High School Frenemy & School 2013: A Comparison
Let me begin by saying that I’m not making this post to diminish either drama. I’m a long time fan the original Korean drama School 2013 and an excited new fan of the Thai remake High School Frenemy. As someone whose long held School 2013 in my heart, I’m so happy to see it getting a remake and renewed attention. I encourage anyone who has been enjoying High School Frenemy to check out the School 2013! Although there are definitely similarities, there are more than enough differences to enjoy both dramas distinctly.
For my own enjoyment, I’ve decided to take a closer look at the differences and similarities between these two shows so that I may better appreciate what each iteration brings to the table. I will avoid explicit spoilers at this time but may reflect more on different plot points as the Thai drama airs.
For reference: Saint (HSF) = Namsoon (School 2013), Shin (HSF) = Heungsoo (School 2013)
You can see the bare bones of the original drama in the 1st 2 episodes of HSF with core characters and the overall premise, although there are quite a few differences. School 2013 is more slice of life, following high schoolers trying to find purpose while dealing with bullying and a lack of support outside of school. It is low-key and more insular when compared to HSF which has already introduced a new conflict and new characters to the story with the merging of 2 schools. This conflict did not exist in the original drama and inherently alters the storyline. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
The heart of both stories, of course, is the relationship between Saint & Shin (HSF) and Namsoon & Heungsoo (School 2013). While Saint and Shin do share some similarities with their Korean counterparts, they are also quite different.
Saint somehow feels more sturdy and focused than his Korean counterpart Namsoon who felt softer and more blurred at the edges. Saint, comparatively, also seems to have a greater sense of responsibility to those around him - taking accountability for his father, stopping a schoolmate from smoking. At this stage of the story, Namsoon was more resigned, drifting, reluctantly doing the bare minimum and eager to leave others to their own devices. The 1st few episodes of School 2013 just begin to show Namsoon making connections with those around him. We see shades of this isolation in Saint too but perhaps HSF simply doesn’t let us sit in it for quite as long which leads into pacing differences and the introduction of Shin/Heungsoo.
School 2013 really takes its time and lets the audience settle into the dynamics of Namsoon, the teachers, and the class before introducing Heungsoo to shake things up. Heungsoo doesn’t even officially join the class until the very end of episode 3! Nevermind biting our nails to find out their backstory, we didn’t even truly know there was tea to be spilled in the beginning. Of course, School 2013 was allowed to take its time with 16 episodes while HSF only has 10 episodes and a lot of ground to cover.
Shin is quite different from his Korean counterpart Heungsoo. This is likely due to their inherent circumstances. Shin transfers to Saint’s class along with his friends and classmates. In School 2013, Heungsoo transfers to Namsoon’s school alone and without a support system. Shoved into a hostile environment on his own, Heungsoo is much more solemn and withdrawn.
This is another interesting change made by HSF. School 2013 makes it explicitly clear that Namsoon and Heungsoo had very little support apart from each other before their falling out. Even after they’ve gone their separate ways, neither makes a concerted effort to establish or maintain new relationships. As touched upon above, a large part of Namsoon’s growth in School 2013 is growing beyond himself and establishing relationships apart from Heungsoo - although Heungsoo always remains his most important relationship. In contrast, Heungsoo never really strays far from Namsoon. So for HSF to focus on Shin being the one to establish so many friendships apart from Saint shifts the balance of their dynamic in a way that is different from School 2013 and I think it will be interesting to see it play out. In spite of this change, something that seems to hold true with both dramas is that Saint & Shin and Namsoon & Heungsoo shine brightest and seem most themselves in flashbacks when their friendship is at its strongest.
The inclusion of Saint’s parents is also a major departure from School 2013 where Namsoon & Heungsoo’s parents were barely mentioned and never seen on screen. The lack of a healthy parental support system outside of school was a core theme of the original series. It’s interesting to see the Thai version directly address absent parents and include a living parent - even more interesting that they so far are still mirroring School 2013’s themes with Saint’s father clearly not serving as an adequate parental figure despite being present on screen and in his son’s life.
Other noticeable character changes include Mark Pakin’s character having an established friendship of sorts with Shin while in School 2013, this character takes a liking to Saint’s counterpart Namsoon instead and the 2 gradually form a heartwarming bond. Furthermore, in School 2013, there is only one collective group of 3 “delinquents” and they serve as the primary instigators of much of the trouble in the class. There is no ongoing feud between 2 class factions like in HSF. While there is still plenty of fighting in School 2013, it’s more one sided.
I’m also very curious to see what HSF does with the teachers. In School 2013, the teachers were a large focal point of the story and so far HSF has stayed true to key factors of their storyline.
HSF is so interesting because in some ways it feels so different from School 2013 but then they’ll have Saint jump off the school roof and I’m suddenly reminded that shit did actually happen in School 2013 too lol Despite being a remake HSF is absolutely adapting the material into its own story. As a viewer, it’s usually difficult for me to rewatch something or watch something for the 1st time when I know what’s going to happen. However, HSF is keeping me on my toes and keeping me hooked just like School 2013 did all those years ago. It feels like a familiar but entirely new experience all at once. I’m so excited to see how it progresses, especially the relationship between Saint and Shin. I wonder how much of their backstory will remain the same or change from School 2013. Even if HSF lifts their entire backstory, it will inevitably play out differently given the changes they’ve already made to their characters and the story. In any case, Namsoon and Heungsoo in School 2013 had me by the throat back in the day and I can already feel that starting to happen with Saint and Shin too. I’m excited!
If you made it this far, hopefully any of that made sense lol I’m all over the place because there’s just so much to talk about! & I’m sure I’ll think of more things I’ll wish I’d have said later but I just wanted to write down some of my thoughts. Thanks for putting up with my ramblings!
