SKY Castle

What kind of drama it is

There is an upscale gated community where well-off families, such as those of university hospital doctors and legal professionals, live side by side. The mothers here treat getting their children into a top university's medical school as the family's greatest goal, competing with and keeping watch on one another over information and connections. When a secretive admissions coordinator who manages a child's entire path to university enters the picture, tensions among the neighbours steadily rise. The show takes the familiar subject of educational zeal and twists it through exaggeration and suspense.

The makers and the cast

The screenplay is by Yoo Hyun-mi, and Jo Hyun-tak directed. What stands out is that the mothers, more than the fathers, take centre stage. Yeom Jung-ah, Lee Tae-ran, Yoon Se-ah and Oh Na-ra play mothers with very different personalities, and Kim Seo-hyung brings a chilling presence as the admissions coordinator. Kim Byung-chul, Jung Joon-ho and others play the fathers, while the young actors of the children's generation make each character's pressure feel real.

• Aired: JTBC, 2018 to 2019, 20 episodes
• Screenplay: Yoo Hyun-mi
• Director: Jo Hyun-tak
• The mothers: Yeom Jung-ah, Lee Tae-ran, Yoon Se-ah, Oh Na-ra
• The admissions coordinator: Kim Seo-hyung

What the title means

The first part of the title comes from the English initials commonly used in Korea to refer to the country's three top universities together. Adding the word castle compresses into a single phrase the image of people guarding their own order behind high walls. The desire to climb as high as the sky overlaps with the image of a fortress cut off from the outside. With the title unpacked like this, it becomes clear why the community's gate, walls and lavish interiors are emphasised so heavily. It is all the more interesting if you notice how the same name can sound like pride or like a shackle depending on who says it.

Watching it as black comedy

Rather than reproducing reality faithfully, the show deliberately exaggerates it. The sparring at social gatherings, the absurdly elaborate education plans and the face-saving manner of speech are inflated to the point of being comic, so you laugh and then quickly feel a chill. The music and camerawork build tension like a thriller, and an ordinary parents' gathering can feel like a spy story. Those moments when laughter and discomfort arrive together are exactly what the show is aiming for. In particular, watching the actors' faces in scenes where characters needle each other with a smile lets you read tension beyond the words.

Things to watch for

The relationships are tangled, so keeping the points below in mind makes it all the more interesting.

• The real intentions hidden behind what the mothers say at their gatherings
• Each household's different approach to education despite the same goal
• The children's differing reactions to their parents' expectations
• How the layout and interiors of the community reveal each character

Questions about admissions and family

The drama does not declare who is right; instead it asks at what point wanting the best for your child turns into the parent's own ambition. The fact that love for a child and an obsession with success can live inside the same person lifts it beyond simple satire. Parents will find scenes that sting, and anyone who has been through school will find scenes that bring back the pressure of those years. It is also a good show to talk over as a family once you have finished it. It also invites you to consider how exhausting it is for so many people when a child's report card is treated as the parents' own.

Worth knowing before you start

Although it deals with university entrance, it does not explain the actual admissions system, and much of it is exaggerated for dramatic effect. Some scenes portray the pressure placed on teenagers and conflict within families harshly, which can leave you uneasy throughout. Its thriller-like tension keeps you wanting the next episode, so it is easy to binge until dawn. If a family with an exam-age student watches together, it helps to talk about the scenes while keeping them separate from reality.

Who it suits

It suits people who enjoy black comedy with social satire or dramas full of tense psychological games between characters. It is also recommended for anyone curious about how the sensitive Korean themes of education and class are handled on screen. If you were struck by shows like Stranger, which look inside the workings of power, or The Glory, which deals with the shadows of school days, you will find a different kind of interest here. Thinking about what you would have done in each character's place makes it stay with you longer.