The positive audience response in Korea was unexpected even though the topic was a buzz-worthy one. The JTBC drama began airing in Korea during November 2018 and recently began airing in the U.S. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Korea’s students spend more time studying than students in any other OECD country, while parents spend more on private tutoring. South Korea has been called the most educated country in the world and it’s not unusual for Korean students to spend 16 hours or more a day at school and in after-class prep schools, called hagwons. The drama quickly became a hit in Korea, partly because of the nation’s strong emphasis on the value of education.
The supporting cast includes Kang Chan Hee, also known as Chani, a member of the k-pop group SF9, playing the role of Lee Tae Ran’s son. The men of SKY Castle are played by Jung Joon Ho, Choi Won Young, Kim Byung Chul and Jo Jae Yun. Oh Na Ra, who appeared in the 2018 drama My Mister, plays the gregarious Jin Ji Hee, while Kim Seo Hyung, who has mastered many dark roles, takes on that of the college fixer, a woman with more than one dark secret. Yoon Se Ah plays No Seung Hye, a woman slowly being whittled down by constant criticism. Lee Tae Ran plays Lee Soo Im, the mother of a fellow student. Yum Jung Ah plays Han Seo Jin, a woman who wants to ensure the success of her already high-achieving daughter through whatever means possible. It’s frustrating when your worth depends on the accomplishments of another human being, but it’s not a game any of the drama's mothers can stop playing, even if it leads to violence. The mothers are praised if a child makes the grade and blamed if they do not, despite providing a supportive environment. It affects the entire family but the onus for making a child succeed falls solely on the mother. This desire to have their children attend the best schools defines the lives of the main characters. But even the characters who devote their entire lives to ensuring a child’s academic success can be deemed unworthy by those within and outside of their families. The mother who has a career of her own is judged less likely to have a child who succeeds. A working mother would not be able to promote her child’s academic success, she says, at such a critical time. She asks one mother if she works, and when the mother says she does, the school career manager will not work for her. During the first episode of SKY Castle, a woman who helps students get into the best schools, is talking to four mothers who want to employ her.
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