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[Guest Post] "The King of High School Manners" And the Problem of Love Lines

TvN's drama, "The King of High School Manners", has been receiving great ratings for a cable tv drama. With a great cast, including Seo In-guk, Lee Ha-na, and Lee Soo-hyuk to name a few, there is no doubt that this drama is going to be another hit on TvN's record.

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However, there is one factor of the drama that seems to have it's international audience shifting in discomfort. The love lines, or planned couples, that will feature in the drama.

On the one hand, you have Lee Min-seok's (Seo In-guk) high school classmate, Jeong Yoo-ah (Lee Yul-eum). She's obsessed with Min-seok, going to the point of calling him her husband and bugging his cell phone in order to track his whereabouts. She doesn't believe that Min-seok could possibly dislike her and instead takes Min-seok's continual rebuffs as challenges instead of toning down her displays of affection.

On the other hand, you have her sister, Jeong Soo-yeong (Lee Ha-na). Soo-yeong is a 27-year-old contract employee at Min-seok's new office. She alternates between being a sweet coworker and being so hopeless in love that you can't help but cringe. Her haplessness is particularly endearing to Min-seok who, as an immature 18 year old, particularly enjoys teasing her and making her life harder than it already is. She's also in love with Min-seok's rival, Director Yoo (Lee Soo-hyuk), who definitely doesn't return her feelings.

Neither female lead is particularly endearing for the audience. Yoo-ah is loud and obnoxious, Soo-yeong is so pitiful that at times it hurts to watch her continually fail at everything she does. However, at least Yoo-ah's age matches Min-seok's 18 years. Soo-yeong, however, is 9 years his senior and a semi-established career woman - quite the opposite of a junior in high school. Quite the interesting match.

From the posters that TvN released for this series, it appears as though Min-seok is heading towards a relationship with Soo-yeong, continuing the trend in cable drama noona romances. Or, of course, there could be some twist ending with Min-seok's older brother re-appearing and ending up with his coworker while Min-seok returns to high school and Yoo-ah. Despite Min-seok's continuing complaints about his classmate, in episode 4 he does prove that he cares about her and gives the audience hope for a future pairing between the two. For now, it's anyone's guess who the final couples will be.

What are your thoughts on the possible love lines in "The King of High School Manners"? Who are you rooting for?

 

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