[Funcurve Review] "Moorim School"
Published on
Failing Grade
"Moorim School" is a fantasy action drama centered around an enigmatic school hidden from the world and students with powers unbeknownst to themselves. As the students try to make sense of peculiar incidents happening at the school, they uncover secrets about the school and about themselves. I haven't had too much exposure to this genre of drama, so I was quite interested initially. Unfortunately, the execution was a huge let down. Due to a poorly written plot, inadequate special effects, and subpar acting, the drama failed to get a passing grade in my books. "Moorim School" tried to build up a series of predictable mysteries and seemingly intricate plots that just didn't leave me with excitement, but rather, boredom. I also found the characters to be incredibly inconsistent and shallow - another testament to the drama's lack of attention to details.
Episodes 1-4 Review 
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The first four episodes of "Moorim School" set up the premise, key characters, and main conflicts. The drama shows immediate weakness with a feeble intro where it attempts to orchestrate a complex plot, only to fall short at grabbing my attention. "Moorim School" is a martial arts school located deep within a forest, and only those with special powers can open the seal to find it. Our protagonist are two equally arrogant, privileged, and competitive boys who meet at school. Yoon Si-woo (Lee Hyun-woo) is an idol and an orphan with little recollection of his past. He ends up looking for cure at "Moorim School" when his ear starts to buzz, causing him excruciating headaches. Wang Chi-ang (Hong Bin) is the illegitimate son of a wealthy Chinese business man who also came searching for "Moorim School" at his father's request. Chi-ang hides his own scars with bratty attitude and selfishness.
The boys happen to arrive school at the same time, creating confusion as to who truly possessed the power to open the seal. However, they both start to attend school without any problems, so I'm left questioning why it was important to mention who opened the seal. Soon, the two bickering strangers become rivals, and adjust to school life relatively well.
One thing bothersome to me is why Chi-ang didn't ask his father any questions about why he needed to attend "Moorim School" or how he knew of the school in the first place. I know this is just a stepping stone to a much larger plot, but the writers do a disservice to Chi-ang's character in having him be so one-track minded, only focusing on his rivalry with Si-woo.
And of course, we have our two girls who complete the standard Korean drama love square. Sim Soon-deok (Seo Yea-ji) is a hard working girl, who earns money for her family consisted of her blind father and father's care-taker, all the while attending "Moorim School" in secrecy, as her father prohibits it. Hwang Seon-ah (Jung Eugene) is the school dean's daughter, and an avid fan of Si-woo.
The drama shows immediate weakness with a feeble intro.Both girls are assigned to the boys to help them train for the upcoming exams. Chi-ang and Seon-ah are paired together, while Si-woo team up with Soon-deok. I can already see the drama's intended direction of romantic relationships. The latter pair starts to spend a lot of time together much to Chi-ang's dismay. While the boys are falling deeper into infatuation, Soon-deok hasn't really shown signs of liking either of them, so it's all just one-sided love at the moment. I do hope that as the drama progresses, Soon-deok's character is given more attention and development.
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