Television series
School 2013
A Korean ensemble drama about second-year high school students navigating academics, friendships, and self-discovery. It balances comedy with genuine emotional stakes, finding humour in teenage awkwardness while treating their struggles seriously. For anyone who loved the messiness of coming-of-age stories without sentimentality.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like ensemble school stories where a gang of underachievers gets its own sprawling, messy chapters, and where the teachers are as flawed and funny as the kids.
Skip it if you want a tidy plot with a clear throughline, since this one wanders through many students' problems and runs long at sixteen 65-minute episodes.
What it asks of you: Expect a long haul of sixteen episodes at a loose, shambling pace that lets scenes breathe while mixing goofy beats with heavier ones.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Answer Me 19882015
Korean ensemble comedy-drama about a tight-knit group of friends navigating life and identity. Expertly balanced tones, warm humour, genuine stakes. If you loved the group dynamics in School 2013, this is essential.
But Twenty episodes is a serious commitment. The nostalgic 1988 setting won't resonate if you weren't there, though it doesn't really matter.
Extracurricular2020
Modern Korean high school drama that takes teenage moral complexity seriously. Tense, gripping, and surprisingly moving about what drives good kids to make bad choices.
But Much darker in tone—this isn't feel-good. Contains violence and deals with trauma in ways School 2013 doesn't.
The Heirs2013
Korean drama with a similar cast generation and school setting, exploring class and identity among the young and wealthy. Sharp writing about social hierarchies and what money actually costs.
But The romance plot becomes the main event. Less interested in the ensemble than School 2013—more focused on individual arcs.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from School 2013
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Love in the Moonlight2016
Both centre young people defining themselves through education and relationships in hierarchical institutions. Both balance light moments with genuine emotional complexity about who you're allowed to become.
Korean historical romance set in a school-like structured environment. But what makes it a wildcard: it's a period piece about a crown prince and a female scholar, treating education and identity with surprising depth. Same ensemble charm, completely different era and stakes.
But Period drama aesthetics and court politics aren't everyone's thing. The romance is central in ways School 2013's isn't. Subtitled, which adds friction for some.
More like this (5)
Because This Is My First Life2017
Korean drama about young adults figuring out who they are and what they want. Tender, funny, and genuinely interested in its characters' inner lives. Excellent at everyday humour.
But Post-high school setting means different stakes. More introspective than comedic, which might feel slower if you want constant laughs.
Tale of the Nine Tailed2020
Korean fantasy-drama set partially in a school, with strong character work and emotional depth. Blends supernatural stakes with real human struggle. Gorgeously made.
But Fantasy elements completely reshape the kind of show this is. If you want realism, this pivots away.
Alchemy of Souls2022
Korean fantasy drama with young ensemble cast and school-adjacent setting. Strong character moments between the action and magic. Really commits to making you care about people navigating impossible situations.
But Two seasons, both substantial. Heavy on spectacle, which isn't what School 2013 offers. Requires patience with sprawling plot.
The Farewell2019
Like School 2013, it finds profound emotion in small moments and quiet conversations. Both understand that identity isn't solved, just navigated. Both love their characters without needing to fix them.
A film rather than TV, 100 minutes instead of thirteen hours: a Chinese-American drama about family, identity, and what we owe each other. Funny and devastating at once. Treats young people's confusion about their place in the world with absolute seriousness.
But Slower, quieter, more intimate. No school setting or ensemble in the way you're used to. The humour is drier. It's about loss, which is a heavier register.
Squid Game2021
Both are Korean ensembles deeply interested in character over plot. Both understand that people reveal themselves when structures force them to choose. School 2013 asks this gently; Squid Game asks it brutally. Completely different register, same architectural question.
Korean series with an ensemble cast and similar production values, but transpose the school setting into a survival game. It asks the same questions—who are you under pressure, what matters, who do you become?—but with stakes turned to catastrophic. Phenomenally acted.
But Extremely violent. Deals with poverty, desperation, and loss of human dignity. Dark doesn't begin to cover it. This is not a comfort watch and shouldn't be mistaken for one.
