Kim Shin-rok is showing off his skills in ‘Undercover High School’.

In MBC‘s Friday-Saturday drama ‘Undercover High School’ (planned by Nam Goong Sung-woo/written by Lim Young-bin/directed by Choi Jung-in/produced by Neo Entertainment, Slingshot Studio/hereafter ‘Underschool’), Kim Shin-rok is shaking up the drama as Seo Myeong-ju, the chairman of the Byungmoon Foundation and Byungmoon High School, who holds all of the money, power, and fame. He shows off his overwhelming charisma just by appearing, and he provides both tension and fun to the drama.

The meeting between Jung Hae-seong (played by Seo Kang-joon) and chairman Seo Myeong-ju (played by Kim Shin-rok) took our breath away at every moment. In the third episode, Myung-joo appeared in front of Hae-seong as he was looking at the grandfather clock related to the midnight ghost story. She froze Hae-seong with her barbed words, foreshadowing that their future meeting would be even more exciting. In addition, the fact that Myung-ju ordered Principal Park Jae-moon (played by Park Jin-woo) to kill security guard Kim (played by Goo Min-hyeok) and steal the notebook from Hae-sung without batting an eye was creepy.

In particular, at the end of the 8th episode, it was revealed that Myung-ju knew Hae-sung’s true identity, which greatly shocked the viewers. While Hae-sung was erasing access records from Myung-ju‘s computer, he found a file containing the operation plan and his personnel record card, suggesting that someone in the National Intelligence Service was in collusion with Myung-ju. In this way, Hae-sung and Myung-ju bump into and become entangled in the incidents that occur while chasing the whereabouts of the gold, adding to the fun.

The relationship between Myung-ju and contract teacher Oh Soo-ah (played by Jin Ki-joo) is also unusual. In the 8th episode, Myung-ju instructed Soo-ah, who had obtained the file on corruption in her school records, to follow her superior’s orders, citing the example of the Sino-Japanese War. However, Soo-ah did not follow through and pursued the internal corruption, and it is questionable whether Soo-ah, who has become a thorn in Myung-joo‘s side, will be able to see it through to the end.

In episode 5, the scene where Myung-joo mentally pressured her daughter Lee Ye-na (played by Kim Min-joo) made viewers’ hearts race. When Ye-na said she was late because she had dinner with a friend, Myung-joo said, “Was that really a necessary meal?” and pushed her to focus on her midterms. After that, Myung-joo grabbed Ye-na‘s hand and said, “Do you know that Mom loves Ye-na?”, which made the tension even higher. What’s more, in episode 7, she committed suicide in front of Ye-na after finding out that she had hurt herself, which was creepy. Also, in episode 8, when Han Seung-jae (played by Lee Hyun-so) badmouthed his daughter Ye-na in front of him, he slapped her in the bathroom and warned her, and he is mercilessly chasing down anyone who interferes with his plans, dominating the drama.

Kim Shin-rok overwhelmed the audience with his charismatic, intense gaze and actions, and he is tightly entangled with Seo Kang-joon, Jin Ki-joo, and Kim Min-joo, holding the viewers‘ attention. It makes us even more curious about what Myung-joo will do to protect her position and find the gold bars.

‘Undercover High School’ airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.

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

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.