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Netflix Releases Controversial K‑Drama Teach You A Lesson

The adaptation revives debate over racist imagery and violent vigilante discipline while creators say they revised the webtoon to add nuance and prompt public reflection.

Overview

  • Teach You A Lesson is now available on Netflix as a 10‑episode K‑drama adapted from the 2020 Naver webtoon Get Schooled.
  • The original webtoon drew accusations that it portrayed a mixed‑race Black student as a violent bully and that it glorified corporal punishment and public humiliation.
  • The series centers on a government‑authorised Educational Rights Protection Bureau that uses force to intervene in failing schools and defend victims.
  • Director Hong Jong‑chan and cast members have said they reworked characters and scenes to add empathy and complexity and to encourage reflection rather than endorsement of violence.
  • The adaptation has prompted renewed criticism from teachers’ groups and commentators and revived debate over how Korean media should handle bullying, race and state power after Naver removed the webtoon from its North American platform in 2023.