Duty After School

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Afterschool Military Activity, Banggwa hu Jeonjaeng Hwaldong, Afterschool War Activities

Japanese: 방과 후 전쟁활동

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Information

Type: Manhwa

Volumes: 5

Chapters: 50

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 17, 2012 to Dec 14, 2013

Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Military, Psychological, School

Serialization: Naver Webtoon

Authors: Ha, Il-Kwon (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.85¹ (scored by 3,667 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1138²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #2026

Members: 10,606

Favorites: 189

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7.85

Ranked #1138Popularity #2026Members 10,606

ManhwaNaver WebtoonHa, Il-Kwon (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /5

Chapters: /50

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Synopsis

Class 3-2 of Sungdong High School was just like any other class: a mismatched group of individuals preoccupied with their crushes, upcoming university exams, and other ordinary day-to-day worries. Yet, when strange purple orbs rain down from the sky one day, the students find their lives changing beyond the limits of imagination.

Capable of sporadic and sudden destruction, these spheres quickly send the world into a panic. With the South Korean military forces stretched thin, the government hastily enlists those in secondary education and above into the army. Now drafted into military training, Class 3-2 must abruptly set down their pens and pick up rifles instead.

Promised that they will encounter little danger—and that bonus university points await them post-service—the reluctant students are coaxed into accepting their new duty. Marching onward with an apathetic and easygoing attitude, the class begins their military service, unaware of the grim reality that will soon erode their innocent, carefree spirits.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Duty After School was published digitally in English by Webtoon from December 26, 2014, to December 4, 2015. The series was adapted into a Korean live-action drama TV show that aired from March 31, 2023, to April 21, 2023.

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Characters

Lee, Na Ra

Main

Noh, Ae Seol

Main

Wang, Tae Man

Main

Kim, Yu Jung

Main

Gwon, Il-ha

Main

Yeon, Bo Ra

Main

Lee, Chun Ho

Main

Guk, Youngsoo

Main

Doh, Su Cheol

Main

Woo, Hui Rak

Main

Reviews

Sep 25, 2024

bergars

Recommended

It's difficult to put into words all the series talks about, and it's done with purple balls that explode.

Of course, war being the first thing that pops into mind. It's one of the most outlandish premises I've seen in a while, but it's exactly that outlandishness that makes it so great. It touches upon war, yes, but it does it with something so strangely neutral. These balls, descended upon the earth one day. If you step close, they attack. They divide, and they're fast when done so. Simple as hell, typical as not many things, with some added complexities. It's not the threat that ... makes the story, but the people living against the threat. Kids.

Child soldiers, the tangent theme. The mental toll, their enjoyment of their lives, the effects, how their normal life mindset may set them up for their attitudes in war. North Korea and its symbolism from the greater scope of the story, and the commentary on how war is handled by the country. So many themes, and all projected with a group of kids.

It's a twisted coming of age story, where there's no good future for anybody. It's the looming threat that'll always be there. Doesn't matter if you're alive, dead, it's all the same. Death will always stand on top of you, and no solution can come about. Adults don't know what to do, and the kids much less. However, once the adults need the smaller ones to do their job, is when the humans are nearing their downfalls.

Even with all that tragedy, the story can touch comedy from such a human side of the spectrum. The kids do these interviews that keep us engaged with the characters. Mind you, it's a HUGE group. So huge, in fact, you won't be able to keep track of some. Being one of my complaints, but in a way, that works all the better for the themes of how human lives are disposable when nearing war.

We get to meet these characters, empathize, hate a few, and some may redeem themselves, others might lose their humanity. A cocktail of greatness, but many others who don't stand out. Humans, all of them, who eventually end up, as anybody else, consumed by war.

It's a story attempting to look in the bright side, but reality looking the audience in the eyes, and spiting on their faces. The story has a lesson to tell, and even if the ending doesn't close everything, it never feels unearned. Quite the contrary, it only makes sense to end the way it did.

I was going for an 8/10, but sincerely, I remember so much of it. By the end, whoever learned the most, or whoever died, or lived, stays with you. The ones I hate, or love, stay in my head. Unable to be forgotten to the horrors they lived. The guilt they had, and the intensity of the art, and action sequences.

“Duty After School” doesn't forgive the cast or the audience. It's in fact, one of my favorite apocalyptic stories as of late. A testament to an outlandish setup, running the mile, and achieving a sincerity that not many stories provide. It can get weird, it gets tragic, hell, even funny as hell. All the same, it gets incredible the more you think about it.

9.3/10. Not a 10 from how hard it was to grasp all the character, and scope. In a re-read, probably an absolute 10.

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Mar 4, 2021

Dreifckingdrei

Recommended

What can I say? It's basically a masterpiece.

STORY: 10

The plot lets you relax at first and then on and on and on it goes to different ways you could not imagine (which is why it is a psychological story).

ART: 10

HA IL-KWON draws on his manhwas is extraordinary in which he perceives and ilustrates the characters based on their personality and their development

...

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Dec 15, 2020

Abeyant

Recommended

I want to preface this by saying I think that Afterschool War Activities is really special in a lot of ways. For me its one of the few, probably only, stories that did a school setting right. It actually feels like school, an average classroom. I didn't realize it till I had read this just how real you could write it to be. It also managed to juggle its large cast extremely well - you don't really feel like anyone or any event loses focus cause of the size of the cast - the distance it takes from each of the characters is just right. ...

Story: I don't believe that the reader can pass judgement about the direction of the story, but I can safely say that I was satisfied all the way till the final chapter. But the way the story was told, the events that were described, the pacing, and the atmosphere created were all done without any mistakes. For atmosphere, the author never lets the readers mind stray far from the mind from the average character. Seeing everything through their eyes, and nothing more, means that characters can really shine which imo is the point of this. It does a really good job at that too.

Art: I think the art is great and it fits well. Its not super detailed nor is it uniquely good in how it conveys a characters feelings or anything else, but it never lets up on conveying important information and it meshes well with the POV of the characters - I think a better way to put it is that it feels like you're looking at someone's memories. Its not spectacular, but its uniqueness fits well and is interesting.

Character: This is where the story really shines. You are shown just enough about them, you can understand why they do things but not their inner thoughts, you get to see the evolution of a character and not the somewhat contrived "growth", when they argue you're not expected to agree with the first counter - it continues and feels natural, you get a sense of how the troublemakers are troublesome (or not) from a broader POV. Its little things and big things but I don't think I've seen it elsewhere and it does make a world of difference in how interactions and change comes across to and are interpreted by the reader. In a lot of ways this is not using the medium how its normally used - i.e. you never really have a lot of access to inner thoughts and even if you do its usually one-sided so you cant really resolve/understand things. Its more like someone filmed this imo(the do film btw), and I do think this is perfect for a live-action adaptation, but thats besides the point. I can't say anythinhg too specific cause it might spoil stuff but what I can say that characters in Afterschool War Activities are special, well-done, and you won't be dissapointed.

Enjoyment: Its become one of my all-time favorites. I tried to take my time with this but the story was too good and I finished in just two days. I gave it a 10/10 and I even wrote a review. =͟͟͞͞( °∀° )☛ Go and read it!

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Poll: Afterschool War Activities Chapter 21 Discussion xNihalx - Sep 16, 2014	1 replies	by CutieAnshin »» Jul 31, 2024 1:54 AM
Poll: Afterschool War Activities Chapter 19 Discussion joe_g7 - Dec 6, 2016	1 replies	by CutieAnshin »» Jul 29, 2024 8:10 AM
Poll: Afterschool War Activities Chapter 17 Discussion xNihalx - Sep 16, 2014	2 replies	by CutieAnshin »» Jul 27, 2024 3:59 AM
Poll: Afterschool War Activities Chapter 16 Discussion joe_g7 - Dec 6, 2016	1 replies	by CutieAnshin »» Jul 26, 2024 12:25 AM
Poll: Afterschool War Activities Chapter 11 Discussion joe_g7 - Dec 6, 2016	1 replies	by CutieAnshin »» Jul 20, 2024 1:02 AM

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