“It is the near future, and student violence in schools is out of control. In a questionnaire survey for teachers, 98.6% say it is far more challenging to teach students than in the past, and 85.8% say it is not only more challenging but now dangerous.” (Ablaze)
To combat this issue, the Ministry of Education and the National Assembly evoke the Teaching Rights Protection Act that allows certain teachers complete freedom and amnesty to reform schools as they see fit. Hwajin Na is a star agent of the program, willing to get results by any means necessary, including going toe-to-toe with rebellious youth.
Yongtaek Chae's “Get Schooled” is relatively simple in its structure. It presents a bully or group of bullies worthy of scorn, insert Hwajin Na to exact some vengeance on behalf of the nerd being beaten up, and celebrate, repeat..repeat… However, Yongtaek Chae manages to keep the series out of the realm of mundane repetition by taking the stories of school reform to their most extreme and over-the-top. “Get Schooled” is pure sensationalism in the most complimentary of ways.
Bullies are easy fodder, offering that instant cathartic release from seeing the tables turned once Hwajin Na enters a school and starts beating them into submission. At least, this is the case in the inaugural volume, which covers two schools and is similar in using brawn to beat the unruly youth into submission. Consequently, both segments hit those sweet notes of tearing down a character who believes they are beyond reproach. This makes the book a page-turner with nary a dull moment or pause in pace.
However, one of the most pleasant surprises comes from Yongtaek Chae's sharp comedic wit, which adds levity to the otherwise brutal nature of the story. Small instances, such as teachers gushing about a returned beating rod, offer these hilarious notes to the series that help further establish the kind of ‘cool' aesthetic that Hwajin Na exudes while keeping the book from becoming too dreary in its approach.
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Visually, Garam Han knows how to construct action scenes and tap into the chaos of a school turned violent. This will provide a huge draw to the series for action fans, and the book is at its best when things get chaotic. Perhaps more critical is Han's ability to convey the larger-than-life personality of Hwajin Na, who can fluctuate between calm composure and a courageous force of chaos. Visually, the edition hits all the right notes, and the pairing of Yongtaek Chae & Garam Han is perfect.
The potential downfall of “Get Schooled” comes when one begins to step back from the sensational violence and bully-driven narratives meant to evoke a visceral hatred and subsequent cathartic release once revenge is enacted. Unfortunately, this also places the series in a moral gray area, as violence and life ruination become the solution to bullying. When viewed objectively, Hwajin Na is not necessarily much better than any of the thugs he beats up, hiding his violence behind a loose morality which the book fails to explore beyond a surface level of wanting ‘order.'
This further muddles the anti-bullying message as the extremes one has to go through to ‘learn their lesson' only scratches the surface of these issues. “Get Schooled” comes across more as a revenge fantasy than attempting to address the youth's culturally rooted deeper issues in each story. Essentially, a person beaten into servitude, even for the ‘greater good,' only confirms the human ability to bully others into similar thinking–antithetical to what the WebToon seems to be combating.
The lack of exploring these complexities can be brushed aside for indulgence in the over-the-top violence and comedy that Yongtaek Chae expertly crafts. However, its surface-level approach leaves the series as just that, basic content hiding under the guise of a ‘meaningful revenge' that contains no substance behind anyone's actions. Whether readers desire that or a more profound exploration of the culture that creates and rewards bullies is likely to determine whether the book clicks with them.
It is easy to get lost in the shiny veneer of “Get Schooled,” and one can garner a tremendous amount of entertainment from the action, comedy, and sensational premise. Most readers will be content to exist in that space, and the Webtoon's popularity and success before seeing print indicates an audience seeking that cathartic escapism. Don't dig deeper or look for flaws in logic; you will have a blast watching Hwajin Na beat up and ridicule children (who happen to be bullies).
