The Recommendations
Black Dog returns this week with another slow but emotional episode as we get to the end of the school year and see how much the teachers and students have gone through. It has been an emotional roller coaster for them and while I still think the series could have done with a change of pace, the story does remain interesting nonetheless. Episode 11 of Black Dog begins with Jae-Hyun leaving Ha-Neul. At home, she finds out that the school is looking for a permanent Korean teacher so she decides to apply for it. During dinner, Ms Park reminisces about a time Mr Moon sided with Song before he talks about him becoming vice principal. Meanwhile, Hae-Won witnesses Ms Jang heading inside her uncle’s car, who turns out to be chief of administration, Yoo Jae-Ho, who we find out is also the chairman’s son. We then see a flashback to the day Hae-Won overheard him on the phone asking someone to hire his niece as a teacher at the school. The next morning, the teachers discuss who they should recommend to Hankuk university as they can only chose two. While they all think Yoo-Ra and Jae-Hyun would be the best candidates due to their high scores in science, they will have to choose as one has to be from science and one from liberal arts. The heads of each subjects have a meeting to discuss the recent permanent teachers job offers. Hae-Won is mentioned but Mr Moon tells them that they shouldn’t be chosen because of their longevity but for their skills instead. The principal later decides to give both recommendations to the science teachers as they have better grades than the liberal arts one. This causes a ripple of protests among the teachers, students and their parents. Yoo-Ra decides to take the advanced science class after finding out she will get a recommendation while the teachers meet again to discuss it. Hae-Won receives a call from a parent accusing the teachers of discrimination against liberal art students. We also find out that to get into school the science students have to take an advanced science test. Ms Park suggests that if they both perform well then they will recommend both of them. Mr Moon decides to have dinner with Yeo-Hwa to tell her about Hae-Won spreading rumours around the school. Back at school, we see Hae-Won reminiscing about the time he decided to post in the forum about the teacher, Ms Jang, who got the job thanks to her uncle. After finding out about Hae-Won, Yeo-Hwa meets with him to talk about what she found out about him while Yoo-Ra and Jae-Hyun bond over their issue of taking advanced science tests and finally clear the air after their recent spat. At school, Hae-Won apologises to Ha-Neul and admits to being the one who posted the rumour online. He first thought she got hired thanks to Mr Moon but soon realised that it wasn’t the case. As she accepts his apology, he also reveals that although he was wrong about her, there is actually someone else who got hired through nepotism. During lunch, Ha-Neul asks Ms Jang if she knew from the get go that her uncle was the chief of administration. This is a dig as she was asked a similar thing when she first started. Meanwhile Myung-Soo is giving extra lessons to Jae-Hyun and Yoo-Ra but she’s struggling. He asks Ha-Neul if she really wants to apply to Hankuk as she is wavering mentally. We later find out that Yoo-Ra didn’t get a good enough grade but is happy to go through regular admission instead. Later on, Ms Park has trouble keeping her students quiet while Ha-Neul gives gifts to hers for their hard work. This is quite emotional for the students as the year is almost over. As the day ends, Ha-Neul’s colleagues discuss what is to come next and wonder if Ha-Neul will become a permanent teacher at their school or another. They then decide to leave some chocolate and a letter for her on her desk which makes her very happy. Yeo-Hwa reveals to Ms Park that it was Hae-Won who has spreads the rumours and tells her that this should be taken into consideration as the teachers have a say on who gets the permanent position. However, she also mentions that there has been some shady hiring this year. The episodes ends with Ha-Neul meeting with her uncle and asking him if she should pass or fail. He tells her it will be a problem ether way and then asks him a favour; to be fair when choosing who will be permanent. Black Dog continues with its slow pace while delivering some informative and eye opening stories behind the education in South Korea. It shows that the teachers and students alike face a lot of challenges and stress and while it can sometimes be rewarding, it can also be frustrating too. I have enjoyed seeing the friendship evolution between Ha-Neul and her three colleagues who have grown fond of her. Seeing her get emotional with her students was quite touching too and certainly adds an emotional depth to the show. We’re getting close to the finale now and with it, I’m hoping to see Ha-Neul get the permanent position at the school. This does give the show some intrigue despite its slow pace and one thing is for sure, if she has to leave Ms Park, Mr Do and Mr Bae will definitely miss her.
