Synopsis
The film ignited a boom of movies highlighting the lives of high schoolers in the 1970s. Like the best-seller novel of the same title published in the 1960s that offered the basis to the film, it was a box-office hit. Three characters showing the typical Korean high school boys appear in the film. The main character always causes troubles, one of them poses as a macho, and the other is a studious yet weak-minded boy. Their personalities are exposed in detail in their interaction with a newly-arrived teacher. The theme of the film is as simple as that of any other movies of the decade. Don't ever be frustrated, poverty is something uncomfortable yet it is nothing to be ashamed of, the sun rises again over the clouds tomorrow... The film is abundant in funny episodes and laughter. However, even more attractive than the theme is the customs and manners of the high school students 20 years ago. Their naivety makes the film interesting and enchanting. Among the many popular words and phrases the film produced was "Agidari gogidari don deit (Ah, the date I've been longing for)" which the protagonist Tu-su Na chanted, thinking of the daughter of his teacher's boarding house owner. Grammatically the phrase should read as "A gidarigo gidaridon deit." The film shows the youthful faces of actor Myong-jung Ha and actress Yun-hi Chung, both of whom are no longer seen on the screen, and of the late Hyon Chang as the leader of a sing-along. One important problem is that there is almost no teacher as generous and understanding as the one played by Ha throughout the country. Ha's character may have misled the audience in that sense.