Lee Sun Bin, Yoo Jae Myung, And More Unveil The Chaos Behind CSAT Question-Setting In “Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng”

The film “Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng” has unveiled new stills ahead of its premiere!

“Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng” is a comedy film about Maeng Bo Ram (Lee Sun Bin), a Korean language teacher from a small provincial town who unexpectedly joins the team responsible for creating Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), also known as the Suneung, due to an administrative error. The question-setting headquarters is sealed off for 40 days as the committee works in complete secrecy to create “problem-free questions” without typos or room for dispute.

The newly released stills show Maeng Bo Ram, an enthusiastic Korean language teacher who accidentally joins the CSAT question-setting camp due to an administrative error, confidently raising her hand and openly voicing her opinions in front of the veteran exam writers. Her bold, outspoken attitude reflects the spirit of a younger-generation teacher and contrasts with the more seasoned committee members, raising curiosity about how their different personalities will interact.

Other stills introduce a colorful cast of characters with distinct personalities. Na Eun Mi (Hwang Bo Ra), a Korean literature professor who lives and breathes fashion, clasps her hands in admiration as she gazes at a screen displaying a Korean language question she has written for the CSAT. Meanwhile, Professor Ye (Jung Soo Young), an aesthetics professor who studied in France, enthusiastically explains something with animated hand gestures.

Veteran question writer Kang Ji Hye (Lee Jin Hee), who has served on the CSAT question-setting committee five times, appears deep in thought as she studies another committee member’s question.

The stills also feature Park Kyung Tae (Kim Young Min), the head of the CSAT review committee, reuniting with his longtime rival Moon Joo Yeol (Yoo Jae Myung), the head of the Korean language question-setting committee.

In the stills, Moon Joo Yeol abruptly rises from his seat to engage in a tense argument at the meeting table, while Go Jae Bong (Kim Kyung Min), a philosophy professor, cautiously glances to the side. Also captured are Hwang Si In (Lee Joong Ok), a schoolteacher and poet who won a literary award for a debut poem, and Ki Jun Soo (Jeon Seok Ho), an evaluation institute employee who is a master of workplace social skills.

One particularly intriguing still shows Moon Joo Yeol wearing a stern expression as someone presents him with a pack of ginseng juice, his secret weapon, adding to the curiosity surrounding the unpredictable events that will unfold at the question-setting headquarters.

Finally, a still showing the committee members passionately exchanging ideas in front of a whiteboard highlights the film’s central question: Can these strong-willed individuals work together to create “problem-free questions” within the 40-day deadline?

“Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng” will hit theaters nationwide on October 28.

In the meantime, watch Lee Sun Bin in “Boyhood” below:

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