Sassy Go Go (Korean: 발칙하게 고고; Balchikhage Go Go), also known as Cheer Up!, is a 2015 Korean Drama. Set in the elite Sevit High School, the series follows the student lives of Kang Yeon Doo and her dance club Real King, as well as Kim Yeol and Kwon Soo Ah, members of the Baek Ho student organization. As part of a plan to get Soo Ah into an Ivy League school, the two clubs are forced to come together and practice for a national cheerleading competition. As the series goes on, drama starts to unfold between the students, parents, and faculty.
The series contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Seo Ha-joon's father, who physically and verbally abuses his son if his marks are poor.
- Soo-Ah's mother, as she puts immense pressure on Soo-Ah to be the top student and get into an Ivy League school in order to impress her.
- Academic Alpha Bitch: Deconstructed with Kwon Soo Ah. She is shown to abrasive and manipulative, and is even willing to frame Kim Yeol for stealing the midterms. However, she is shown to be heavily under the influence of her mother, and clearly regrets most of her harsh actions.
- Always Second Best: Soo Ah. The bulk of her story is revolved around how she always ranks behind Kim Yeol, and how far she will go to appease her mother and become the top student.
- Boarding School: Sevit High.
- Book Dumb: Kang Yeon Doo, as well as the members of Real King, are outcasted for being the lowest ranked students in the school.
- Childhood Friends: Kang Yeon Doo and Ha Dong Jae. Dong Jae joins the cheerleading team because of his deep friendship with Yeon Doo.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Kwon Soo-Ah keeps an entire pack of cigarettes hidden behind an equipment box, which she goes to during times when she is particularly stressed (though she never smokes one on-screen).
- Clear Their Name: When Soo-Ah steals the USB with the midterms, she frames Kim Yeol by placing it in his bag. Yeon Doo, wanting to prove his innocence, goes through the CCTV footage, and uses Hyo-Sik's video to prove he never stole it.
- Cool Teacher: Teacher Yang, an overall Nice Guy who deeply cares about his students, and wants to help them bond and win the cheerleading competition.
- Nam Jung-Ah, while reluctant at first, does connect with the cheerleading club, and similarly wants them to succeed.
- Dean Bitterman: Principal Choi. She will go any length to preserve the school's reputation, heavily favors students like Soo-Ah, is easily bribed by the more powerful parents, and heavily opposes Yeon Doo and Teacher Yang because they exposed many of the school's scandals.
- Education Mama: Most of the parents of the Baek Ho members, particularly Soo-Ah's mother.
- False Rape Accusation: In Episode 6, Teacher Yang accidentally touches Jae-young's chest when he catches her from a fall. Soo-ah uses this as an opportunity to get him fired before his contract expires.
- School Clubs Are Serious Business: Baek Ho only labels itself as a cheerleading club in order to look good on its members college applications. Real King and Baek Ho were initiallly only combined so that they could win the national competition to put on Soo Ah's Ivy League application.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Suave and stuck-up Kim Yeol falls in love with the friendly and assertive Yeon Doo.
