Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy

Cast:
Gong Hyo Jin
Gong Yoo
Kim Da Hyeon
Choi Yeo Jin
Jang Hee Jin

No matter how my sister often argues with me about Gong Hyo Jin being an impressive and talented actress, I could not help being resolute about it because she is, indeed, a great actress. From her tranquil performance in Guns and Talk, to her rowdy demeanor in Conduct Zero; from her combative undertaking in Volcano High to her wailing days in Sang Doo Let’s Go To School, it seems that she is progressing in every role that is set for her. In this particular drama, she plays the role of Na Bo Ri (funny because Bo Ri is the name of her niece in Sang Doo). Bo Ri was once kicked out of school because of behavioral misunderstanding. Ever since, she worked as hard as she can to be able to go through college. She is an aspiring teacher because she wanted to erase the memory of her cruel past when she was alleged of a misdemeanor, and she wanted to meet the man of her dreams for the past 6 years, her Art teacher, Ji Hyun Woo.




The men in this drama should not be taken as the usual men that most Korean dramas have. In fact, the love triangle is not as simple and done to death as the typical ones that we had. Ji Hyun Woo, played by the singer Kim Da Hyun is Na Bo Ri’s Art teacher and long time crush. He also, without the knowledge of Na Bo Ri, has a long time attraction to her. When Bo Ri was assigned to be the special teacher of Park Tae In (Gong Yoo), the latter fell in love with her. But Bo Ri, at first, does not want Tae In (he is her student for education’s sake!). Tae In’s classmate, played by the actress Choi Yeo Jin, is the one who is deeply in love with him. Bo Ri and Hyun Woo’s love relationship, on the other, will be spoiled once Jang Hee Jin (Hyun Woo’s supposed fiancée) comes back from France.





And one more thing that the viewers will take note of is the inevitable and crucial tendency of one to have a hard time choosing between the two men vying to be the apple of Bo Ri’s eyes. Unlike in other Korean dramas, men are meant to be competing with each other but never to be on the same footing. To give concrete examples:

1. Lee Young Jae vs. Yoo Min Hyuk (Full House)

Some people would want Young Jae because of his playfulness, but some will choose Min Hyuk because of how he treats the lead female, Han Ji Eun. To do reverse, people will hate Young Jae because he is very childish and prideful. On the other, some will hate Min Hyuk because he has the predisposition of a womanizer.

2. Cha Sang Doo vs. Kang Min Suk (Sang Doo, Let’s Go To School)

Even if Sang Doo is the main lead and despite the fact that Rain plays the main role, he is still a gigolo with a sick daughter to raise. Some might dislike the doctor Kang Min Suk because the lead, Chae Eun Hwan, is just using him to forget her love in the past.

3. Cha Song Ju vs. Han Tae Hwa (Stairway to Heaven)

Han Tae Hwa is very pitiful. But without him, things would have been easier for Song Ju and Jung Suh. On the other, some will hate Song Ju for being blind to what is happening around him. And how come he agrees to be engaged with the evil Yu Ri?


4. Prince Shin vs. Prince Yul (Princess Hours)

Both are lovable. Prince Shin in his majestic looks, Prince Yul with his appeal. Some might hate Shin because of his two-timer/I-want-it-all attitude when it comes to his girlfriend and Chae Kyoung. Some might hate Yul because he is plotting something against the Royal family.


Now, if we will compare Park Tae In against his uncle, Jin Hyun Woo, both will be likable and err, indispensable for a woman. Although Tae In is just a high school student, one can see the potential in him to be very successful because of his hard work and determination. He is the typical problem child who gets into numerous and random fights because he is rebelling against his father, who he thought, never loved his late mom. He always insinuates that he never cried after his mom committed suicide. But after meeting his Biscuit Teacher, Bo Ri, he completely became a changed person. He experienced love for the first time because for him, only his mother gave and showed him that love. Although his love may be rooted as lack of filial love, the viewer can still sense that innocence and purity that he shows to Bo Ri. In fact, there were some scenes in the drama wherein his love can be regarded as unconditional (though he at times, go to the church and prays for Bo Ri to love him) when he prepared the engagement party in his class for Bo Ri and his uncle and when he called his uncle every time Bo Ri will run to him for help.




Likewise, let us take a look at Ji Hyun Woo, who is Bo Ri’s Art teacher and Tae In’s uncle. He is the man of every woman’s dreams. He is very handsome, comes from a good family, has a very bright future, loves to paint and is very sensible. Bo Ri had a long time crush on him since her high school days in school. Although he is very dream-like, he changed this dream misconception into reality when he confessed to Bo Ri that he had liked her since their teacher-student relationship days. Imagine, your teacher waiting for you to graduate so that both of you can be mature enough to be in a romantic relationship! I was suddenly reminded of my professors and teachers whom I admired years ago! So Bo Ri did not do anything when they met again to make her teacher fall in love with her. It was a long time attraction.

Whew! So if you are or I am Na Bo Ri, who will you or I choose? Someone who waited for me and I waited for in the past 6 years, or someone who I feel comfortable with and someone whom I starting to love?

To go off on a tangent, let’s move on to the substantial value and point this drama has made in our society because that’s what dramas and other media production should do, right? Anyhow, the setting revolves around the school vicinity. The characters fill up the roles of teachers and students. Love intercedes with a very critical and sensitive relationship of teachers and students. A student falling in love with a teacher and vice-versa can be one of the factors to subvert the traditional system of education in our society. This drama also contests the status quo of the educators in different schools and institutions. Most of the teachers portrayed in the drama are the strict and terror ones who always resort to punishment and humiliation once the students are alleged to perpetrate or do an act of offense. This so-called subversion is very much evident in the role of Gong Hyo Jin as a teacher. Na Bo Ri’s character is very much likened to that of the teacher in the Japanese manga, Gokusen, and Takuya Kimura’s helpful character in another Japanese drama, Engine. She makes sure that every action of a student in school is rooted from family and personal matters. Students rebel with a reason. Students fail with a reason. For her, there is no such thing as a permanent nuisance.

In one of the episodes, a very calm teacher/adviser mentioned to the principal, “Students should always be kept in school. Expulsion would do them no good. Students come to school to study. If they are expelled, where else can they properly learn from?” So it is foreseeable that this drama will be a good commendation for the role of guidance counselors and homeroom advisers. Aspiring teachers like myself (although I am currently teaching already) will learn a lot from this drama. Education and the educator should always complement the ones to be educated. This is a call for student-centeredness in schools, colleges and universities. Although we still have a majority of traditional schools, this drama gives confidence to break free from tradition and initiate, invigorate and ignite pure and free spirits to do something essential and fundamental to make not only the students, but also ourselves, learn.