Timeline of School K-Dramas

There has always been a lot of attention on school dramas, sweet first love romance, bullying, friendships and more.

What I've noticed in recent years, however, is that many school dramas have darker topics. The bullying is more and more severe, revenge stories, fighting and a lot of violence. So I decided to look back on the dramas we had throughout the decades and see how much they changed. Or maybe they were always like that?

Before starting, I want to emphasise that not every drama that is created is on the list. There are just too many to include, and not every one of them was that significant.

Comment below what kind of school dramas you prefer to watch!

What I noticed while researching is that many older dramas were historical and very rarely had content for the younger generation. In the 80s or 90s, it was slowly shifting, but we will need more time to have a lot of school dramas airing.

One of the dramas from the 90s would be a Dinosaur Teacher, it was not very popular, but it had its significance in producing now well-known actors (Lee Jung Jae, Kim Hee Seon, Kim So Yeon and more). The drama focused on school life and the troubles they had at the time; however, it got criticised for a few things while it was airing (1993-1995).

Another school drama from this decade was Puberty. It showed Jeong Jun's life, who was in middle school, his struggles with family and friendship. The drama was awarded for its writing and was loved by the viewers.

It went downhill in the second season, but the important part was that it inspired the creation of other similar youth dramas.

Even now, it seems a bit more out-of-the-box drama because nowadays it's mostly about high school. We see this age group in dramas, but the focus is not on them; rather, it's about parents or siblings. Sky Castle, The Atypical Family would be a few examples of this.

No wonder the youth at the time enjoyed it.

There were a few more dramas like that showcasing relationships, career paths, corporal punishments and violence from the teachers and other peers/older students. Me portrayed all that and was more of an educational drama for teenagers.

So, for now, we see a typical kdrama school standard: a bit about school life, a bit of struggles, but overall simple and fun.

What is so amazing about the school series is that everyone wanted to recreate what the first season had.

Attaching its name meant fame because older generations would want to get the nostalgic feeling, while the new generation would have something of their own. It was not only beneficial for the writers/directors but also for the actors who would later be known as 'school drama alumni', as many rising stars acted there.

School 1 seemed not to have any taboo topics: abortion, violence, underage part-time jobs in entertainment establishments and ostracism. Even now, it's a bit shocking when kdrama goes into that kind of territory, but imagine airing in 1999!

The second season is considered lighter and doesn't dwell on such serious topics as its predecessor. However, it was still as popular. They even added the episode number, though not all actors came back to work on the extended version.

I also have to mention that directors and writers change every season, so you would never know what you might get.

From the second season, it was seen that people liked the series, so School 3 had the most episodes out of any season (49 episodes). This sequel trudged on the poor-rich dynamic, and of course, this meant a lot of bullying. Also, a guy is in love with a transfer student.

In the last season of the drama, the fourth one, the screenwriter from School 1 came back. It should've meant that the series should go back to being good... WRONG, it was that bad that it had to stop for 10 years.

School 4 focuses on the art school rather than just a normal high school. Yet it doesn't change the fact that it's still about delinquent students, a broken friendship and more.

Rather than focusing fully on the students, as the synopsis implies, the drama took a turn and presented a love story between teachers, and was more similar to a family drama.

It has brought a lot of criticism to the show and didn't help with already low ratings. (Out of four of them, this was the lowest)

Probably, all we needed for the School reunion was the same director, Lee Min Hong, who filmed the first season. And he came back to do School 2013.

It is set in one of the worst high schools in Seoul based on academics. Here, the homeroom teachers try to deal with their students while the main leads are having a bit of a problem with their lives, which bleeds into the school life.

It's probably not as prevalent now as it was back when I joined the kdrama community, but the Lee Jong Suk/Kim Woo Bin edits were all I was living for. I remember being a bit disappointed about the bromance because I was promised so much but got crumbs.

School 1 had 16 episodes, which was considered a miniseries at the time, making it harder to include everyone's storyline and develop characters properly.

School 2013 is similar in the aspect that it has 16 episodes, but has probably learnt the lesson, and the characters had good backstories and development. Don't take my word too seriously because I forgot most of the things, and all the reviews I saw from 2025 said it was boring...

You just don't get it like I do!

Who Are You: School 2015 has brought us new directors, new screenwriters and a rich school. The drama went in a different direction from its prequels. It focused on one character only and her life and struggles as she switched lives with her twin.

This drama made me have the worst second lead syndrome ever.

I remember being surprised that the name seemed familiar, but everything that I liked about School 2013 was gone, and I wasn't alone in this. A lot of viewers also didn't like how the drama never showed any social issues, and mainly focused on the dramatic aspects.

The ratings of the drama were not the worst, but compared to the 2013 version, it was bad.

If you're looking at it as a random school drama, it is entertaining. Many plot twists that might make you feel like you're watching makjang. However, thinking about the history of these series, it's understandable that people wanted more.

Later, you will see that School 2015 had led the other two upcoming series down the same route - dramatic and more romantic.

While I still have some unresolved feelings about Who Are You: School 2015, School 2017 is a complete blank in my head.

Again, it focuses on one student who wants to be a webtoon artist but gets into some trouble. The drama shows the discrimination against students who are less wealthy and less smart, and they come together to challenge the school system.

Oh, that's where I found Rowoon and SF9! Completely forgot about that.

The general public received it quite well, and there were some points that they praised, but the rating has become even lower. Now, the question of whether we really need another part of the School series hangs.

The screenwriters are different, the director is different, and the message is also different.

However, we got one: School 2021. I haven't seen it, and I know it went under everyone's head, but the production of this was a total mess.

The story focused on a few characters and their search for what they want to do in life. With the climate that we were in, I'm not surprised it didn't do well, even with "School" attached to its name, but more on that later.

The school series was a significant part of the drama watchers. Doesn't matter if you liked the first season or the 2021 version of it. It had displayed the issues that teachers and students had, and brought great friendships and actors together.

However, writing about all of them, I understood the pattern: First (School 1, School 2013) are the best. From the second (School 2, School 2015), there is a shift for the latter shows. Of course, ratings reveal that it is going downhill when it comes to the 4th instalment (School 4, School 2021).

My prediction is that School 2032 will be very well received!

From what I've gathered, school dramas have stayed pretty tame in the 2000s. They are mostly about some kind of love problems and do not go into societal issues that much. However, there are now a lot more produced than in the 90s.

Lee Min Ho is one of the culprits, aka acting in all the school roles he gets, and it's not even one or two.

I don't want to say it was all fluffy, good times. Secret Campus was more of a mystery drama that took place in school: a student dies, and later, more and more secrets are revealed about others. There are probably a few more that I've missed.

I cannot not mention Boys Over Flowers in this because it has become a classic that every true kdrama fan has to watch. (I'm joking, you don't have to suffer yourself through that)

It didn't talk much about societal issues, but it was a bully romance and has shaped the world of upcoming dramas. It is set in a private high school where everyone is rich except for the female lead. This trope will also become extremely popular.

Following the hype from Boys Over Flowers, we get similar dramas. The Heirs, which again showcases chaebol lives and plays on the poor/rich dynamic. That doesn't mean we get dramas only like that.

Dream High was a popular drama at the time, and it shows six leads trying to achieve their dreams while studying at an arts school. Sassy Go Go talks about the same thing but adds a self-harming, mental health plot.

The school dramas in the 2010s seem to have become softer. It included romance rather than talking about struggles. Of course, you need something for the plot, so not everything was scrapped: bullying and corruption were shown, but not to the level it was talked about in previous years and not on the level we see now.

This was a period when it was normalised for a high schooler to date someone older, and nobody batted an eye. I may have missed earlier examples of that, but it's still shocking.

For instance, High School King of Savvy. The female lead thinks he's her boss and is an adult, but even when she finds out that the male lead is a high schooler, nobody stops them.

Another popular drama from the time is I Hear Your Voice. You can say that he's 19 in the drama, but the male lead is running around in his school uniform while the female lead is in her 30s. Also, Doctors, where Park Shin Hye's character has a crush on a teacher. They date later in life when they are both adults, but it's...

It's just weird.

There is a difference between the first half of the decade and the second half. Especially, a shift could be seen after Sky Castle. It had everyone's attention, and it displayed the pressure to be the best; how parents influence a lot of stuff or can be looked down if they don't do enough.

Of course, there are a lot of things exaggerated, but the message is there.

I feel that this is where the biggest shift has happened. In the spring of 2020, Extracurricular came out. Students smoking everywhere, prostitution, and handling a large sum of money. The drama has gathered a lot of praise from critics and viewers, and I believe this was the start of the dark school dramas.

This is why School 2021 didn't work out that well. By this time, everyone wanted something more similar to Extracurricular, something darker than just some teenagers trying to find what they want to do in life.

Of course, we still have our feel-good dramas. True Beauty is the drama that comes straight to my mind for that; however, this was adapted from the webtoon and already had its fanbase.

Also, more and more dramas that are not fully focused on school started to mention bullying, underage drinking/smoking and other issues.

It should probably come as no surprise that at this time, a lot of actors and K-pop idols were accused of being bullies at school. Even the lead, Kim Dong Hee from Extracurricular, was not spared from this.

The Glory, a drama about revenge on bullies, didn't pass quietly either. The director was accused of bullying as well as one of the actresses (Kim Hi Eo Ra).

Nowadays, these K-dramas get more attention, at least from what I see on the internet. Weak Hero Class, Pyramid Game, something with violence and manipulation. Something that shows a different side of students, or the real side for some of them.

It does make me wonder, however, how long this trend will continue? Is there any improvement in the school system just because of dramas?

There is always a huge uproar if the drama gets big. Let's take the example of The Glory, which showed students brutally harming their peer, and later, some people find out that this was a real case scenario. Everyone was angry and bewildered, that's why those school bully 'hunts' happen online, but does it really change our perception?

Not to go dark completely, now we have a very diverse outlook on school dramas. Some include fantasy elements, some go for mystery or apocalyptic vibes. There are many to choose from, and find whatever you like.

This is the best thing about it, when we compare older dramas to the new ones.