my boss my student

My Boss My Student (Dong-won Kim, 2006) - 7/10

The sequel to the 2001 Korean hit, My Boss My Hero, where 30-something gang leader Gae Do-Shik is forced to get his high school diploma by posing as a teenage student. In My Boss My Teacher, Gae Do-Shik continues his studies to get a college degree. He decides to become a student teacher at a high school. Coincidentally, Gae Do-Shik's boss is posing as a student himself to get his high school diploma.

Here, Gae Do-Shik tries to befriend a student, Yu Mi-jung, who lives with her grandmother and helps her run a food stall. Both her parents are dead. The school system is flawed and corrupted, where Yu Mi-jung and other students play victim to bribes and sexual harassment posed by the board of director. Away from the school, Gae Do-Shik and his gang try to work out a settlement between a gang in Hong Kong over territory ownership.

Part comedy, drama, and action, My Boss My Student is a descent follow up to the original, but the film feels a lot similar, not really bringing anything new. Although I'll say, it contains the most unexpected death I've seen. Shocking and sad. Since it was my second time seeing this movie, it was expected, but the impact still hits you.