The 2026 academic year began in schools and universities across Korea in the first week of March. Education in Korea remains central to one's social standing and Korea's elite universities otherwise known as SKY (Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei) along with colleges in Seoul remain at the forefront of Korea's highly competitive education system.

Preparation for getting into college begins as early as elementary school with children attending private academies known as Hagwons to ensure students do not fall behind, particularly in the key subjects: Mathematics, Korean and English. This continues and increases with intensity as students edge closer to the college exam date that takes place annually in November. Students take it in their final semester in High School. If they fail to get a high enough score to get into their university of choice, they can retake it the following year.

It has meant that Korea consistently scores high in IQ ranked in the top three globally for average IQ. It also ranks first for those who have completed tertiary education for those aged between 25 and 34. Sometimes dubbed "Hell Joseon", however, the emotion and mental strain students undergo in and out of the classroom has meant this has come at a price.

Given the importance placed on education in Korea it is not surprising that many Korean films feature scenes in schools and college campuses or are even set in schools almost entirely. Sometimes they do make reference to the intense nature of Korea's education environment, but they also delve into a variety of themes: from bullying through to adolescence, romance and friendship.

High Schools in K-Horror: Whispering Corridors (1998)

Whispering Corridors (1998)

Kicking off the boom in contemporary Korean horror in the 1990s was the Whispering Corridors series that was set in all-female high schools. Park Ki-hyung's first instalment centers on the story of a ghost of a student who died at a school and then searches for retribution. It adapts the narrative of a woman who returns as a ghost seeking revenge on those who mistreated her — evident in older Korean films such as Public Cemetery under the Moon (1967).

The high school setting in the film is central to the narrative as it turns to the connection between Korea's autocratic past, discipline in Korea's schools and the wider education system.

The series is somewhat unusual as it's the setting itself that ties the films together rather than the characters or even the talent involved in making them. Each film has a different cast and director, and they also explore other themes. Kim Tae-yong and Min Kyu-dong's Memento Mori (1999) follows the relationship between two female students, becoming an early example of a commercial title dealing with homosexuality.

The series to date includes six titles with the latest being Whispering Corridors: The Humming (2021) directed by Lee Mi-young that opened the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in 2020.

Colleges in Melodramas & Romcoms: Ditto (2000), My Sassy Girl (2001), The Classic (2003)

A further trend in the 1990s and 2000s was the genre of melodramas that have recently seen a resurgence in popularity among younger people with titles like Once We Were Us (2025). In the early years of so-called "New Korean Cinema" melodramas were a box office draw. These films would feature different settings, but university campuses were a central location in some of them.

Ditto (2000)

In Kim Jung-kwon's Ditto (2000) the story revolves around a college student in 1979 played by Kim Ha-neul and an undergraduate in 2000 acted by Yoo Ji-tae. Communicating via a radio they hope to meet but they soon realize they are not living in the same era. With references to the tumultuous 1970s it captures how Korea and campuses were a completely different place compared to three decades earlier.

The film was remade in 2022 by Seo Eun-young with the film's then present campus setting in 2000 turned to the past and the contemporary setting switched to the early 2020s — Ditto (2022).

My Sassy Girl (2001)

Kwak Jae-yong's two films My Sassy Girl and The Classic, which both center on romantic threads also focus on students. In My Sassy Girl, which is more of a romantic comedy, it centers on an unusual relationship between an engineering student (Cha Tae-hyun) and a student (Jun Ji-hyun) studying at a Women's University. Some of the film's most comical and moving scenes are set on campus including one where the woman forces him to wear her shoes. The feature was a pan-Asian hit marking one of the first phases of Hallyu in the early 2000s.

In The Classic the narrative alternates between a story centered on a love triangle between three college students in a drama club in the present and a friendship between three high school students in the 1960s. Son Ye-jin plays one of the students in the college drama group and she also acts as her mother as the story turns to her first love again highlighting the change in Korea's quickly evolving society.

High School & College Nostalgia: Sunny (2011) Architecture 101 (2012)

By the 2010s the theme of nostalgia was being seen in more Korean content. The Reply TV series was one of the biggest hits of the decade and Korean films too were a major part of this trend as illustrated with Sunny (2011) and Architecture 101 (2012).

Sunny (2011)

Kang Hyeong-chul's Sunny centers on a group of friends in the 1980s and in the present after one of the members of the group (Yoo Ho-jeong) reflects on her time in school when her friend (in the present) is terminally ill with cancer. The 1980s is typically portrayed as dark and oppressive but Kang's approach is different, he injects it with his vibrant mise-en-scene together with his unique sense of cinematic rhythm.

Central to the film is the subject of friendship that is universal, but it can have different cultural connotations. In Korea where age and social status can dictate how one speaks to each other; friendship that is formed at school is particularly strong and enduring. This is relayed in the film. While they had gone their separate ways that bond that they once had is reignited so effectively in the film's final scene.

Architecture 101 (2012)

Architecture 101 too would go back in time; in this instance to the 1990s using its soundtrack particularly Kim Dong-ryul's 1994 song "Etude of Memories" to evoke memories of this decade. It follows two architecture students who fall in love underscoring how schools and colleges in Korean films are not just a place for education but are also important for forming relationships that can equally help shape one's life.

Written by Jason Bechervaise
Edited by kofic