3 Reasons To Watch Super Entertaining Action Comedy "Undercover High School"

What happens when a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent exchanges his government duties for a school uniform? Seo Kang Jun is the ace NIS agent Jeong Hae Seong, who is deputed to track down the historic missing gold of Emperor Gojong. However, they receive a tip that the treasure lies buried somewhere in the premises of the super elite Byungmun High School, and for the sake of his mission he must disguise himself as a high school student.

Hae Seong could be up for his biggest challenge ever. Not only does he have to make the mission impossible possible, but surviving the life of a 17-year-old at age 31 is no easy task, even for a daredevil like him. Things get even trickier when his homeroom teacher, the spunky Oh Soo Ah (Jin Ki Joo), remains oddly suspicious of him. As our super sleuth tries to maneuver his way around school life and uncover the gold, there are misadventures aplenty as well as some nail-biting thrills and chills.

“Undercover High School” is high on entertainment and keeps up its pace, and there is no cause as to why it shouldn’t be on your list. But if you want to know more about the drama, here are three reasons to watch this rip-roaring action comedy.

Warning: some spoilers for the series below!

Seo Kang Jun as the maverick Jeong Hae Seong

“Undercover High School” belongs to Seo Kang Jun, who carries the show smoothly as agent Jeong Hae Seong.

We first meet Jeong Hae Seong when he is on an assignment to track down an illegal sale of a historical artifact. He succeeds, even putting his life at risk. However, the retrieved heirloom, a Buddha statue, loses its arm in the skirmish between Hae Seong and the thieves.

His superiors are not amused. They not only want Hae Seong out but his department disbanded. But department chief Ahn Seok Ho (Jeon Bae Soo) requests the director to rethink his decision to sack Hae Seong as well as dissolving their department.

Hae Seong is offered an important yet a degrading mission of sorts to redeem himself and save his department. He is assigned to go to Byungmun High School, which homes not only the most privileged students but also the 800 bars of gold that once belonged to Emperor Gojong.

Here is when the fun begins. 31-year-old Hae Seong is appalled at the suggestion of not only donning a school uniform but to also pose as a high school senior. But since duty calls, he has no choice in the matter. Passing off as a 17-year-old comes easy given his youthful looks, and he manages to turn heads on his arrival at school.

It is comical as he struggles in getting a grasp of not only the Gen Z lingo but also cramming the subjects, as he is convinced that the curriculum has been upgraded since he was last in school. Hae Seong discovers getting to the gold bars is way more trickier than he had imagined.

He’s also been warned by Ahn Seok Ho to keep a low profile in school, but that’s the one thing he is unable to do. From taking on the influential classroom bully for humiliating his meek desk mate, Lee Dong Min (Shin Joon Hang), to attracting the interest of the student union president, the bratty Lee Ye Na (Kim Min Ju), and constantly making his homeroom teacher Oh Soo Ah flustered, it seems trouble follows Hae Seong wherever he goes. To make matters worse, every time he tries snooping around the school premises, his mission gets aborted due to some interference.

As the chairwoman of the school starts suspecting his identity, Hae Seong, being who he is, cleverly outmaneuvers his detractors. But he gets shaken when he discovers that he has been assigned the very same mission which his father, a missing NIS agent, had been assigned to. It has been 20 years since his father went missing, and when he finds his father’s notebook with an important clue, Hae Seong feels cornered. As he carefully connects the dots, he understands there is more to it than meets the eye. He not only needs to get down to the murky business on hand, but he has to find out what led to his father’s disappearance.

Seo Kang Jun earns his stripes as Jeong Hae Seong. His screen presence apart, it is his brilliant performance which stands out. From the action sequences to his comedic timing, he not only showcases his range as an actor effortlessly but also makes his character lovable and endearing.

Jin Ki Joo as the high-spirited homeroom teacher

Jin Ki Joo stars as Oh Soo Ah, a homeroom teacher at Byungmun High School. She is spunky and doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind, which often gets her into trouble with the vice principal. Being an ad-hoc teacher, it is imperative she watches what she says and does, but Soo Ah has never been one to toe the line.

Oh Soo Ah first runs into Hae Seong at her mother’s restaurant when he takes on some bullies on their behalf. She stands amazed while seeing his effortless fighting skills and afterwards tells her mother that her heart was beating erratically.

However, she is highly suspicious of him when he arrives as the new transfer student. He spells trouble for her. Not only has he been snooping around the school premises, but he has also been creating ruckus on campus, in this case fighting with fellow students. She is constantly summoning him to the counseling room.

She soon discovers it’s not Hae Seong but another student who has been bullying his classmates and extorting money. Hae Seong calmly asks her if she plans to overlook the bullying. But Soo Ah rises to the occasion, supporting Hae Seong in standing up against the bully.

It also doesn’t help that Hae Seong’s actions are oddly similar to her childhood best friend and elementary school crush, but what are the possibilities that he could be the same person?

As she gets more suspicious about his identity and wondering if he really is a student, she sets out to investigate him, discovering things she shouldn’t be. When he is compelled to disclose his identity to her, she decides to come on-board to cooperate with him and his team. This is when things get adorably hilarious. Their interactions as student-teacher as well as comrades on a mission are comical yet cute. Soo Ah has a crush on Hae Seong, and it is serendipity when he discovers she is indeed his childhood bestie. There is a sudden shift in the way he starts seeing her, and there is warmth and affection in his eyes. It makes you want to see more of the budding romance between these two.

Jin Ki Joo is a riot as the vivacious Soo Ah. She is a complete natural, and her expressive face highlights the confusion and chaos which follows her everywhere she goes. She and Seo Kang Jun complement each other, being totally in sync, which makes their chemistry comes across as very organic.

High school, high stakes, and hijinks

Byungmun High School is no ordinary institution. There are power dynamics at play and a stringent social hierarchy to be toed. There is the power-hungry and cold chairwoman, Seo Myung Joo (Kim Shin Rok), who on the surface acts as if it is the education of her students which is of paramount interest while also trying to get her hands on the gold bars. With her strong network of connections, she is not a woman to be messed with. Intrigued by the evasive new student Hae Seong, it seems she knows more about him than she lets on. Could she be Hae Seong’s biggest adversary? His arch-nemesis who also holds the clue to his father’s disappearance?

Meanwhile, Hae Seong discovers that navigating high school politics is tougher than being a NIS agent. To fit in and make it to the popularity charts, there is a pecking order determined by one’s wealth and influence.

Lee Ye Na, the chairwoman’s daughter, is the school’s most stand-offish as well as authoritative student. President of the student council, Ye Na is overwhelmed by her mother’s overbearing nature and is under constant duress to excel. She takes pleasure in intimidating people, especially towards Hae Seong’s family friend and younger sister figure Ahn Yoo Jung (Park Se Hyun). Ye Na treats Yoo Jung as her maid, making her do menial jobs, which Yoo Jung complies with as to fit in.

Fitting in is the key word at Byungmun, and those who don’t are bullied and ostracized, as in the case of Lee Dong Min. Lee Dong Min, being an orphan, is constantly attacked by Park Tae Soo (Jang Sung Bum), who attacks him and also extorts money. Being the son of a powerful assemblyman, no one raises any objection toward Tae Soo, including the teachers who overlook his actions. But Hae Seong is the one who changes the equation. Having been bullied in school himself, he empowers Dong Min and makes him confident to stand up for himself.

The show highlights how one’s formative years play a crucial part in shaping the adults we become. Tae Soo and Ye Na believe that dominating over the meek make them powerful, while Yoo Jung and Dong Min think being manipulated and non-confrontational is the best way to adapt in society.

Amidst this mayhem and an education scam brewing in the school, there is a romantic hijink in play. The budding romance between Hae Seong and Soo Ah after Soo Ah finds out his identity as a secret agent is uproarious. Hae Seong is aware of her presence around him, and Soo Ah’s excitement on being part of the mission is palpable, even more so when having Hae Seong around her makes her heart do strange cartwheels. When he tells her he is the young classmate she had been looking for, it’s perhaps the first time we see the talkative Soo Ah at a loss for words.

As Hae Seong finds himself in several situations beyond comprehension, “Undercover High School” does a first class job in maintaining the momentum. The taut pace and clever writing weave in political intrigue, high school drama, and a rom-com with a dash of fun horror. A wholesome entertainer in every sense of the word, this drama keeps you engaged, giving an equal measure of thrills and laughter.

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Hey Soompiers, have you checked out “Undercover High School”? If so, what did you like about it? Let us know in the comments!

Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.