Who Are You: School 2015 Korean Drama Review – Kdrama Kisses
Who Are You: School 2015 is about a bullied teenage orphan who loses her memories and ends up taking the place of her popular twin sister at another high school that she didn’t even know existed after she mysteriously disappears.
Lee Eun Bi (Kim So Hyun) is a kindhearted teenager that lives at an orphanage. After being severely bullied, an incident leads to her losing her memory. She is then mistaken for her twin sister and gets the opportunity to live a completely different life.
Go Eun Byul (Kim So Hyun) is a popular teenager with a strong attitude. After going through a challenging time, she mysteriously disappears without a trace.
Han Yi Ahn (Nam Joo Hyuk) is the longtime best friend of Go Eun Byul. When Eun Bi takes Eun Byul’s place, he is a bit confused about her change in personality, but he slowly grows closer to her.
Gong Tae Kwang (Yook Sung Jae) is a bit of a trouble maker and very impulsive. He notices something off about Eun Bi/Eun Byul and becomes very curious about why she seems to different.
Who Are You: School 2015 was a wonderful drama for me. I’m picky about high school dramas and tend to prefer them more on the dramatic side, and this one fit the bill. It also contains everything I love about dramas from this time period with the atmosphere, storyline, and a fantastic soundtrack that is played repeatedly.
The show has a great balance of humor and dramatics that kept the drama from feeling too heavy despite some of the subject matter. It touches on some common high school issues like pressure to get good grades and bullying. The bullying is quite severe and plays a big part in the overall story. The main bully, Kang So Young (Jo Soo Hyang), is about as bad as it gets, and it was tough watching everything she put Eun Bi through.
There are also multiple mysteries at play concerning the disappearance of Eun Byul as well as some events that happened to her in the past. This connected well with the main story and kept things interesting.
As for the main story, we watch as Eun Bi adjusts to a very different life than what she’s used to. She suddenly has a mom, friends, and is popular. The adjustment is difficult and has ups and downs for her. I liked exploring her new relationships with her mom and friends.
Now, we do get a serious love triangle in this drama. Eun Bi has a “longtime” friend, Yi Ahn, who she becomes close with due to his deep connection with Eun Byul in the past. Then there’s Tae Kwang who she feels drawn to because she didn’t have a relationship with him previously.
I enjoyed her relationships with both guys. They were a lot of fun and likable in different ways. The show really drags this triangle out though, so be prepared for that. I’ll admit, I got pretty severe Second Lead Syndrome in this drama, and my heart felt for him the whole way through. He had an interesting story on his own and goes above and beyond for Eun Bi in every way.
I think the show does a great character exploration of Eun Bi and all of the complicated issues she has to deal with. Bullying, amnesia, school, love, and so much more. This poor girl is thrown into an incredibly complex situation and does her best to get through it. I sympathized with her struggles and was always rooting for her as she begins to learn and grow from everything.
Overall, Who Are You: School 2015 is lots of fun with a well-executed trading places story, an entertaining love triangle, great exploration of many issues, and a nice helping of dramatics. The old-school vibe and wonderful soundtrack added that extra punch to make for an all-around good time.
My Rating: 8.5/10
Check out more Korean Drama Reviews.
