“Police University” is one of those shows that instantly gave me warm fuzzy vibes. It has a bit of scrappy “Fight for My Way,” a sprinkling of follow-your-first-love-to-college “Felicity,” a chuckling of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and a rain-soaked slathering of “An Officer and A Gentleman.”
Those stories are all loved in various ways, so I am happy I see just a tiny bit of each one in “Police University.” But “Police University” is its own thing forming its own quirky, lovesick path!
If you are wondering what “Police University” is about, be sure to read our information-filled post on the premise and main characters, as well as our post on the stars of the show!
Briefly, Jung Jin-Young plays Kang Sun Ho, a smart-yet-listless high school senior who wants nothing in life – until he sees Oh Kang Hee (played by Krystal), who passionately wants to be accepted into Police University.
This sparks in Sun Ho a drive to also be accepted into Police University – partly because he likes Kang Hee and partly because he wants something to be passionate about.
However, his past catches up with him when a new Police University professor has a vendetta against Sun Ho and would rather have anyone be accepted into Police University but Sun Ho.
POLICE UNIVERSITY: EPISODE 1
I must admit, the first ten minutes of “Police University” was pure love for me.
We start with an introduction of the recruits at the University saying their police officers’ pledge. This is intermixed with clips of Detective Yoo Dong Man (played by Cha Tae-Hyun) in a sting operation at an illegal pop-up casino operation.
The sting operation actually happened in the past. So, we hop in the DeLorean and are placed just a few months before the recruit’s acceptance, where we see this sting operation fully play out, revealing that Detective Yoo has been trying to bust this pop-up gambling ring for a while now.
Long story short, he fails to bust it this time.
But he hopes to bust it soon using his secret weapon – the help of a high school hacker who just so happens to be our faithful protagonist, Sun Ho.
Detective Yoo and Sun Ho chat on the dark web every night, forming a pseudo-friendship between them.
However, Sun Ho and Detective Yoo do not know anything about each other, other than their chats. This is important for later!
Sun Ho ends up getting in a bit of trouble when his adopted father needs surgery for stage 1 cancer. He and his brother have to come up with $7,000 on the spot.
So Sun Ho decides to use his hacking know-how and steal the money from the illegal gambling operation. He feels terrible about this, but he does it for his father.
However, Dong Man is watching the cryptocurrency on this illegal gambling site and busts Sun Ho and his brother for stealing money on the dark web.
Dong Man decides not to arrest them, but he tells Sun Ho that he never wants to see him in front of his face again — or else!
This does not bode well for Sun Ho because Sun Ho falls in love at first sight with Kang Hee, who desperately wants to get accepted to the Police University.
Kang Hee’s passion mixed with Sun Ho’s interest in her, coupled with his desire to be passionate about something leads him to apply to Police University. He makes it all the way to the interview stage!
His father is so proud of him, which affects Sun Ho. His new passion becomes making his father proud by getting accepted to Police University, and one day becoming a great police officer.
However, when he gets to the interview, the last person he thought he would ever see again is Detective Yoo Dong Man, one of the four interview gatekeepers to the University.
Detective Yoo immediately tells Sun Ho he will never let him into this school!
POLICE UNIVERSITY: EPISODE 2
The second episode is a series of trials and tribulations for poor Sun Ho.
Sun Ho passes the interview stage and is accepted into the cadet training period before college starts. However, Detective Yoo, who is now Professor Yoo, vows to make his life miserable until he quits.
This is where the “Officer and a Gentleman” vibes kick in full steam (and I am very SO much here for it!).
Nothing Sun Ho does is remotely right. And to make matters worse, Professor Yoo makes him leader of a squadron, so if anyone messes up in his squadron, Sun Ho is also to blame!
And let me tell you, his squadron is pitiful.
To give you just a taste of what Sun Ho has to go through: he is forced to do pushups until he collapses, is thrown all-around a Judo mat, has to duckwalk up a hillock twice, is repeatedly made to look incompetent, and voluntarily takes the blame for his squadron when they are caught eating ramen secretly.
This leads to even more calisthenic torture around the track field that night.
The poor baby is trying his hardest, but his best effort doesn’t matter because Professor Yoo just does not like Sun Ho, and never will.
At the end of the episode, during the night of calisthenic torture, Professor Yoo once again tells Sun Ho to quit because he knows Sun Ho will not follow the rules like an honest officer should.
Sun Ho begs for one more chance, but Professor Yoo tells him he isn’t worthy of one more chance and walks away.
But… that’s when Professor Yoo gets a phone call from his detective partner. You see, Professor Yoo has been trying to find his hacker friend, and his partner has found him – it’s Sun Ho!
In the midst of this revelation, Sun Ho picks himself off the ground, walks up to Professor Yoo, and asks for one more chance. If his team does not get first in tomorrow’s task, he will voluntarily drop out.
And that is where episode 2 ends!
Of course, we know his team will win, right? They have to win to keep Sun Ho in the school! The fun lies in how they win and the emotional turmoil-to-triumph they go through to get there.
Or, perhaps they lose, but Professor Yoo keeps Sun Ho in the school anyway?
We shall see!
The first two episodes of “Police University” were a fun, quirky romp that did not take itself too seriously. If you are looking for an underdog drama that has a bit of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” sprinkled with “Felicity” and mixed with “An Officer and a Gentleman,” then “Police University” might be right up your alley!
You can stream both episodes of “Police University” right now on KOCOWA. Start your free two-week trial today!
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