You Can Now Stream ‘Duty After School’ Parts 1 And 2

This article was first published on 14 April 2023. 

When you think of high school K-dramas, the first things that usually come to mind are inseparable best friends, budding romance, a bunch of mean girls, or parents doing everything they can to get their kids to Korea’s top colleges. Duty After School takes all of that and adds an apocalyptic premise to the mix.

Meet the students slash soldiers of Sungjin High School. (Photo from: tvN Asia)

Duty After School: trailer and plot

In the sci-fi thriller, alien spheres have taken over the skies, and so the government decides to prepare and increase military power by offering incentives to get the students to sign up for the reserved forces.

Ordinary senior students at Sungjin High School trade pens for weapons and ammunition with the belief that it will help them get extra points and increase their chances of passing the CSAT (or the College Scholastic Ability Test) and getting into Korea’s top universities.

Little did they know that they would find themselves going through intense military training and battling extra-terrestrial beings on the frontlines.

Still unsure if it’s for you? We’ve rounded up three things you should know about the show to help you get a feel of it without giving away too many spoilers.

3 things you need to know about Duty After School

1. It’s a jam-packed mix of sci-fi, action, and high school

If you’re a fan of zombie dramas such as All of Us Are Dead (or The Last of Us from the other side of the globe), then we bet that you’ll enjoy Duty After School. Although the first episode might seem slow at first, you can be sure to get your adrenaline rush as the story unfolds.

While it’s full of action scenes, blood, and gore, the show will still tug at your heartstrings once you see the students trying to survive and facing the harsh reality of what’s going on around them.

2. Its cast offers a fresh set of actors

The cast of Duty After School has new and promising actors playing the high school characters. They were mostly supporting characters in their previous dramas and have now been given the chance to shine. The main character Kim Chi Yeol is played by Kim Ki Hae (whose previous work was the little-known 2020 drama Dalgona). Other students in the cast are Kim Deok Joong (played by Woo Min Gyu) and Wang Tae Man (played by Moon Sang Min from Under the Queen’s Umbrella).

Some characters such as Lee Na Ra (played by Choi Moon Hee), Kwon Il Ha (Kim Su Gyeom), and Yeon Bo Ra (Kwon Eun Bin) might feel familiar to some viewers because all three have been a part of At a Distance, Spring is Green.

You would easily empathise with the students as they were able to capture the various realistic emotions as their normal high school lives were being stripped away from them.

3. It’s based on a webtoon

The show is adapted from the webtoon by Ha Il Kwon. You can read the English version via the WEBTOON app right here. And if you’ve read the webtoon, you can be sure to find an enriched experience while watching the show.

Duty After School Part 2 release date in Singapore

Stream Parts 1 and 2 of Duty After School on Viu.

Duty After School reviews

After the release of the show’s Part 2, many were disappointed with how the story played out. There were senseless deaths (which occurred not because of the aliens but due to a fellow classmate), plot holes, and an ending that felt rushed. 

However, fans of the show enjoyed seeing the bond between the students grow. You can see more of their playfulness off-screen in the behind-the-scenes video above.

(Cover photo from: @tving.official)