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On June 7, 2024, Netflix released Hierarchy, a teenage K-drama that delves into the narrative of Jooshin High, an elite high school catering to South Korea's wealthiest families. The series explores the sensitive topics of power dynamics, roughhousing, and bullying, culminating in the brutal death of a 17-year-old student.
The protagonist, Kang Ha (played by Lee Chae-min), is a scholarship student at Jooshin High, determined to avenge his brother Kang In-han's death. Ha infiltrates the school, intent on uncovering a long-kept secret among the privileged students, often referred to as "royalties" within the elite institution. His mission is to identify and confront the culprits responsible for his brother's murder.
In the final moments of Hierarchy, the main protagonists, Kim Ri-an (Kim Jae-won), Jeong Jae-i (No Jeong-ee), and Kang Ha (Lee Chae-min), who get entangled in a cathartic love triangle, go their separate ways. However, the end credit scene gives a glimpse of a possible season 2 renewal with a new high school principal and a severely injured student.
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Hierarchy ends with a titillating cliffhanger and hints at a second-season renewal
Netflix's Hierarchy released all seven episodes on June 7, 2024. The show sets off with Jooshin High's scholarship student, Kang In-han's brutal death as a car hits him in the middle of the street. In-han's younger brother, Kang Ha, enters Jooshin High as the new scholarship student under the school's "Noblesse Oblige" program with a secret. Nobody is aware that he is related to In-han and is here to avenge his brother.
Kang Ha learns that In-han was subjected to massive bullying by the richest kids at school for becoming friends with one of the elite students, Jung Jae-i. Amidst all the rich students, four kids were considered royalties and invincible: Kim Ri-an, Jung Jae-i, Lee Woo-jin, and Yoon He-ra.
Kim Ri-an is the heir to Jooshin Group, the conglomerate that founded Jooshin High School. Jung Jae-i is the chaebol heiress of the Jaeyul Group, a rival to the Jooshin Group. Yoon He-ra is the best friend Jae-i and the daughter of the CEO of International Yoon while Lee Woo-jin is the second son of an assemblyman. They all play a huge part in Kang Ha's brother's bullying and death.
Hierarchy shows Kang Ha's attempts to gather evidence to find the real cause behind his brother's death. He provokes Kim Ri-an at every chance he gets as he believes Ri-an is the one who killed his brother. However, amidst everything, he develops feelings for Jae-i, who is Ri-an's girlfriend.
In the last two episodes of Hierarchy season 1, Kang Ha obtains video clips of his brother being bullied at school. He gets the footage from the school principal's son, Nam Ju-won, who had been secretly using them to blackmail Jae-i and planning to expose her and her friends' truth.
Nam Ju-won tells Kang Ha that her mother (the principal) was instructed by the chairwoman of the Jooshin Group to keep tight surveillance on every student's mobile cloud data. He revealed that her mother would collect footage from every cell phone connected to the school's wi-fi and submit them to the Jooshin Group chairwoman, who is the mother of Kim Ri-an.
Nam Ju-won collected those secretly from his mother's laptop and was determined to expose the rich kids and their bullying. Kang Ha manages to convince the principal's son and takes those clips to the police, which results in an investigation.
However, Kang Ha wasn't yet aware that his brother In-han used a spy cam to record the torture he faced till his dying moments. The spy cam was disguised as a pen and had been missing since In-han's death. In Hierarchy episode 7, it is revealed that the spy cam was in possession of Lee Woo-jin—Ri-an's best friend and the son of a politician.
At the end of Hierarchy, Woo-jin gives that spy cam to Jae-i and confesses that he had been trying to protect Han Ji-su, their homeroom teacher. Han Ji-su and Woo-jin had an illegal affair throughout the series and in episode 7 it is revealed that she was the one who hit In-han with her car, leading to his death. Jae-i gives that spy cam and footage to Kang Ha to help him arrest Han Ji-su and get justice for his brother.
Kang Ha takes the evidence to the police including the video of Han Ji-su hitting In-han with her car and leaving him for dead and escapes. Meanwhile, Han Ji-su tries to flee after being fired from Jooshin High for having an illegitimate affair with a school student. The police barge at her door and arrest her for murder and hit-and-run charges.
The police also get warrants and a search and seizure order for Jooshin High where the students involved in bullying the kids from underprivileged backgrounds get interrogated. Jung Jae-i visits In-han's tomb with Kim Ri-an and both vow to right their wrongs. Meanwhile, Jooshin High fires the principal and Jae-i tells Ri-an that she is leaving for New York.
Hierarchy wraps up with Jae-i promising Ri-an that they would meet again in the future before going their separate ways. She tells him that to be together they both have to find their own identities and happiness away from their families who have never cared for their children's mental health and well-being. Ri-an apologizes to Kang Ha for not stepping in when In-han was being bullied but Kang Ha tells him that he will never forgive Ri-an.
Kang Ha finally gets Jooshin High rid of its bullying culture and begins to develop a new friendship with Yoon He-ra. In the last scene, Kang Ha runs to meet Jae-i before she leaves for New York and hugs her. He apologizes for developing feelings for her and blames himself for her decision to leave. Jae-i reassures him that she is leaving to find herself and they will meet again.
The end credits of Hierarchy show Yoon He-ra finding a bloodied student lying on the floor of Jooshin High classroom. The entire class is shocked and terrified when Kim Ri-an gets a text from an anonymous account.
Meanwhile, Kang Ha is seen walking in the corridor of Jooshin High with a sinister smile before the final credits roll. With this Netflix hinted at the possible arrival of a second season of Hierarchy with a new angle.
