Drama Review: Moorim School (武林学校)

Moorim School is basically a story about a group of youngsters' life studying at Moorim School and the challenges they faced during their academic year there. However, it isn't a "normal" school as it also teaches them martial arts and some great virtues such as faith, loyalty, sacrifice and even communication among the students. 

Yoon Shi Woo (starring Lee Hyun Woo) is a popular K-pop idol but his carelessness attitude as well as his hearing problem led him to a downfall as his agent decided to ditch him for good. He ended up at Moorim School after a near-fatal accident on stage and a fan told him that the headmaster of Moorim School might be able to help with his hearing problem. 

Sim Soon Duk (starring Seo Ye Ji) is a diligent student who works part-time while studying at Moorim School. Her father, who is blind, forbids her to attend Moorim School for some reason so she could only attend in secret. One day, she rescued a guy, Wang Chi Ang (starring Lee Hong Bin), from drowning and it was love at first sight for him. Chi Ang comes from a rich family but is an illegitimate son. He decides to attend Moorim School because of Soon Duk. The last leading character, Hwang Sun Ah (starring Jung Yoo Jin) is the daughter of Moorim School's headmaster and she is one of the top students there. 

While Moorim School may seem like a martial arts drama at first glance, it is much more than that as we see the different life of these four young people and how they come about together through the tests and challenges they meet in school. Needless to say, there are lots of angst among the students, in particularly Shi Woo and Chi Ang since they'd a few misunderstandings prior enrolling the school. 

However, there are much bigger and complicated issues awaiting the four characters as it seems the headmaster harbours a secret surrounding Moorim School and then all hell breaks loose once the secret is out, for it involves the key to attaining a great power. 

This drama surprised me on many levels. For starters, it isn't mainly focus on martial arts (although I do enjoy watching films on that) and I also liked a few characters here, mainly Hyun Woo because he is the one who changes a lot throughout the story. In fact, his transformation to a thoughtful and a selfless person is what most moving in this story. The triangle love between Hyun Woo, Chi Ang and Soon Duk is also the highlights of this story, but they don't really take up most of the story and I liked it that way. 

While this story has much sentiments and actions (and oh, a little of fantasy elements when the secret power is concerned), I loved it that there is a message behind it and not to mention a good closure which made me think that sometimes letting go is actually not a bad thing at all, when friendship and love is concerned. 

PS: Thanks, Jenclair, for mentioning this drama to me.

(All pic images credit to Google Images and DramaFever.)