Best High School Asian Dramas/ Movies

I do not think my best memory of my life has approached me yet. However, I feel my high school years have been the most memorable. I strongly believe that high school is the open door, into the rest of my life.
I remember my first days of high school. I was just dying to experience all the new and exciting things that awaited me. From sports to girls to all the partying, I just wanted to know what everything was like. Now that I've done all those things and many more, I am about to embark on a new adventure that will take me too many more new experiences. Some say that "high school was the best time of my life", just like others say that high school was the worst time in their lives. To be honest, I am not sure which category I fall into. I've had plenty of good times, as well as just as many bad times, in high school. The only thing I can say is that I learned. And the most important thing is that, not just that I learned through the books, but I learned about life and the road ahead of me.

This list is my own personal favorites. 

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Who Are You: School 2015®

Main Cast

Kim So-hyun as Lee Eun-bi/Go Eun-byul
Yook Sung-jae as Gong Tae-kwangNam Joo-hyuk as Han Yi-an

Synopsis

Go Eun-byul (Kim So-hyun) and Lee Eun-bi (이은비, Kim So Hyun) are identical twins, separated after one is adopted at the age of 5. Eun-bi lives at the Love House, an orphanage in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, where the younger residents look up to her as a mother figure. However, she hides the fact that she is bullied at school by a gang of mean girls led by Kang So-young (강소영), while teachers turn a blind eye.

On the other hand, Go Eun-byul is studying at Sekang High School, the most prestigious private high school in Seoul's Gangnam District. Eun-byul's best friends are Cha Song-joo (차송주) and Lee Shi-jin (이시진), and she shares a mutual attraction with Han Yi-an (Nam Joo-hyuk), the school's star swimmer. They have been friends since they were 8 years old.

Eun-bi and Eun-byul look exactly alike, but only Eun-byul is aware of the other's existence. Unlike the cheerful Eun-bi, Eun-byul is prickly and secretive.

 One day, on a school field trip to Tongyeong, Eun-byul mysteriously disappears. At the same time, Eun-bi is unjustly expelled from her school and jumps off a bridge in a suicide attempt. Ten days later, the injured and amnesiac Eun-bi is mistaken for her twin Eun-byul, and her adoptive mother takes her home to Seoul, where she starts living as Eun-byul. But soon her memory returns. Eun-bi faces many challenges as Kang So Young transfers to Sekang High School and tries to reveal her real identity, as well as use her dad's help to make Eun-bi transfer. Luckily, Gong Tae-kwang (Yook Sung-jae), Eun-bi's classmate and the school troublemaker, protects her whenever So-young tries to bully her. Soon, Eun-bi tells Tae-kwang her real identity, and Tae-kwang becomes the only person Eun-bi can trust. He eventually begins to develop feelings for her.

Score: 9/10

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Hi! School: Love On®

Main Cast

Kim Sae-ron as Lee Seul-bi

Nam Woo-hyun as Shin Woo-hyun

Lee Sung-yeol as Hwang Sung-yeol

Choi Soo-rin as Ahn Ji-hye

Jung Jae-soon as Gong Mal-sook

Cho Yeon-woo as Hwang Woo-jin

Synopsis

Sung-yeol and Woo-hyun are two 18-year-old boys who are both tormented by the emotional scars of broken families; Woo-hyun longs to see again his mother who left him as a child, while Sung-yeol lives with a stepmother that he detests and whom he blames for the break up of his parents' marriage. Both are considered anti-social by Korean norms, although popular, brave and public spirited Woo-hyun drifts through school refusing to apply himself to his studies; Sung-yeol is studious and does well academically but is dismissive and disrespectful of his parents, aloof and detached from his class mates, appearing cold and arrogant to all. The lives of the two crash together when an angel falls from heaven.

Score: 10/10

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Shut Up Flower Boy Band®

Main Cast

Sung Joon as Kwon Ji-hyuk

Kim Myung-soo as Lee Hyun-soo

Lee Hyun-jae as Jang Do-il

Yoo Min-kyu as Kim Ha-jin

Kim Min-suk as Seo Kyung-jong

Synopsis

Joo Byung-hee (Lee Min-ki) is the crazy, free-spirited leader and vocalist of the popular underground rock group, Eye Candy. Joining him is Kwon Ji-hyuk (Sung Joon), chic Lee Hyun-soo (L), playboy Kim Ha-jin (Yoo Min-kyu), silent Jang Do-il (Lee Hyun-jae) and baby-faced Seo Kyung-jong (Kim Min-suk). When their delinquent-ridden school is forced to close down, they debate whether it's even worth returning to high school at all. However, due to an outside confrontation with their new school's current ruling band, Strawberry Fields, Eye Candy decides to attend Jungsang High out of spite so they can rule the school once again. Joo Byung-Hee finds his muse in Jungsang high school and dreams of performing in a music festival. They overcome their various economic difficulties to earn themselves the Jungsang High school uniform and finally are able to enter. By taking inspiration from his blossoming relationship, Byung-Hee finally finishes his composition for the festival. tensions flare between Eye Candy and Strawberry Fields, leading to violent encounters.

Score: 7/10

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Gakko no Kaidan (Japanese Drama)®

Main Cast

Hirose Suzu as Haruna Tsubame

Kamiki Ryunosuke as Shizukui Kei

Synopsis

Haruna Tsubame, an inconspicuous high school girl, is always sensitive to people’s moods and keeps the peace in school. One day, she gets pushed to become the president of the student council by the people around her. Tsubame's encounter with a man who is a genius speechwriter, leads to a revolution in school. She struggles to change a school full of irrationality and dissatisfaction with the power of words.

Score: 7/10

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SuckSeed®

Main Cast

Pachara Chirathivat - Koong

Jirayu La-ongmanee - Ped

Nattasha Nauljam - Ern

Thawat Pornrattanaprasert - Ex

Sypnosis

As a young boy, Ped was a geeky kid who held a crush on classmate Ern. When Ern moved away with her family to Bangkok, Ped was crushed.

 Now in high school, Ped and Ern are reunited after she backs to her hometown and attends the same school. Ped's best friend Koong then hatches a plan to get the attention of Ern and other girls. They will form a rock band! The boys are in for a bigger surprise when they learn Ern is a talented guitarist and joins their band. A talent show competition looms ahead for the band, while Ped and Koong find themselves vying for the attention of Ern ....

Score: 10/10

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Asuko March!®

Main Cast

Takei Emi as Yoshino Nao

Matsuzaka Tori as Yokoyama Aruto

Oshima Rio (大島璃生) as young Aruto

Kaku Kento as Tamaki Makoto

Nagayama Kento as Takeuchi Kazuya

Minami Keisuke as Wajima Go

Ishida Takuya as Hirose Satomi

Furukawa Yuki as Kishi Tetsuro

Kanai Yuta as Murai Hajime

Arai Yusuke (新井裕介) as Hirakawa Koji

Nishi Yosuke as Watanabe Shinichiro

Synopsis

Takei plays Yoshino Nao, a girl who fails the entrance exams of her target high school. She winds up enrolling in a technical high school called Kenritsu Asuka Kougyou Koukou, also known by the nickname "Asuko." Out of the 148 entering freshmen, only three are girls, and Nao is the only one in her class.

Score: 8/10

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God of Study®

Main Cast

Kim Soo Ro as Kang Suk Ho

Bae Doo Na as Han Soo Jung

Oh Yoon Ah as Jang Ma Ri

Yoo Seung Ho as Hwang Baek Hyun

Go Ah Sung as Gil Pul Ip

Lee Hyun Woo as Hong Chan Doo

Synopsis

Kang Suk Ho is an ordinary lawyer who decides to take up a job at the nearby high school. After seeing the conditions of the school and the poor grades all the students have, Suk Ho decides to create a special class promising admission to the most prestigious college in Korea, "Chun-Ha-Dae University." Five of the most laziest students - Hwang Baek Hyun, Gil Pul Ip, Na Hyun Jung, Hong Chan Doo, and Oh Bong Goo join the class to in order to prove that they can do it with hard work and dedication.

Score: 10/10

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Ugly Duckling Series: Don't (2015)®

Synopsis

Dumped by her boyfriend, Maewnam holes up in her house out of shame, until her dad gives her an ultimatum to go back to school. But she’s so embarrassed, she walks around with her head in a box to give herself personal space to grieve. Then two bad boys enter her life and turn her "box" world inside out.

Score: 10/10

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Monstar®

Main cast

Yong Jun-hyung as Yoon Seol-chan

Ha Yeon-soo as Min Se-yi

Kang Ha-neul as Jung Sun-woo

Yoon Chan-young as young Sun-woo

Ahn Nae-sang as Han Ji-woong

Jung Joon-young as young Han Ji-woong

Synopsis

Seol-chan, a member of Korea's most popular K-pop boy band Men in Black, is provoked into pushing one of his crazy fans, and when that goes viral, his reputation plummets. As damage control, his agency tells him to quietly attend school for a while. Meanwhile, Se-yi, a new transfer student from New Zealand, draws attention in the school for both her talent and oddness. Misunderstandings occur between Seol-chan, Se-yi, and their other classmates. But in the midst of all the chaos, these students find a common interest which connects them to each other: music. Every character has his or her own untold stories, which have had significant impact in their lives. But as they gather together to sing and play the music they love, they learn to soothe the pain inside them, and to open each of their souls.

Score: 8/10

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Moorim School®

Main Cast

Lee Hyun-woo as Chae Joon/Yoon Shi Woo

Lee Hong-bin as Wang Chi-ang

Seo Ye-ji as Shim Soon-duk

Jung Yoo-jin as Chae Young/Hwang Seon Ah 

Synopsis

 Yoon Shi-woo (Lee Hyun-woo) is the leader of the South Korean idol group 'Mobius', and he also happens to be an orphan with hardly any recollection of his past or true identity. His rise in popularity and fame made him become arrogant and prickly in nature, but he has a serious problem: he is suffering from painful hearing loss that doctors have not been able to pinpoint or cure. The only possible hope comes from a female fan named Hwang Sun-ah (Jung Yoo-jin) who told him to go to Moorim Institute and have Dean Hwang, her father, heal him. Considering him more trouble than he is worth, Shi-woo's CEO tries to get rid of him by framing him in a scandal with a female rookie idol. As the public starts to hate him, he decides to come to Moorim Institute in the end in hopes that he would be cured.

Score: 8/10

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Dream High 2®

Main Cast

Kang So-ra as Shin Hae-sung

JB as JB/Jang Woo-jae

Jinwoon as Jin Yoo-jin

Jiyeon as Rian/Lee Ji-kyung

Hyolyn as Nana/Kim Jae-hee

Park Seo-joon as Lee Siwoo

Ailee as Ailee

Synopsis

After going into financial bankruptcy, Kirin High School is taken over by Oz Entertainment. The company then transfers its own young trainees to circumvent a law requiring underage entertainers to study for a set amount of time. Then, competition brews between the troubled students at Kirin High and the newly transferred Oz Entertainment trainees.

Although Shin Hae-sung (Kang So-ra) enters Kirin High School with a high exam score, she has no talent in singing. She meets and befriends fellow students, Jin Yoo-jin (Jung Jin-woon) and JB. Yoo-jin, who originally got into the entertainment industry as a child actor, is now troubled by his dreams of becoming a rock star as he tries to cope with the pain of his parents' divorce. JB, a member of a famous group I:dn (Eden), develops feelings for Hae-sung and dates her later on.

Score: 10/10

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Dream High®

Main Cast

Suzy as Go Hye-mi

Kim Soo-hyun as Song Sam-dong

Taecyeon as Jin-guk/Hyun Shi-hyuk

Eunjung as Yoon Baek-hee

Wooyoung as Jason

IU as Kim Pil-sook

Synopsis

Six students at Kirin High School have the dream of becoming K-pop idols. During their school years, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting and dancing skills while undergoing personal growth. They also go through their love life and start to develop feelings for each other. Each one of the students has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but they strive to debut with the support and guidance of each other.

Score: 10/10

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Crazy Little Thing Called Love®

Main Cast

Mario Maurer as Shone

Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul as Nam

Sudarat Budtporm as Teacher Inn

Tangi Namonto as Teacher Pon

Pijitra Siriwerapan as Teacher Orn

Acharanat Ariyaritwikol as Top

Kachamat Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn as Pin

Yanika Thongprayoon as Faye

Synopsis

The ordinary 14 year old girl Nam is unattractive or in simple terms...ugly. But she's always been secretly in love with an older guy in grade 10 called Chon, the most popular student in high-school. He's hot, perfect and generous, and that's what makes girls go crazy about him, including Nam too. But she doesn't give up easily. She tries to do everything to make her get noticed by the boy she loves, in the hope of him turning around to look at her just one more time.

Lee Hyun-woo as Chae Joon/Yoon Shi Woo 

Score: 10/10

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Sukitte Ii nayo®

Main Cast

Haruna Kawaguchi  as Mei

Sôta Fukushi as Yamato kurosawa

Synopsis

Mei Tachibana is a high school student. Due to a traumatic incident when she was a kid, Mei has been unable to make friends or have boyfriends. By mistake, Mei then injures the most popular male student named Yamato Kurosawa. Somehow, Yamato Kurosawa likes Mei Tachibana and tells everyone unilaterally that Mei is his friend. One day, Yamato Kurosawa saves Mei Tachibana from a stalker by kissing her. From that kiss, their love story begins.

Score: 10/10

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Close Range Love (Kinkyori Renai)®

Main Cast

Tomohisa Yamashita as Nana Komatsu

Asami Mizukawa as Nozomu Kotaki

Haruka Sakurai as Yuni Kururugi

Mirei Takizawa as Ryu Matoba

Synopsis

Yuni Kururugi (Nana Komatsu) is a smart high school student. She excels in all subjects except for English. A new English teacher begins work at Yuni's high school. His name is Haruka Sakurai (Tomohisa Yamashita) and he is very handsome.

Yuni begins to receive one-on-one tutoring from Mr. Haruka Sakurai. Soon, Yuni develops feelings for her teacher and she realizes that she is now in love. Yuni then confesses to her teacher.

Score: 8/10

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Orange Marmalade®

Main Cast

Yeo Jin-Goo as Jung Jae-Min

Seol Hyun as Baek Ma-Ri             

Lee Jong-Hyun as Han Shi-Hoo  

Gil Eun-Hye as Jo A-Ra

Synopsis

300 years ago, humans and vampires finalized a peace treaty, but they still do not get along well with each other.

In the present day, Jae-Min (Yeo Jin-Goo) is a popular high school student. He falls in love with transfer student Baek Ma-Ri. Baek Ma-Ri though hides her true identity as a vampire. 

Score: 6/10

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