[TF Cinema Review] 'The Secret of the College Entrance Exam' Exceeds Expectations

A vivid and delightful behind-the-scenes story of the CSAT exam's creation.A chaotic mission comedy brought to life by Lee Sun-bin and Yoo Jae-myung.Released on October 28th, 'The Secret of the CSAT Exam' is a mission comedy film about Maeng Bo-ram, a Korean language teacher from a small provincial town, who unexpectedly joins the exam preparation team, which is sealed off for 40 days to create the CSAT, a top-secret national affair. The film depicts her chaotic efforts to create a 'problem-free problem' without typos or disputes. /Studio By4m[THE FACT|Reporter Park Ji-yoon] 'The Secret of the CSAT Exam' pleasantly unravels the unfamiliar yet intriguing behind-the-scenes of the CSAT exam preparation, prompting a reflection on the meaning of education and college entrance exams in Korea. It also provides a hearty laugh with the fresh ensemble of actors, leaving audiences with food for thought on what it means to be a good adult.Released on October 28th, 'The Secret of the CSAT Exam' (Director Lee Yong-jae) is a mission comedy film about Maeng Bo-ram (played by Lee Sun-bin), a Korean language teacher from a small provincial town, who unexpectedly joins the exam preparation team, which is sealed off for 40 days to create the CSAT, a top-secret national affair. The film depicts her chaotic efforts to create a 'problem-free problem' without typos or disputes.In Korea, the College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT, is more than just an entrance exam; it's a national event that impacts society as a whole. For the students who have prepared for years, the police provide traffic control and transportation support, while during the English listening comprehension test, flights are restricted and the stock market opening is delayed, as various sectors of society mobilize to ensure students can take the exam smoothly.'The Secret of the CSAT Exam,' which deals with this, opens with the scene of Korea's top CSAT experts entering the exam preparation headquarters after undergoing thorough security checks, 40 days before the exam. At this point, the story truly unfolds when Maeng Bo-ram, who had been teaching Korean for five years in a small provincial town, mistakenly joins the preparation camp as an examiner due to an administrative error, replacing someone with the same name.All electronic devices, including mobile phones, are naturally prohibited from the preparation headquarters, and credit cards cannot be used at convenience stores as their locations could be exposed. CSAT examiners, who are under strict surveillance in a space completely isolated from the outside world, to the point where even posting a photo on a window is not allowed, struggle to create fair problems without typos or disputes in a headquarters where even leaving mid-way is not permitted.Lee Sun-bin (top left), who plays the protagonist Maeng Bo-ram, anchors the film with her stable performance, while Yoo Jae-myung (top right) attempts a dramatic transformation by playing Moon Joo-yeol, an annoying yet lovable character. /Studio By4mAs the events of 40 days are compressed into 99 minutes, the characters' traits and relationships are somewhat exaggerated, and some processes are omitted. Nevertheless, the film was completed with interviews and writings from actual exam creators, as well as stories encountered through people around them, making it not entirely detached from reality. The film interestingly unfolds the behind-the-scenes of the CSAT creation process, which most audiences are unaware of, on the screen.In this process, Moon Joo-yeol (played by Yoo Jae-myung), the head of the Korean language exam committee, learns that another examiner has joined due to an administrative issue. However, to avoid the cumbersome and tiresome process of calling the original Maeng Bo-ram, he presents a plausible excuse, stating, "It's good for diversity."In particular, it reveals the hierarchical and exclusive culture centered around elite university graduates, forming a cartel and assigning Maeng Bo-ram menial tasks like fetching coffee and making copies, thus showcasing a microcosm of Korean society.The film also doesn't miss the question of what it means to be a good adult, through Maeng Bo-ram, who, amidst adults prioritizing themselves over students, struggles to the end to create a fair exam for everyone with pure sincerity and unwavering conviction.'The Secret of the CSAT Exam' is the directorial debut of Lee Yong-jae, who previously worked as a screenwriter for the film 'Mathematica in Wonderland.' It vividly and delightfully unfolds the behind-the-scenes story of the CSAT creation, which everyone is curious about but no one can know. /Studio By4mAdding to this, the actors' passionate performances and fresh ensemble bring the story to life with even more vitality. Lead actress Lee Sun-bin provides a stable anchor for the film, while Jeon Seok-ho, Lee Jin-hee, Jung Soo-young, and Hwang Bo-ra breathe life into the work by naturally portraying characters with distinct personalities.Among them, Yoo Jae-myung truly stands out. Although he has played villainous roles, he has primarily taken on gentle or weighty characters. In this film, he portrays a character who is endlessly light, subtly annoying, yet undeniably lovable, with a performance style never seen before. His engaging banter with Kim Young-min, making it hard to distinguish between ad-libs and scripted lines, truly takes responsibility for the audience's laughter.'The Secret of the CSAT Exam,' which uses the CSAT as its subject matter—an experience anyone who has attended or is attending school in Korea can hardly avoid—offers a glimpse into the world of the CSAT preparation headquarters, a setting rarely explored in Korean cinema.While intricately depicting the various circumstances and bittersweet relationships of the exam creators, it exhilaratingly satirizes the tightly interwoven cartel of power and academic background. Along with the fun of comedy, it also delivers a lingering resonance that makes viewers reflect on reality, prompting them to reconsider Korea's entrance exam education and the things that have been taken for granted within it. It is rated 12+ and has a running time of 99 minutes.jiyoon-1031@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]