Remarking The Test
As the weeks tick along, Black Dog has been given us a more in-depth look at the difficulties Daechi school is facing with their students and their college admission. In South Korea, black dogs bring bad luck which seems to fit Daechi school quite well, especially after this week’s episode, where more trouble arises. This episode has picked up the pace a little and is certainly an eye opener when we see how much pressure teachers and students are under. Episode 5 of Black Dog begins in Hankuk University as all four teachers reconvene, discussing their plans for the day which involves presenting and comparing student records and asking many questions. We also find out that Ms Park is close to the head of Hankuk’s office of admissions, Jang Suk-Jun, whom they are suppose to meet. Unfortunately, Suk-Jun decided to send another administration officer, Song Chan-Hui, instead of himself. As they start asking her questions, she refuses to give them details of their evaluation standards. While they take a short break, Ha-Neul heads in the toilet and overhears Chan-Hui telling her colleague she’s giving the teachers of Daechi school a hard time because of the way she was treated when she used to work there. We then see the teachers remembering that she used to be a short term teacher that unfortunately failed the permanent position test. Meanwhile, everyone in Daechi school is in turmoil as the teachers have to mark the senior test again due to an error in one of the questions. This spells bad news for the school as it’ll tarnish their reputation even more and hurt the college admission. This also put a lot more pressure on our four teachers who will need to bring back some good news for the college conference. After the meeting ends, Ha-Neul decides to follow Chan-Hui in the lift and tells her that she is a short term teacher. Chan-Hui explains that the reason the university doesn’t take a lot of Daechi students is because of the data they’ve gathered on the school’s system and teachers, which is where the main problem lies. The next day, the principal berates Ms Park about her fruitless meeting with the administration officer of the university. She then goes to the meeting where all the heads are attending, to discuss the latest issue. Mr Song suggests creating an advanced class for the top students but Ms Park doesn’t agree, given it will look like favouritism. Meanwhile, Ha-Neul and Yeon-Woo find out that the principal told the parents who were complaining about the grade adjustment that the college advisory group will have top level information about Hankuk University during the college admission conference. Remembering Chan-Hui’s words, Ha-Neul decides to look through the acceptance and application data. While Mr Song propositions Ha-Neul to be in charge of the new advanced class, Mr Moon finds out that he will not be allowed to go through teachers’ internet history but as he still suspects Hae-Won, the latter asks Mr Song if he could be the one leading the advanced class instead. Mr Song tells him he asked Ha-Neul but if she declines the offer, he will be able to lead it. Torn by the offer she’s been given, Ha-Neul is unable to decide. However, Ki-Boon tries to convince her to accept as she believes it will look good for her and might help her get a permanent position. The episode closes with Ms Park waiting for Ha-Neul to finish, where he gives her some advice about taking on the advanced class. Black Dog’s premise offers us an intriguing and interesting insight into the lives of Korean teachers and in the case of Daechi school, there is a big struggle for them to perform and compete with many others in the area. Seeing the determination of these teachers to do right by their students is quite impressive and I’m looking forward to see if Ha-Neul will be the one to help turn their luck around. The four teachers from the college advisory group form a great team too and with Ms Park leading it, things are bound to evolve in the weeks to come. Hae-Won, who has been a short term teacher for 5 years, seems to be the shady one according to Mr Moon and this mystery does help the drama become more interesting. This latest instalment has definitely helped improve the overall slow pace of the previous ones as the new plot twist surrounding the test error has added a much-needed urgency to the story. Whether the show keeps it up and carries on giving us more twists though remains to be seen but for now, Black Dog leaves things on an exciting note ready for tomorrow’s episode.
