee Eun Bi in the drama.

Kang So Young

Kang So Young is a smart girl from a wealthy family, whose father is a prosecutor. She is arrogant and two faced, and is known to be evil and a bully in school. A person who never learns from her mistakes or feel a sense or guilt from bullying others, she continues to harass Lee Eun Bi and makes useless efforts to separate Eun Bi from her friends. 
Watch the drama to find out more, the struggles between Lee Eun Bi whose identity was at the stake of being revealed, and Kang So Young who on the other hand, tries very hard to bring her down.

 

My thoughts:

Despite being (I believe) a newbie actor, her acting sure deserves some praises. Although not all of her scenes offered her great opportunities to show off her skills, her acting skills seen in her major scenes of being a bully and towards the end of the drama was admirable. Being an antagonist of a drama will always have some cons in terms of getting hatred from the protagonists' and drama's fans, as well as a "bad impression". However, people who will look at this maturely and focus on the acting skills of an actor, will agree that it is not easy being an antagonist, and their acting definitely deserve recognitions to a certain extent. 

All newbie actors start out in one way or another, and improve along the way. Not only Kim So Hyun, but I am sure that many of the actors and actresses out there went through the same path.

Supporting Casts

Apart from Jo Soo Hyang, the other supporting casts include Lee Pil Mo who played the role of the class' homeroom teacher at Segang High, Kim Joon Sook. Lee Pil Mo also acted in one of the recent yet popular drama which aired last year in 2014 to early this year, Pinnochio.

Other supporting characters were played by actors Lee David, Kim Hee Jung and Lee Cho Hee.


If you have watched High School - Love On, you'll also notice some familiar faces in School 2015 "Who Are You" as well, namely Kim Min Young, Choi Soo Rin and Kim Min Suk, though their presence in the drama was little as compared to High School - Love On.

Brief Plot Description

The first two episodes were honestly pretty thrilling to me, if you look at it in a positive manner. Though some may say that it was lacking, it definitely prompted me to continue the next few episodes. Perhaps it was partially due to my liking for high school dramas & actress Kim So Hyun - I was really curious to see her acting skills as a pair of twins with 2 completely opposite personalities.

Some of the episodes started off with an interview, which I thought was unique. 
However, is it just me who was curious about the person behind the camera? I felt a little disappointed when nothing was revealed further as I thought it might have meant something.

The drama depicts various struggles faced by high school students at the age of 18, some a little unrealistic and exaggerating, whereas some were pretty relevant to real life examples and at the same time meaningful. Some of the issues in relation to depression, friendships, family and teachers can be seen in the drama.

The drama did show the importance of care and understanding among classmates as well as how parental teaching is important, which significantly affects the well-being and mindset of their child. 

Kim Joon Suk (Lee Pil Mo) also showed great passion as a teacher who deeply cares for his students. In return it also showed how student-teacher relations are important to a student's learning in school. 

Although certain parts could have been less complicated or clearer in terms of storyline, the drama was relatively entertaining and had it's fair share of focus on the issues related to students in high school. 

As compared to School 2013 which the issues brought up were universal, I honestly feel that certain aspects of School 2015 "Who Are You" paled in comparison - e.g. the strong bonds and supporting casts.

Although the issues in School 2015 "Who Are You" was shown through the various minor characters as well, I felt that they were not as strong as the supporting characters in School 2013.

School 2013 showed great bromances and friendships between the students, which I feel School 2015 "Who Are You" was slightly lacking of. The friendships in School 2015 seemed pretty fickle to me, but when looked at positively it was partially what brought the viewers' attention to the screen.

Well, all-in-all, I wouldn't say that the flow and ending of the drama was 100% satisfying as compared to School 2013.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the drama and it's story line as it was equally engaging to watch. The roller coaster ride of emotions was rather entertaining - the drama also had it's own mysteries which can be surprising to its viewers at times.

Relationships between the main leads




Gong Tae Kwang and Han Yi Ahn

We all remember the 2 male leads of School 2013, who are popular actors that all girls will go crazy for - Lee Jong Suk & Kim Woo Bin. Not only do I love these 2 actors and their skills alot, I really loved the bromance between their characters at the end too!

Lee Jong Suk also starred in popular dramas like I Hear Your Voice alongside Lee Bo Young (Kim So Hyun acted as the child version of Bo Young's character). Lee Jong Suk also acted in Pinnochio alongside Park Shinhye, who was also the female lead in the well-known drama The Heirs - which also casted Kim Woo Bin & Lee Min Ho, as well as k-pop idols like f(x)'s Krystal & CN Blue's Kang Min Hyuk.

Well... Don't be deceived by the photos above,  the relationship between male leads Gong Tae Kwang and Han Yi Ahn in School 2015 may be slightly different...

However, you will see that Han Yi Ahn does have a soft spot for Gong Tae Kwang in the drama.


Watch the drama to find out more

Like what typical high school dramas would usually include, School 2015 "Who Are You" also had it's own high school romance, whereby Lee Eun Bi, Han Yi Ahn and Gong Tae Kwang were caught in a love triangle. Because of that, you can see the tension and jealousy between the two love rivals, Han Yi Ahn and Gong Tae Kwang, rising as each episode goes on to the next. On the other hand, Lee Eun Bi who shares great relations with each boy, clearly likes one of the two.

Han Yi Ahn and Lee Eun Bi

The chemistry and friendship between the two didn't need any clear indication or statement that both developed mutual feelings. More of sweet playfulness, their feelings for each other could be easily seen throughout the drama. As though the two were magnets with opposite sides attracted to each other, these two were almost always seen together in the drama and does a lot of things with each other by their sides.

Gong Tae Kwang and Lee Eun Bi

As if he was her shadow, Gong Tae Kwang would always appear whenever Lee Eun Bi was upset or in trouble. Seemingly watching over her all the time, Gong Tae Kwang can be seen as a really caring and protective (who wishes to be more than a friend,) friend towards Lee Eun Bi. He was always there to support her in whatever she does and encourage her. Their friendship can be seen as something very valuable to either of the two, and it is obvious how Gong Tae Kwang tries hard to make Eun Bi smile all the time. The two characters can be seen growing closer in each episode, that it makes one wonder just who, Eun Bi would choose in the end. 

I really loved watching Gong Tae Kwang and Lee Eun Bi's scenes, because they were either entertaining, funny or heartwarming.  

So who did Lee Eun Bi choose in the end? Was there a twist?


Watch School 2015 "Who Are You" to find out yourself

Things I felt disappointed with

As much as I loved this drama a lot, I can't deny that there were certain disappointments. 

 

Firstly, I was honestly highly anticipating the scenes with both twin sisters together. It wasn't that high of an expectation, but I was hoping to see the possibility of the scenes being well-made/filmed, and maybe slightly more of it being shown. I expected a certain level of skills which however, it was noticeable that most of the times only one of the twins was being filmed at a time. There wasn't a valid reason not to do so, and it was understandable. But there were parts where it was obvious the camera deliberately shot it in a way so that the other twin's face (assuming substituted by another person) was not captured on-screen, and that really turned me off. There weren't many scenes showing both twins in one same screen either.

SPOILER ALERT

DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO.

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On the day Go Eun Byul went missing in Tongyeong, Lee Eun Bi happened to be in the picture taken by the students of Segang High School. I've been hoping that this photo was of great significance to the revealing and discovery of Lee Eun Bi's identity to the class, which to my disappointment was nothing of the sort.

It only involved Lee Eun Bi being shocked when she saw the photo by chance and nothing more.  

Another thing which I couldn't comprehend was how Han Yi Ahn survived that car accident when he was rushing back to school to "save" Lee Eun Bi. 

No sights of blood or any other bruises of the sort was seen on Han Yi Ahn in that scene, despite his crashing with the car seemingly a pretty serious one.. My heart literally dropped a little because I thought he was going to die. But to my surprise, he only injured his shoulder and was even able to run back to school, where he fell to the ground due to excruciating pain after he settled the issues with Kang So Young.

Maybe that accident wasn't really that huge and serious like what I felt, however based on my opinions of the scene and how the car knocked down Han Yi Ahn, I honestly didn't expect him to be able to get back up and expected something more out of it. It was slightly unrealistic for him to be completely unhurt in other areas except his shoulders at that point of time. I was like "Huh? How did he even get up after being knocked down by a car driving at such a fast speed?"

Thus it felt as though the car accident was just there for the sake of making it slightly exciting and anticipating. Another reason could have been just so that they could make the drama more "dramatic", with an issue arising - of his swimming ability which was then affected due to his injury and how he started to change in terms of mood.

Next, when Lee Eun Bi returned to Love House in Tongyeong after Go Eun Byul returned home, I was left wondering...



What ever happened to the director of the orphanage?

I was expecting a teary reunion between her and Lee Eun Bi which to my disappointment, did not happen. She was nowhere to be seen in the drama and no mentions of her were made by any of the characters... (Unless I mistook or missed out on certain conversations that she left Tongyeong..??? Did I?)

Lastly, it was clear from the start who she would choose - Han Yi Ahn. However, I honestly wished that there would be a twist whereby Lee Eun Bi chooses Gong Tae Kwang, and Han Yi Ahn not letting go of his 10 years unrequited love for Go Eun Byul. It was a little disappointing how fickle his love for Go Eun Byul was, although it was understandable. It made me feel a little sad for Go Eun Byul, who might have been in love with Han Yi Ahn.

On the other hand, Gong Tae Kwang who is so expressive of his sincere feelings towards Lee Eun Bi and always protecting her all the time, might have been the case where viewers could have already had the anticipation of seeing Lee Eun Bi finally being touched and then accepting his love in return. 

To be frank, I may have remembered incorrectly but throughout the drama, it felt as though there was more focus on Gong Tae Kwang and Lee Eun Bi's relationship and chemistry as compared to Han Yi Ahn and Lee Eun Bi's.

If only the ending showed Lee Eun Bi finally giving Gong Tae Kwang love more than just those of a good friend's, I would have given this drama a rating of 9 out of 10. 

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END OF SPOILER

Background music and songs used 

I didn't exactly enjoyed some of the BGM tracks played during certain parts of the drama as I felt like they did not match well. However, one of the songs, Reset by Tiger JK ft. Jinsil, was worth liking and listening to, which definitely brings live and feelings to the drama itself. Plus points for this!

It matched the drama really well and I liked it!

On the whole...

School 2015 "Who Are You" is a drama very worth watching although certain aspects could have been done better. I enjoyed the thrill, comedy and many different types of feelings felt throughout the drama, and the storyline was rather engaging and exciting. One can also learn from the things shown in the drama, and shape themselves into a better person. I would say that the acting skills shown by the actors were rather impressive in general, and I loved every character of the show. Although Kang So Young the bully, was very mean and evil, I hardly had any negative feelings towards this character as compared to other antagonists in other dramas.

Additionally, the casts were all rather good looking in terms of appearance, and at the very least, they all looked just like students. There were certain high-school dramas where the casts looked too mature to be students even in the uniforms.. So I'd say that their visuals on-screen were pretty smooth and appealing to the eyes of the drama viewers!


The drama also mentioned something about how being 18 years-old - one of the most beautiful age in life - is not easy for teenagers to achieve their dreams at such a young age but instead, is the best start to taking steps towards their goals. It also mentioned how it is okay not to be sure of what you want to do yet at this age, because you are still young being only 18 years old.

I kinda liked their sayings towards 18-year-old teenagers since I can relate it to myself, being a 19 year-old student myself.

I've to say that it motivated me a lot.


In my opinion, this drama really has an interesting side and its own tale to tell, so do watch it!




Are you interested in watching School 2015 "Who Are You"? 

Catch the 16 episodes online here now!



Once again, do note that neither of the photos used in this post belongs to me.

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