Once Upon a Time in High School

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Movie: Once Upon a Time in High School
Revised romanization: Maljukgeori janhoksa
Hangul: 말죽거리 잔혹사
Director: Yu Ha
Writer: Yu Ha
Producer:
Cinematography:
Release Date: January 16, 2004
Runtime: 116 Min.
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot

In the spring of 1978, Hyun-soo (Kwon Sang-Woo) transfers to Jungmoon High School in Kangnam where his mother thinks the land price will skyrocket due to the development of the area. Yet, Jungmoon High School is notorious for its severe corporal punishment by teachers and power struggles between school gangs. On the first day, he gets spanked with an aluminum baseball bat for violating the school¡¯s dress code. Then, one day, he plays basketball with his classmates and brings his team a victory, which allows him to become chummy with Woo-sik (Lee Jung-Jin), a kingpin of the school. Before long, they find out that they both are huge fans of Bruce Lee and become best friends.

After school, on the bus, Hyun-soo and Woo-sik see a girl who resembles Olivia Hussey, the most popular foreign actress in Korea at that time. Her name is Eun-ju (Han Ga-In), a senior at a nearby girls high school. Both fall in love with her at first sight. Hyun-soo is gentle and kind, while Woo-sik is tough and charismatic. Knowing Woo-sik is so different from her, she can't help but becomes attracted to him.

Hyun-soo endures the pain of his secret love for Eun-ju. However, Eun-ju and Woo-sik begin to bicker over petty things. While she's in pain over Woo-sik cheating on her, Hyun-soo sees a chance to win her heart. In the meantime, Woo-sik and Jong-hoon (Lee Jong-Hyeok), a student patrol captain, get into a fight. In the duel, Jong-hoon cheats and beats up Woo-sik, who leaves school in the aftermath of his defeat. With Woo-sik gone, Jong-hoon abuses his power as student patrol captain and bullies whoever gets in his way. Hyun-soo falls into an Inferior Class, and Jong-hoon keeps bullying him. The corporal punishment and favoritism by the teachers gradually become worse. To make matter worse, Eun-ju chooses Woo-sik over him. Driven to the wall, Hyun-soo explodes. With nunchakus tucked in the back of his pants, he goes up to the roof after Jong-hoon.

Cast



Kwon Sang-Woo	Lee Jung-Jin	Han Ga-In	Kim In-Kwon	Lee Jong-Hyeok	Park Hyo-Jun
Hyeon-Soo	Woo-Shik	Eun-Ju	Jiksae	Jong-Hoon	Hamburger



Seo Dong-Won	Baek Bong-Ki	Kim Byeong-Chun	Yang Han-Seok	Ahn Nae-Sang	Kim Bu-Seon
Seong-Hun	Cheetah	drill teacher	P.E. teacher	Math teacher	owner of ddokbokyi establishment