Director: | Lee Jung-heum |
Starring: | Ryu Deok-hwan Kwon Yul Jang Young-nam |
Country: | South Korea |
Language: | Korean |
Network: | SBS |
I'm After You (; also known as I've Got My Eye on You and I'm Aiming for You) is a 2015 South Korean made-for-television drama film starring Ryu Deok-hwan, Kwon Yul, and Jang Young-nam. The film is the debut of director Lee Jung-heum, who previously worked as an assistant director for Giant and The Chaser, with writer Kim Hyun-jung collaborating.[1] I’m After You was noted as the first South Korean drama to address the issues surrounding student loans.[2]
Park Hee-tae (Ryu) achieved national fame as the winner of a quiz show for smart children. He is now a transfer student at prestigious Seoul National University, where he feels like an outsider. Intent on rising in status, Hee-tae teams up with Yum Ki-ho (Kwon), a cold-hearted law student from a wealthy family, and establishes a student loan method called “Angel Fund.” The fund is tied to a prestigious club, which only certain privileged students can join. This leads to abusive dynamics and power-mongering between the students and eventually results in a murder. Realizing his own complicity in a fellow student's death, Hee-tae goes to the police and admits what he knows about the club and its dynamics. He presents CCTV footage of Yum's speeches as evidence that the club intentionally preyed on the powerless in order to strengthen a small elite.[3] [4]
The program aired on December 26, 2015, on SBS. It garnered positive reviews for its depiction of issues such as social hierarchy, university ranking, student debt, and society's emphasis on scholastic success.