[Drama 2013] The Queen's classroom 여왕의 교실

[raindrops1]

I just finished watching the first episode and it was really, really good. The weirdest thing happened because I found myself crying right along with HN in the hallway. I found myself there suddenly in tears. I love her character already.

Just finished episode 2 and once again I was crying at the end with HN and DG. I like how the show and the teacher don't go the expected route. It's a very compelling show and nothing like any of the other dramas I'm watching which makes it that more interesting.

[Guest manquant]

Yay~ I love it that more people are posting here. And ratings have grown? So much better~ \:D/
Hello to familiar faces @Beekinga @raindrops1 :-h
@robbo4 I also think Seo Shinae will get some big role too, judging from the previews. I think Ma seonsaengnim offered to be by her side if the kid will follow her. :>

I have a feeling Eun Bomi might be like a 'spy' for Ma seonsaengnim, as referred to by this poster~
All the chodings are adorable and wonderful in their acting but my favorites are Kim Saeron (Seohyun) and Kim Hyangi (Hana). 8-> :x
In fairness, the adaptation had been so far, so good. I think a lot we're doubting Go Hyunjung-ssi because she kept on smiling whereas the original actress in the Jdorama doesn't even flinch. But I beg to disagree. The Kdrama version has been successful in portraying Ma Yeojin as a teacher with not-so-conventional methods but also, with genuine concern for the kids. I don't think it was purely a tactic on her part that scene where she promised to each mother that she'll bring out the best in each kid (although she didn't mention she'll do that by breaking them first). I was so afraid she'll take that money gift from Nari omma who by the way, is a shady character. Ma seonsaeng's smiling then steely glance doesn't betray what's in her mind. ^^ Also, that white butterfly scene makes me really curious, what makes her tick? She seems to be (and also not) in control of what she's doing/becoming...  

[conankung]

Raising my hand here as the one who was also sobbing along with Hana in both episodes. Kim Hyang Gi and Chun Bo Geun are winning my heart right now and I'm sure the other kids will too when their storylines become more prominent. Can't wait for the story to focus on Seo Shin Ae's character since we didn't get to know much about her in the first 2 eps.

As for Go Hyun Jung, I don't really have any more words of praise for her. She perfected Mishil in Queen Seondeok and she's perfecting Teaher Ma Yeo Jin here. I too want to know her backstory and I'm sure they'll show us. Do you guys think the principal knows something about her? She just seems too inattentive. (I've never watched the Japanese version so I don't know any details about other characters.)

[Guest manquant]

conankung said:

Raising my hand here as the one who was also sobbing along with Hana in both episodes. Kim Hyang Gi and Chun Bo Geun are winning my heart right now and I'm sure the other kids will too when their storylines become more prominent. Can't wait for the story to focus on Seo Shin Ae's character since we didn't get to know much about her in the first 2 eps.

As for Go Hyun Jung, I don't really have any more words of praise for her. She perfected Mishil in Queen Seondeok and she's perfecting Teaher Ma Yeo Jin here. I too want to know her backstory and I'm sure they'll show us. Do you guys think the principal knows something about her? She just seems too inattentive. (I've never watched the Japanese version so I don't know any details about other characters.)

[raindrops1]

@manquant hello. Great to see you here.

I also get the feeling that the principal knows teacher Ma's back story. I'm eager to find out more about her.

I could not help think of Nanny McPhee when watching the episodes because the show has a magical touch to it.

I'm really looking forward to the next episode.

[Guest robs1430291557]

@raindrops1. Thank you...I kept thinking this show reminds me of something, but could not think what, and you nailed it...Nanny McPhee!!!!

[raindrops1]

@raindrops1. Thank you...I kept thinking this show reminds me of something' date=' but could not think what, and you nailed it...Nanny McPhee!!!![/quote']

@robs I'm glad someone got with Nanny McPhee vibes. I was not sure if anyone else would see it. Even the music in some parts of the episode reminded me of Nanny McPhee. In addition certain elements like the wind suddenly blowing teacher Ma suddenly appearing and the butterfly appearing.

The show just has such a wonderful mix of different things that I don't think it can pinned down and categorized as just one thing. Everyone in the cast is doing a great job.

[Beekinga]

About the bribe.  Did Miss Ma  not take it, then?  I'm doubting there.  I bet that scene is going to come up again later on...
About the children actors, I bet I've seen them previously, but right now I don't know where.  The little clownish one made me cry buckets with his story on the 2nd ep...and its not like I haven't seen the argument time and time and time again.  (Mexicans deal with servants who are in fact rich heirs to the master of the house where heroines are employed as nothing short of scullery maids...Colombians deal with idealized narcotics worlds (lately), Argentinians deal with post military regime traumas; Koreans deal with mothers abandoning children constantly) Still that little child with his Miss Rose to keep him company in his harsh reality pulled all my sentimental strings last night.  

[Guest robs1430291557]

Beekinga said: About the bribe.  Did Miss Ma  not take it, then?  I'm doubting there.  I bet that scene is going to come up again later on...
About the children actors, I bet I've seen them previously, but right now I don't know where.  The little clownish one made me cry buckets with his story on the 2nd ep...and its not like I haven't seen the argument time and time and time again.  (Mexicans deal with servants who are in fact rich heirs to the master of the house where heroines are employed as nothing short of scullery maids...Colombians deal with idealized narcotics worlds (lately), Argentinians deal with post military regime traumas; Koreans deal with mothers abandoning children constantly) Still that little child with his Miss Rose to keep him company in his harsh reality pulled all my sentimental strings last night.  

[Guest anj726]

first four episodes and I'm quite delighted on the way they have presented the show. I love  じょおうのきょうしつ (Queen's Classroom), Amami Yuki was very scary then. The reason why Maya-sensei became the way she is now was shown in the two SP episodes in the Japanese version. I really cried during their graduation scene. 

[Guest hapha8714]

please don't spoil us of anything about this drama.
i have NOT watched the japanese version of it too. and i prefer not to



favor please! no spoilers

[Guest NEWMARIO]

The Queen's Classroom: Episode 2 Review

2013/06/16 | 19 views | Permalink | 0 Comments

0

"The Queen's Classroom" is absolutely riveting. It has a magnetic emotional draw that is created by a combination of excellent writing, music, directing and acting. Especially the acting, which is essential in a character-driven drama. These kids are simply amazing. Most dramas rest on the shoulders of adults, but this one rests firmly on the shoulders of a classroom of twelve-year-olds. That's quite a task for such a young cast.

Their leader, Ko Hyeon-jeong, brings frightening life to her well-written character, the mysterious and cruel Ma Yeo-jin. Ma is darkly clever and uses that to terrorize her students. When one student, Go Na-ri (Lee Yeong-yoo), takes courage and tells her school board mother about the things happening in the classroom, the kids take hope that their school situation will improve. Na-ri's mother gathers the other mothers and together they storm the school, ready to raise hell. They leave believing that Ma walks on water and support her teaching methods.

The kids are, in effect, left alone in Ma's classroom with no outside interference, which is exactly what Ma wanted.

Dong-goo from The Queen's Classroom Episode 2

One child, however, was already alone: funny man Oh Dong-goo (Cheon Bo-geun). We learned last episode that he has a pretty lonely homelife. He also gets bullied by two older students who are quite brutal with their beatings and demands for money. They wait for him everyday after school to torture him - Teacher Ma watches the torture from afar.

Instead of stopping the bullies, Ma teaches Dong-goo how to handle them himself. Against someone more powerful than him, a person can only run away. If he can't, then he should surrender. If he has the courage, he can risk his life because "violence against the weak stems from cowardliness. You must attack that cowardice and risk your life".

Is this military training for a death mission or an elementary school seminar?

But when Dong-goo takes courage and faces his bullies, they are completely unnerved by his newfound courage; he called them cowards and dared them to beat him further. If they did, they knew they'd kill him. That is a terrifying thought. The bullies leave him.

Ma gave Dong-goo courage and for that, she earns his loyalty and admiration. That should be a good thing. But Ma doesn't see it that way. She sees it as weakness. To expunge the weakness from him, she decides to strip him down further. She humiliates him to the point of tears in front of his classmates by telling them his tragic story: his teenaged mother left him with his grandfather because she didn't like him. No one else does either.

Ha-na speaks up and declares that she likes him as a friend. Then she levels a challenging stare at her teacher. I wonder what Ma will say to that to further crush these childrens' spirits.

Teacher Ma Yeo-jin isn't a psychopath or a sadist. There are a few fleeting moments of empathy expressed by the twitch of a brow or a shaky sigh. But, those moments make her much scarier. She has decided to be cruel to teach her students what she believes is right: the world won't help you so you need to help yourself. While this is true to an extent, we are human for a reason. We bond and have empathy. We make friends and love.

The question is: why is she this way? What has the world done to Ma to make her so fatalistic? The directorial and writing decisions shroud her in mystery. We rarely get full body shots of Ma unless she's about to take someone down, be it child or parent. Most of the time we see her feet, or her arms, or her face. Bits and pieces of a woman turned into a monster.

The mothers' interviews took place in a dark room where only Ma's face was lit and the parents were spotlighted like criminals being interviewed. When Ma watches Dong-goo, we see her silhouette and the wind blows eerily. It's a secretive style of camera work that is in direct juxtaposition with how the students and other teachers are filmed: with lots of light and color. I love this kind of camera storytelling.

And, as a musician, I can't neglect to mention the fabulous score. It's fully orchestrated and uses original material rather than the karaoke versions of the OST songs.

But more than all of that, I really want to see what happens. I've been drawn into this world. I feel for these kids. I'm curious about this teacher. And I don't want to wait a whole week to watch episode 3.

Written by Raine from Raine's Dichotomy

"The Queen's Classroom" is directed by Lee Dong-yoon, written by Kim Eun-hee-II and Kim Won-seok and features Ko Hyeon-jeong, Seo Sin-ae, Kim Sae-ron, Ricky Kim, Kim Hyang-ki and Choi Yoon-yeong-I.

cr: hancinema.net

[Guest manquant]

hapha8714 said: please don't spoil us of anything about this drama.
i have NOT watched the japanese version of it too. and i prefer not to



favor please! no spoilers

[conankung]

From Kim Sae Ron's twitter:
Hyang Gi drawing Sae Ron's picture.


credit https://twitter.com/yuk0731

[badsmuler]

class="content-title" SHINee Dances with Child Actors in “The Queen’s Classroom” OST Music Video

Group SHINee brightened the set of the drama “The Queen’s Classroom” with their participation in the music video filming for the drama’s OST.

While most drama OST music videos only show scenes from the drama, SHINee is making this one unique by singing the song and featuring in the music video. The members of SHINee and most of the actors from the drama filmed the music video at a junior high school on June 12. The child actors, Kim Hyang Gi, Chun Bo Geun, Kim Sae Ron, Lee Young Yoo, and adult actors Choi Yoon Young and Ricky Kim, danced along with SHINee at the set of the music video, creating a fun atmosphere for this unique music video. The child actors also followed around SHINee during break times, asking to take pictures with the members, making the set energetic. 

The music video will be released June 20 and will be shown at the end of episode 4 of “The Queen’s Classroom.” The drama airs Wed-Thurs 10PM KST on MBC.

Credit : http://www.soompi.com/2013/06/16/shinee-dances-with-child-actors-in-the-queens-classroom-ost-music-video/

[Guest anj726]

badsmuler said: class="content-title" SHINee Dances with Child Actors in “The Queen’s Classroom” OST Music Video

Group SHINee brightened the set of the drama “The Queen’s Classroom” with their participation in the music video filming for the drama’s OST.

While most drama OST music videos only show scenes from the drama, SHINee is making this one unique by singing the song and featuring in the music video. The members of SHINee and most of the actors from the drama filmed the music video at a junior high school on June 12. The child actors, Kim Hyang Gi, Chun Bo Geun, Kim Sae Ron, Lee Young Yoo, and adult actors Choi Yoon Young and Ricky Kim, danced along with SHINee at the set of the music video, creating a fun atmosphere for this unique music video. The child actors also followed around SHINee during break times, asking to take pictures with the members, making the set energetic. 

The music video will be released June 20 and will be shown at the end of episode 4 of “The Queen’s Classroom.” The drama airs Wed-Thurs 10PM KST on MBC.

Credit : http://www.soompi.com/2013/06/16/shinee-dances-with-child-actors-in-the-queens-classroom-ost-music-video/

[Guest anj726]

DespicableC said: Watched the first two episodes of this show and I loved it. The kids are such great actors, especially the one who plays the main girl. After watching the episodes I saw that it was based on a Japanese series, and so I watched that version and the Korean version seems to be pretty much following that story in the same way. If they stay true to the Japanese version, we're in for some good stuff.

[gene71632]

Love this drama after watching ep 1. Another gem. Must find time to watch ep 2. So many dramas so little time.

[Guest guadi]

I saw the first two episodes last weekend. Ohmy! I've never cried as much in the span of two hours as I did watching the first two episodes, and it wasn't sad tears. The story is so endearing; brings back memories of my elementary school days about 200 years ago minus the smartphones  
I really like how this story typifies a school environment - it has a little bit of everything ranging from forming a cliche, overbearing parents, bad grades, bullies etc... I like that the story is NOT entirely centered around bullies because there are other problems about school that should be addressed as well. The kids are amazing; wonderfully acted. And Go Hyun-jung is Go Hyun-jung. She is such a great actress. I also like that she gains a little bit of weight making her feel more like a "normal" teacher; not someone who looks like a mannequin. Can't wait to see her background story. 
The music is lovely. I like the scary background with blowing wind whenever Teacher Ma appears ) Overall, a really good first two episodes. Looking forward to watching more. 
If I have to nitpick one thing is how Teacher Ma knows every single thing about her students. That is a tiny bit stalk-ish. 

[jlssi20]

teacher Ma is daebak! i'm so touched and moved with GHY acting. She perfectly fits with her character. It was a bit creepy when teacher Ma appeared without their knowing. Definitely a must watch on the currently airing kdrama today's.