‘Good Competition’ has confirmed its February launch, and is drawing attention by revealing the script reading site.

‘Good Competition’ (Planned by: STUDIO X+U / Produced by: YLAB FLEX, STUDIO X+U / Directed by: Kim Tae-hee / Scriptwriters: Kim Tae-hee, Min Ye-ji), which will be presented as STUDIO X+U‘s first work in 2025 in February, is a mystery girl thriller about ‘Seul-gi’, a transfer student to Chaehwa Girls’ High School, one of the top 1% in Korea where a cutthroat college entrance exam competition takes place, and her friends who reveal their individual desires, as well as the suspicious death of her father, who was a member of the CSAT committee. It is heralding the birth of the best problematic work of 2025 by realistically depicting everything from the friendship of high school girls to their honest desires that have never been dealt with before.

In the meantime, the script reading site for ‘Good Competition’ announcing the energetic sortie on January 7th was revealed. On this day, director Kim Tae-hee, writer Min Ye-ji, and the main actors Lee Hye-ri (as Yoo Je-i), Jung Soo-bin (as Woo Seul-gi), Kang Hye-won (as Joo Ye-ri), Oh Woo-ri (as Choi Kyung), Kim Tae-hoon (as Yoo Tae-joon), and Choi Young-jae (as Nam Byung-jin) all showed up for the first time and worked together.

First, Lee Hye-ri plays the role of Yoo Je-i, a genius high school girl who is the real power behind Chaehwa Girls‘ High School and is in the top 0.1%, and she caught everyone’s attention with a completely different charm than before. Lee Hye-ri made everyone hold their breath and focus on every single word of her lines with her overwhelming charisma. This unique aura of Lee Hye-ri heightened the tension of the drama.



Jung Soo-bin, who plays Woo Seul-gi who receives Yoo Je-yi‘s attention, delicately portrayed the emotional range of Woo Seul-gi after transferring to Chaehwa Girls’ High School, adding to the immersion of the drama. Jung Soo-bin uniquely expressed Woo Seul-gi, who has a contrasting background of being from a wealthy family, an orphanage background, a respected school powerhouse, and an ostracized transfer student, with her own charm, and held the center of gravity of the drama.

Kang Hye-won then took on the role of Joo Ye-ri, the queen of gossip at Chaehwa Girls‘ High School and a living, breathing high-teen heroine, adding liveliness to the drama. She garnered attention for her three-dimensional portrayal of Joo Ye-ri’s calculating side behind her appearance, which is more obsessed with looks and luxury goods than studying.

Oh Woo-ri took on the role of Choi Kyung, a perennial second-place finisher who is not recognized for her efforts. Ouri is a typical model student who is passionate about everything, but she left an impact by strongly expressing Choi Kyung‘s inferiority complex because she cannot beat Jay, who is naturally superior in all aspects.

Actor Kim Tae-hoon, who presents unique acting in every work, added weight to the work by playing the role of Yoo Tae-joon, Yoo Jae-yi’s father and the director of J Medical Center. Lastly, Youngjae, formerly of GOT7, displayed his broad acting spectrum by transforming into a charming character who creates suspense amidst a feast of female characters.

What was most impressive was the explosive chemistry between Lee Hye-ri, Jung Soo-bin, Kang Hye-won, and Ouri, who played four complexly and subtly intertwined high school girls. The script reading alone was enough to immerse viewers in the drama, with the actors‘ passionate performances that led the drama in an interesting way, sharing various emotions that high school girls in their teens can feel toward each other, such as friendship, admiration, jealousy, and obsession.

Meanwhile, Lee Hye-ri, Jung Soo-bin, Kang Hye-won, and Oh Woo-ri’s ‘Friendly Competition’, which showed special passion from the first scene and raised expectations for the drama, can be seen on U+Mobile TV and U+tv in February.

Choi Yoon-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com