Teach You a Lesson Ending Explained: Will Cho Gyu-cheol Go to Jail?

Helmed by Hong Jong-chan, ‘Teach You a Lesson,’ also known as ‘Chamgyoyuk,’ is a Korean action school drama series that is, on some level, a wish-fulfillment fantasy for adults. In this world, schools are being destroyed from the inside out due to bullying, harassment, and a string of other abusive practices that are seemingly impossible to manage. However, all of that changes when the Minister of Education comes out with a radical solution: a tightly knit government body that will go from school to school, free to introduce whatever disciplinary measure they want, and however they see fit. What begins is a series of battles between unruly kids and adults who just so happen to be even more aggressive in their approach. The conclusion to this series, however, takes on a surprisingly emotional turn, tying the protagonist, Na Hwa-jin’s, traumatic past to his present. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Teach You a Lesson Plot Recap

‘Teach Your Lesson’ begins by introducing us to a world where the student-teacher power dynamic has essentially been flipped over. The school corridors are overrun with bullying, abuse, and harassment, not just among students, but also directed towards teachers. Many believe that this is because of the removal of corporal, that is, physical punishment, as a disciplinary measure. However, none of that matters to Dae-su, a teen who jumps to his death from the building of Jiwan High School after being relentlessly bullied by a congressman’s son. However, this dire state of affairs isn’t there to stay for long, as the Ministry of Education is rolling out a rather experimental bureau, named the Educational Rights Protection Bureau, or the ERPB for short.

What makes the ERPB uniquely powerful in this case is that it has exclusive rights to use physical force, or just about any means necessary to reintroduce discipline to schools. On that note, it also shares an unusual degree of government protection, even when extremely powerful people try to block its way. At the front of it all is Na Hwa-jin, an ex-soldier who overwhelms the most violent of bullying or organized gangs with his sheer physical prowess and ability to get people to listen the hard way. At first, the ERPB’s target seems to be the most infamous of schools, where localized discipline is followed by sweeping changes to the law. Over the course of the show, however, the ERPB’s reach expands to also include student-to-teacher injustices, or parental abuse of power, or the problems of drugs and other addictive elements flowing through multiple schools at once.

Though the opposition, led by Hwang Gi-tae, intends to have a field day with this nigh-illegal government body, nothing they do seems to have an effect. It all boils down to the Minister of Education Choi Gang-seok, who also happens to be the would-be father-in-law of Na Hwa-jin. Both of their lives are marked by tragedy; however, at the root of it all lies the death of Choi Ga-yun, Gang-seok’s daughter and Hwa-jin’s fiancée, who was killed by a student two years ago. Things intensify steadily as this news makes it to the public, with Gi-tae making some shady deals to organize for an early release of the killer, Cho Gyu-cheol. Back at school, Gyu-cheol surprisingly brings awareness to a bullying incident, but all of this is revealed to be his plan to trick the ERPB. Hwa-jin is not one to fall for such schemes as easily, though, and thus begins an elaborate chess match.

Teach You a Lesson Ending: Will Cho Gyu-cheol Go to Jail? Does Na Hwa-jin Get His Revenge?

‘Teach You a Lesson’ ends with Na Hwa-jin outsmarting Cho Gyu-cheol and disrupting the drug racket, but not without his share of personal and legal hurdles. The biggest ambiguity remains in the details, as the justice system still has its hands tied behind its back when it comes to juvenile offenses. Gyu-cheol has already been to prison once before, and even there, he managed to get out before the end of his sentence. As such, the reality of Hwa-jin’s victory is still bathed in a rather grim light, as there is a sizeable chance that Gyu-cheol might walk away with a tap on his wrist. One thing that remains certain, however, is that Hwa-jin and his team will now be there to stop Gyu-cheol’s shenanigans, no matter how many times he tries to come back.

Though Gyu-cheol seems to have an upper hand throughout the entire final arc, all of it is revealed to be a carefully orchestrated setup from Hwa-jin and Minister Choi Gang-seok. At the heart of this stratagem lies a moment from Hwa-jin’s past, when he nearly rammed his car into Gyu-cheol after the trial. It is perhaps the only moment we see Hwa-jin give in to his rage, only for Gang-seok to stop him in time and instill the values Choi Ga-yun left him with. From that moment on, Hwa-jin is effectively immune to all temptation, which recontextualizes the moment he strikes Gyu-cheol, allowing him to feel like he’s already won.

In reality, Hwa-jin merely pretends to cool down his response and lets the ERPB’s brief suspension further fuel Gyo-cheol’s confidence. Before long, the teen reassembles his drug network and begins the spread, not knowing that he is letting the government in on every little detail of his operation, bit by bit. Gyu-cheol’s entire belief system stems from his complete trust in the failure of the system and how it disproportionately benefits students over teachers. In his hubris, however, he wholly underestimates Hwa-jin and has to give up in the final clash. Most importantly, however, the show doesn’t frame this Hwa-jin exacting his revenge as a part of him understands that Gyu-cheol, a minor, has also been molded by his tragic circumstances, with the adults in his life failing him at every step. As such, while Gyu-cheol might be going behind bars once again, this presents an opportunity for him to right his wrongs under the right guidance.

Does Chi-ho Live or Die? What Happens to Seong-gu?

Though the finale concludes Na Hwa-jin’s dynamic with Cho Gyu-cheol, it leaves Chi-ho’s fate hanging in the air. The last we know of the student is that he is desperately fighting for his life at the hospital after falling from several floors. While the world believes that he attempted to take his own life after his heated exchange with the ERPB, the reality is unknown to practically everyone except Hwa-jin. As such, Chi-ho’s returning to consciousness might be the key to proving that Gyu-cheol has been the mastermind behind the entire operation this entire time. However, what likely matters a lot more to Hwa-jin is ensuring that Chi-ho survives this ordeal, as while the two may have their differences, nothing can justify this pointless violence. However, given the show’s hopeful pattern when it comes to conclusions, Chi-ho is most likely alive and on course to recovery already.

The fact that Hwa-jin’s commitment to children goes beyond a personal vendetta is perhaps shown best in how he nearly sacrifices his life for Seong-gu. When Gyu-cheol’s underlings hold Seong-gu at knifepoint, all hope momentarily seems lost, until Han-rim enters to save the day. With that, we see Seong-gu injured, but alive, as he is ushered to the ambulance. For quite some time, Seong-gu has been the target of several bullies, which creates a chain reaction where he becomes hopelessly dependent on additional sources of income to make up for the economic burden on his family. However, given how Gyu-cheol’s story ends, Seong-gu is most likely to get compensated for the horrors he’s had to endure, which adds his name to the list of children who owe their lives to the ERPB.

Do Bong Geun-dae and Im Han-rim End up Together?

‘Teach You a Lesson’ also ends on a happy note for the story’s two clueless lovebirds, Bong Geun-dae and Im Han-rim, who are already at the hand-holding stage, but haven’t quite made the relationship official yet. The biggest climax in their ship ironically happens during the most intense moment, when Na Hwa-jin’s life is at stake. Han-rim, still high after inhaling the powder, desperately needs to sober up in order to pull off her martial arts, and for that, Inspector Bong goes for the most unusual of methods. As if he’s been waiting for this for quite a while, he rushes in for a kiss, giving Han-rim enough of a surprise to be completely awake. In the present, however, she doesn’t seem upset by this breach of boundaries, and, on the contrary, it appears to have merely brought their secret chemistry out into the open.

Though Han-rim’s feelings for Inspector Bong are apparent from early on in the series, it’s the latter’s affirmation that comes as quite the surprise. In the final sequence, he appears to be more proactively trying to impress his partner, be it by holding her hands or trying to get better at his job to stand up with his peers. From a distance, Hwa-jin and Minister Choi Gang-seok find it amusing how the two are clearly in love, but hardly have a clue about the other, or even how to bring it up. In reality, however, it appears that the two are making progress in their own way, slowly building up an understanding and partnership that defies simple words. While the season doesn’t confirm their relationship outright, it firmly teases that the duo is not going away anytime soon.

Does Hwang Gi-tae Get Arrested? What’s Next For ERPB Stay?

Cho Gyu-cheol is not the only one who is about to see the insides of the bar, as opposition leader Hwang Gi-tae’s illegal exports are also brought to attention, essentially bringing him down. While Gi-tae serves as a secondary antagonist throughout the season, he often does so via proxies, either engineering conflicts or crafting his own narratives out of them. In a morbid way, his role becomes a symbol for how abusive adults create a cycle that directly harms children, pushing them onto a self-destructive path. In the end, Minister Choi Gang-seok rightfully called him out on that exact front, revealing that Gi-tae ordered Gyu-cheol’s release and purposefully obscured the truth about Chi-ho for his personal gain.

As Gi-tae is arrested and most likely sent to prison for good, the biggest opposition standing in ERPB’s way collapses almost instantly. While public support for the initiative dipped to an all-time low in the events leading up to Chi-ho’s suicide attempt, the truth has a positive chain reaction, reigniting the public’s as well as the educators’ trust in the government body. In the final moments of ‘Teach You a Lesson,’ we see the trio of Hwa-jin, Inspector Bong, and Han-rim, now more confident than ever, as they quite literally pool their respective strengths to make their next job a success. Though given that infamous Hwa-jin has become over the course of these months, the journey ahead will likely not be as difficult.