Synopsis
The film vividly shows how the violent belief that only the top can urvive kills young people. Pong-gu and Chon-jae, both second-graders at a high school, lead their school lives actively doing what they want to despite poor school records. In contrast, Un-ju usually tops at her school, but she can't think or makes choices on her own. Everything that consists of her life is controlled by her mother's selfishness. When Un-ju scores poorly at the mid-term examination, she feels her parents' cold attitudes and, being unable to overcome the stressful situation, she plunges herself to death. Her will says "children hate parents because of school records and friends hate friends for the same reason," clearly pointing at who is her real killer. More alarming is the math teacher's reaction to the mourning classmates of Un-ju. As they prepare to attend Un-ju's funeral, the teacher says they should not go there because students of other schools would be wrestling with math problems at that time. The teacher's remark is a significant metaphor saying that such a terrible attitude is not a surprise in our school environment. Students are forced to accept such a subhuman moral in the name of competition and victory. We can't but admit that our society has lost the guilty conscience. It's funny to see the younger faces of the now grown-up actors Min-jong Kim and Po-song Kim and actress Mi-yon Lee. Actor Tok-hwa Lee who often acted as a tough guy in late-teen movies of the 1970s is a physical education teacher in this film. Lee still remains an unrefined tough guy, though older. Min-jong Kim does the role Lee did 20 years ago.