SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- In South Korea, taking the annual college entrance exam is considered a major life milestone.

Companies postpone commuting hours, aircraft are grounded for half an hour and police cars and motorcycles shuttle late students to their exam sites.

"The Gorals" follows four high school seniors -- In-hye (Park Hye-jin), Seo-hee (Lee Seung-yeon), Jeong-ae (Park Hyo-eun) and Soo-min (Choi Soo-in) -- who decide not to follow this well-trodden path.

The four girls -- who are neither wallflowers nor troublemakers but are loners at school -- befriend one another after a teacher organizes a tutoring group for students who have submitted blank forms on their plans after graduation.

Rather than getting to know each of them, the teacher dismisses them as the kind of students she encounters every year: "those who think they are special but are not."

This still, provided by Cinema Dal, shows a scene from the Korean coming-of-age film "The Gorals." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

At first glance, the girls seem like oddballs or nobodies.

But it is their unique characteristics that shine throughout the film and propel it forward.

In-hye comes across as meek in front of her ambitious boyfriend, who has no qualms about hiding their relationship or tarnishing her parents' reputation to win votes in the student council presidential election. Yet she diligently and affectionately cares for the ducks, roosters and rabbits at the school farm that everyone else has neglected, giving them human names like Hee-sun and Min-su.

Seo-hee carries a jackknife to school and is someone no one in the class will talk to, as In-hye's boyfriend puts it. But she is a passionate survivalist with an impressive knowledge of how to survive in the wild and during disasters.

Jeong-ae is the most naive of the four, so naive to the extent that she shrugs off the cruel notes other kids stick to her back. At the same time, she is warmhearted, gets along well with her father's young, pregnant foreign wife and deftly flatters the school security guard to get her friends out of trouble.

Soo-min initially comes across as cold and distant, but gradually becomes the group's backbone -- a dependable, older sister-like presence who is always there when her friends need her most.

This still, provided by Cinema Dal, shows a scene from the Korean coming-of-age film "The Gorals." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

One by one, the girls join In-hye as she builds a sanctuary for the animals in a nearby forest upon hearing that the school plans to shutter the school farm due to a bird flu outbreak.

They also adopt the name "gorals" for their group, after the endangered, goat-like mountain mammals known for freely roaming and jumping across steep cliffs.

The "shelter," as the girls call it, eventually becomes a sanctuary for the four friends themselves -- a place where they can truly be themselves and find the courage to carve out lives beyond what society considers the conventional path.

Their uninhibited lives, as well as their friendship, encounter ups and downs as graduation draws near and choosing the next step becomes a pressing reality and ultimately, with the demolition of their shelter.

Yet the gorals, true to their name, learn to embrace whatever the future holds rather than confining themselves to the choices society lays before them.

This still, provided by Cinema Dal, shows a scene from the Korean coming-of-age film "The Gorals." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

As the film moves toward its ending, it lays out a mouthful of food for thought, touching on themes ranging from animal rights to adulthood, friendship and multiculturalism.

Compared to the many coming-of-age films that focus on troubled Korean teens, "The Gorals" at times can feel like an unrealistic fairy tale.

But its lush, green visuals, combined with the rare sight of four girls venturing into the wilderness and setting off on a road trip -- not to mention the film's deep affection for animals -- make it a breath of fresh air in Korean coming-of-age cinema.

Director Yoo Jae-wook said he named the film after the endangered species because he thought the girls resemble the gorals -- creatures that may appear lost but are capable of going anywhere.

"The Gorals" is set for release Wednesday.

This composite still, provided by Cinema Dal, shows scenes from the Korean coming-of-age film "The Gorals." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)