The last few minutes of Episode One were shocking and I will not ruin that surprise here. But without parents like Seo-Jin, she would not exist. Some might say that cold-hearted Joo-Young is the true villian in this series. That’s all Seo-Jin needed to hear in order to ensure that her child would be a sure thing as well. She seeks the advice of her friend and neighbor, Myung-Joo, whose son Young-Jae has just been accepted at Seoul National University Medical School. Seo-Jin learns that he had the help of Kim Ju-Young, a very expensive, very thorough specialized tutor who guaranteed his enrollment into the prestigious school. Ye-Seo’s primary competition is Woo-Joo, a neighbor she has a crush on, and Hye-Na, a poor classmate she hates. Seo-Jin’s goal in life is to ensure that her daughter, Ye-Seo, enters Seoul National University’s Medical School and becomes their family’s third generation of doctors. The other women either look up to (or fear) her. The wife of a bigwig surgeon and the mother of two girls - the eldest of whom is the smartest in her school - Seo-Jin is the Queen Bee of SKY Castle. On “Melrose Place,” it was Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear). As with that American night-time soap opera, there is an evil character who on occasion does something human, and is therefore forgiven by her friends and loved ones. “SKY Castle” is what I call a “Melrose Place” drama. But being told that you are a failure at life because you’re not a good test taker - or because you simply are not smart enough - is a brutal way to break a child’s spirit. Of course, most South Koreans don’t graduate from SKY universities and manage to do just fine.

Having just finished the series finale, I am left with a little lump in my throat, not because it’s over, but because I know there are so many children out there who are at the mercy of a brutal educational system - where you are told your life means nothing if you don’t get into Seoul National University, Korea University or Yonsei University. The first episode of “SKY Castle” was so preposterous that I was either shaking my head in disbelief or laughing. ↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name Han Seo-Jin / Kwak Mi-Hyang (played by Yum Jung-Ah)

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