This hilarious black comedy about the dreaded Korean university entrance exam suneung pulls no punches.
The suneung is a nightmare for all high school students in South Korea. This Korean version of the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) decides on whether graduates can go to university, and to what university. Only high-achievers make it to the SKY universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University). Parents, who can afford it, send their children to expensive cram schools in order to improve their chances.
But who are the people creating the questions for this exam, thereby deciding the fate of millions of students?
For his directorial debut, Lee Yong-jae chose a black comedy about this important question. Written by Park Soyo, the film focuses on a provincial high school teacher named Ms. Maeng, who is erroneously invited to join the suneung question committee. As soon as she arrives, her mobile phone is taken away. Committee members work in complete seclusion for 40 days because the questions are considered a Level 2 state secret.
The committee consists of Seoul University graduates – professors of the humanities and science. At first, the entitled elite, led by Moon Joo-yeol (Yoo Jae-myung), chairman of the Korean Language Question Committee, and his right-hand man Ki Jun-soo (Jeon Seok-ho), dismisses Ms. Maeng (Lee Sun-bin), a simple high school teacher. But Ms. Maeng soon begins to pose a real problem for the established committee members, who, for the most part, care far less about the students’ welfare than their own agendas. It does not seem to matter whether the questions are understandable as long as professors from Seoul University pose them and the 40-day deadline is met. The situation escalates when Park Kyung-tae (Kim Young-min), the overzealous Review Committee Chairman and Moon Joo-yeol’s arch-nemesis, appears. If Park disapproves of the questions, this could prolong the 40-day seclusion and, worst of all, lead to the postponement of the suneung.
This film is a dark satire about the injustices of the suneung system, which can be seen as a reflection of South Korean society. The script wisely criticizes both sides of the political spectrum, with Yoo Jae-myung representing an authoritarian conservative and Kim young-min a former activist with doubtful morals.
Lee Sun-bin is lovely and engaging as the idealistic Ms. Maeng, who truly cares about her students and is willing to fight for them, against all odds. Yoo Jae-myung is hilarious as the entitled chairman, whose ego far outweighs his competency. The whole cast is outstanding in this highly entertaining comedy.
I truly hope that this film will be shown in Europe. Although the film focusses on a Korean examination, the issues are universal – power, entitlement, and corruption. And there are simply not enough Korean comedies in European cinemas!
The film will be released in South Korea on October 28th, 2026.
