Huayu: Hakgyo 2015

How would you react if your girlfriend started behaving differently, and one day you realize that she has been replaced by her twin sister? This is a possible scenario in the Korean high-school drama Who Are You? Or should we replace the lame title and call it Gagnam Mean Girls?

It is a typical body-swap story, just that no magic is needed. This kind of story is often comedic, but there are a few dark ones. This one has such relentless bullying, misery, and oppression that you'll never want to go back to school again.

There is also a tiny bit of romance, and a mystery, so avoid spoilers at all costs.

It can be good to know that there are other shows with similar names: School 2013, School 2017, and School 2021, that have a similar setting but different characters.

Seven years may not seem much, but with the rapid development of Asian TV, this show already feels old. The visuals have not aged well, and the editing is not the tightest, giving it a slower tempo than the super-polished shows of 2022. Yet it is short, and every episode moves the plot forward, without dragging things out too much.

If you have watched any asian high-school drama, you may know which tropes to expect, what forms the bullying will take etc. Who Are You still has some ideas of its own. The point of a body-switch story is to see a person taking up a new role in a new environment. Here it also has to be done without getting discovered.

Both sisters are played by the same actress, so don't expect them to be seen together often. They are so lost and pitiful alone, but their indirect interaction through flashbacks and diaries etc. Has more chemistry than the romance story. If they could only team up, they would take over the world.

I wonder if the theme song Reset is even more popular than the TV show.