Once Upon a Time in High School (2004)

Kwon, who starred as Hyun-soo, transfers to another school. He is sent to a bottom-rank class and experiences violence in classroom by a group of gangsters in his class, led by Jong-hoon, who is a stereotypical Korean bully in school. The teachers are also depicted as authoritarian to the students, using violence for the sake of discipline, as did most Korean teachers in the '70s. Hyun-soo, after a failed relationship with Eun-joo (played by Han Ga In) , decides that he will no longer put up with the conduct of Jong-hun and his boys as well as the harsh and violent disciplinary techniques being put up by the teachers, and so starts to train himself in Jeet Kune Do, inspired by his greatest hero Bruce Lee. His father, a master in Tae Kwon Do, frequently resorted to extreme violence to discipline his son.


Director: Ha Yu
Writer: Ha Yu
Stars: Sang-woo Kwone, Jeong-jin Lee and Ga-in Han
Audio: Korean
Subtitle: English