Scenes from ‘True Education’ featuring actor Park Ji-yeon in a riveting performance.

Quite a few people have been clutching the backs of their necks because of actor Park Ji-yeon.

In episode 5 of the OTT platform Netflix series ‘True Education’ (directed by Hong Jong-chan), released on the 5th, Park Ji-yeon transformed into the ultimate villainous parent, ‘Woo-jin’s mother,’ and delivered a breathless performance.

In the story, Park presents the archetype of an overbearing parent who overprotects her son and routinely lodges malicious complaints against teachers. From her tense first entrance during a classroom observation to the chilling mania of monitoring a teacher’s private life and spreading falsehoods on mom-cafe forums, Park meticulously builds each step of the character’s descent and dominates the screen. Seizing on trivial pretexts, she bombards the teacher with messages day and night, and even files a false accusation against the homeroom teacher for ‘emotional child abuse,’ a string of unbridled misdeeds that drives viewers’ outrage to a peak. In particular, the late-act rampage when she comes up against inspector Na Hwa-jin (Kim Moo-yeol) of the Teachers Rights Protection Bureau and his role-reversal approachlosing her reason and lashing outdelivers tension worthy of a thriller film.

Moreover, Park renders with dense emotional control the moment when, even under the strong pressure of the Teachers Rights Protection Bureau, the character who had kept justifying her actions to the end collapses upon facing her wounded son’s tearful confession. The look in her eyes, carrying the shock and shame of realizing she had forgotten the sound of her child’s laughter, left viewers with more than simple anger, imparting a deep social resonance and aftertaste.

‘True Education,’ showcasing a powerful turn from Park Ji-yeon, is available to stream on Netflix.