Despite lasting 2 decades as a launch pad for dozens of A-list stars, the School series seems to have come to an end.
After going through a series of events, from changing actors, copyright disputes to delaying filming, School 2021 finally aired. However, even though the film was over halfway through, it was still turned away by viewers with low ratings.
School 2021‘s episode 1 started with a rating of 2.8% and continued to decrease in the following episodes. According to Nielsen Korea, the drama bottomed out in episode 10 with only 1.3%. In addition, it has not been discussed much on SNS.
This is a relatively disappointing achievement as School is the most popular and longest-running school series in Korea. Produced regularly since 1999, the film was a launch pad for top Korean actors such as Jang Hyuk, Bae Doo Na, Kim Rae Won, Kim Min Hee, Ha Ji Won, Jo In Sung, Lee Dong Wook, Im Soo Jung, Gong Yoo, Lee Jong Suk, Kim Woo Bin…
Since 2015, School series has no longer been appreciated because the storylines are caught up in issues outside of school. However, School 2015 and School 2017 still did well as important stepping stones for young cast members such as Kim So Hyun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Yook Sung Jae, Kim Se Jeong, Kim Jung Hyun, Jang Dong Yoon… As for School 2021, despite starring the center of Produce X Kim Yo Han, the drama is still ignored by Korean viewers. Many netizens believe that this could put an end to the School series for good.
Netizens’ comments:
- School flops so hard now. I don’t see anybody talking about School 2021.
- The plot is nothing new, the acting is mediocre. Previous School series were better.
- Since 2015, School has lost its quality. All start off fine but get worse towards the end. The best one is always School 2013. The viewership ratings were high.
- Starting from 2015, School is not the same. The ratings in Korea were low, but it is still famous internationally. From 2017, School flops everywhere.
- School series lost popularity a long time ago, not recently.
School 2021 depicts the lives of students at a specialized school who pursue their own dreams instead of going to college. The drama delves into love, friendship and what life is like for students who grow up in a stressful environment.
School 2021 airs every Wednesdays and Thursdays on KBS.
