Weak Hero Class 1

A Gritty Tale of Survival, Friendship, and the Dark Side of High School

is it too late to write a review?

I remember the first time I watched this series because of Park Ji-hoon. He is truly one of those actors who can play facial expressions.

PLOT AND VIBES
The story revolves around Yeon Si Eun, a top student who looks weak on the outside but is actually a total genius at using his brains to outsmart bullies. He's not your usual fighter, but the way he uses strategy and his surroundings to take down opponents is chef's kiss. The drama does a great job of showing how intelligence can be just as powerful as brute force.

One of the things that hit me hard was how the series portrays loneliness and the desperate need for real connections. Si Eun, Soo Ho, and Bum Seok’s friendship feels so real yet so heartbreaking. They’re all broken in their own ways, and seeing them try to protect each other is both heartwarming and painful. The show makes you question: how far would you go to save your friends, and at what cost?

💔 THEMES AND EMOTIONS
Weak Hero Class 1 doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of society—corruption, the bystander effect, and how the system fails to protect the weak. The bullying scenes are brutal, not just physically but also mentally. It’s a reminder of how traumatic school life can be for some people.

The tragedy of Bum Seok’s character development is one of the most painful parts. Watching him spiral into darkness because of his insecurities and the lack of genuine support is heartbreaking. His character shows how loneliness and unresolved trauma can push someone to make terrible choices.

👊 ACTION
The fight scenes are top-tier, honestly. They’re not just about throwing punches but are cleverly choreographed to reflect Si Eun’s calculating mind. The rawness of the fights, combined with the dark and gritty cinematography, makes everything feel so real and suffocating.

ACTING SKILLS
Park Ji Hoon as Yeon Si Eun? He killed it. His expressions were so on point—how he can look both empty and furious at the same time is beyond me. The subtle shifts in his eyes and tone made Si Eun’s pain and rage so believable. Choi Hyun Wook and Hong Kyung also brought so much depth to their characters. You can literally feel their emotions through the screen.

FINAL THOUGHTS
What really stuck with me was how the show explores the cycle of violence. Nobody in this world is just a villain or just a hero – everyone's shaped by their circumstances and the trauma they've experienced. It asks tough questions about whether you can fight violence with violence without becoming what you hate.

Weak Hero Class 1 is not just about school violence; it’s a story about survival, loneliness, and how trauma shapes us. It leaves you questioning society’s role in enabling abuse and makes you empathize with all the flawed characters. It’s dark, intense, and might leave you emotionally wrecked, but honestly, it’s worth every second.

This drama isn't your typical high school story filled with romance and fluff. Instead, it dives deep into the harsh reality of school violence, bullying, and the struggle to survive in a world that doesn’t seem to care. If you’re into intense, raw, and emotionally charged stories, this one's definitely for you!

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If I had to go off the scale I would

By far one of my fav kdramas of all time 10000000/10 , I had nth to complain about , it was perfect , I'm waiting unpatiently for the 2nd season.
The choice of characters was sooo on point , I can't think of more fitting actors , it made me feel a lot of emotions, I was looking fit smth like this , if I had the opportunity to wipe my memory and rewatch it I would in a Heartbeat, it portrays high-school reality and from diffrence perspective through the characters , I specifically loved how they bonded by helping each other , all I can say is that u don't need to waste one second reading through reviews, just go watch it and thank later .

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You Do Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain

I first saw this series about two years ago, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't quite know how to feel about it. I was, in fact, very reluctant to rewatch the season because I didn't want to relive it. But I felt compelled to do so as I intended to watch the second season and I could barely remember the first, probably due to selective memory.

The first half of the series was engaging and the action thrilling. I was specifically impressed by the creative ways Si Eun fought, it was visceral and almost feral yet always strategic and well-thought out. But just when I thought I had the whole plot figured out, it turned every trope I could think of on its head, and delivered a twist so disturbing, resonating with me so deeply that it upset me. I'm not going into all the details as plenty of people have already written reviews that are similar to mine. So I'm going to just talk about the emotional scar that this series has left me, my gripes, and how they affected my rating.

Anyone who has ever been bullied physically or psychologically can relate to this story and I am one of those people. I saw myself in Beom Seok's shoes, the socially awkward and tormented teen who always felt inferior and a total outsider even amongst those closest to him. So for him to turn against his friends and do a complete 180 was distressing to me to say the least because I knew deep down that could've been me, I could've done that if I had chosen to go down that path. Many of this drama's viewers hate on Beom Seok, but he's as real as it gets. He is what happens when a tortured and lonely soul, who was raised to believe that power and acknowledgement can make people love him and see him as an equal, is pushed to the limit.

Even though this part of the story made me disconnect myself and tune out from what I was watching, I realized that his character and betrayal is what truly makes this drama so powerful. This is not just a drama about bullying, it's about the tragedy of what comes after. It's about the psychologically troubled teens who finally snap after all the torture, humiliation, and demoralization by their abusers and decide to bring guns to school to shoot every last one of their classmates in absolute rage. I believe Beom Seok zeroed in on Suho because he was disappointed in him. He placed Suho on a pedestal because he was the complete opposite of his father. He lashed out when the idol he worshipped turned out to be someone whom he thought was no better than his abusive father. I do not condone his actions but he had his reasons no matter how selfish or twisted they were.

But as much as I was moved and emotionally tortured by this drama because of the painful realism they portrayed these characters, I couldn't and still can't give it a much higher rating. The reason is the violence in the last episode that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected Si Eun to avenge Suho by using his usual tactics and being smart about it, but he didn't. He went full Rambo with guns blazing and the bloody war he waged against his enemies took me out of it because it was so unrealistic and just plain ridiculous. No school would allow such a thing! And for the things he did, he would've been sent to juvenile hall and even forced to leave the country because no school would ever take him in no matter the circumstances. As an educator, I cannot begin to fathom why the teachers can be so unbelievably useless and ignorant! Dude, the police or even school security would've been called the moment Si Eun walked in with murder in his eyes. But there was practically no intervention. I mean, the fights inside the classroom were already wildly unrealistic, but that last fight was times ten! The only thing that made that scene less cheesy was Jihoon's acting. He sold it, I'm not gonna lie. But I still would've preferred that they had dialed it down and made it more grounded. There are other ways to exact revenge other than going full berserker mode, which I felt was uncharacteristic of Si Eun at that point in his life. Sure, old Si Eun would've taken the pen and stabbed someone with it with no remorse. But the Si Eun who found friendship in Suho would've stopped and thought about how Suho would've reacted if he had gone back to his old violent self. I guess the reason why I was slightly disappointed by how things turned out is I expected a lot more from this drama considering the strong start. Maybe I'm a bit harsh, but I can only give this an 8.5 and no higher than that. This drama could've been truly brilliant if they had managed to maintain the quality of the storytelling and fight scenes until the end. I expected a clever solution, but I got bloody violence in the end.

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weak hero class 1

this kdrama was such a fun one for me to watch i stayed up at night to finish it and have a few quick points to bring up from my initial viewing

- acting: acting was SO good honestly especially from park jihoon who was able to convey what he was feeling from just a look & his outburst at the end gave me chills i loved it

- plot points:
- this drama could have been broken up into two seasons from episode (1-5) with the gambling plot and then (6-8) with beomseok’s plot but both of them had me invested in it overall especially with the story development for beomseok i can understand his insecure personality due to his father and the need to leech onto the “popular group” but the fact that it led to the death of suho puts him past the reedemable point for me especially since suho had been nothing but caring for him (all this over not following him back on instagram is insane??)

overall:
shows like this hold my interest so well even when the fighting scenes are beyond realistic im at the edge of my seat also loved choi hyunwook in this he deserved so much better but im excited to see how sieun adapts to his new classroom environment in season 2!

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This drama surprised me

I had known about this drama for a few months but never actually started it since i didn’t think much of it from what I heard. All i knew is that Park Jihoon and Choi Hyun Wook (who i really liked in twenty five twenty one btw, he’s a great actor!) played the two main characters. I started it a few days ago and i have to say it’s so much better than i ever imagined.

The story is something almost everyone can relate to, it’s about high school students who all have similar but very different lives at the same time. My favorite character was definitely Ahn Sooho (Choi Hyunwook), but I really liked Sieun too. I quickly got very attached to both characters, their friendship is so well portrayed and it’s realistic too. The actors did such a great job with that and had great chemistry as a duo.

This drama contains violence and I did see some people who thought about dropping it because of that. For me personally I love action dramas but I can understand that since it’s school violence and gets pretty extreme at times.

I want to add that I loved the music so much too! the intro song ‘Hero’ has been added to the playlist!! The music fits the entire concept of this drama and brought everything together and made it even more emotional 😭🫶

This drama constantly kept me on the edge of my seat and I had no problem finishing it in 2 days😂
It’s no doubt one of my favorite k-dramas i’ve watched so far!

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"You guys are so predictable. Does this fill your ego?"

(+)
To sum up this series: this is the ancient tale of the fragility of youth and/or the toxicity of macho masculinity. Wherein the only emotions that most males could muster here is their ego-filled aggression, anger, and greed.


(-)
School bullying and male aggression have been, as prior mentioned, an ancient tale. As if a vampire that continues to age, but never dies—these issues are almost, if not always, part of most KDramas and even those from other countries. Though, an ancient thing does not always mean a cliche thing, especially such matters that are as rampant and relevant as these mentioned subjects.

What made this series rather different was its straightforwardness right from the start. It was gripping to watch from start to finish as there were no unnecessary fillers neither irrelevant tropes. Although I enjoy a little romance at times, I was glad that it was rather focused on its very themes of youth, friendship, and violence instead of distracting the audience with side stories of romance as what most KDramas love to do.

It was satisfying to watch a main protagonist that is so serious about their studies and being a responsible student all while still not being a pushover and also not refusing to back down to bullies. It can be really exhausting to see this trope of a nerdy intellectual student who is always portrayed as weak or a pushover. Thus, it was really satiating to see the main protagonist apply their interests in maths, psychology, physics, etc. as a strategy in their physical fights in spite of not being absolutely gifted in physical strength.


(x)
The series is truly a heart-wrenching violence multiplied. Yet, it was also a sundry of heart-warming spectacles. Dark and horrific, but the humanity here was not blind.


(÷)
As much as I really liked this series, I still have some divisive opinions. I instantly appreciated the way they started this with the main protagonist applying maths, physics, and psychology in his physical fights. Though, towards the end, such premise deteriorated and was not properly utilized. I understood that towards the climax, the emotions of the main protagonist were totally heightened and desperate for revenge. Though, the revenge could have been much more intriguing and also consistent with the way they introduced his character if they utilized more such wit and strategic thinking.

(=)
Overall, I still can say that this series was absolutely outstanding, especially, in terms of acting performance, pacing, direction, and musical composition. I was really impressed with Si-Eun (Ji Hoon)'s performance here, especially that intense eye acting. Yes, I really love it when a thespian do know how to act greatly with their eyes.

The OST and the direction and choreography of the action scenes were also marvelous. The writing was also excellent, though I believe that there was still more necessary exertion to do. Though, I really despise this old tale of violence being a never-ending cycle. Thus, I am looking forward to its final end in the upcoming second season.

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He was ready to burn the world

Overall 9/10
🌟🌟🌟🌟⭐

Wow...I don't know where to start. The last episode left me speechless.
#givemymanyoonsieunabreak?✋
Honestly, it's all just so sad. The friendship and the split...How simple misunderstandings and misperceptions can utterly ruin people. The pure despair- everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was overwhelming good. The actors did an absolutely fantastic job portraying their characters - there was not a single moment that I felt this didn't suit the character. Park Jihoon...wow, wow, wow! He made me feel every emotion through his acting, I've never felt so affected by the emotions and feelings of a character. There is so much I could talk about, but the show speaks for itself. Highly recommend watching this. I finished it in 2 sittings!


!!POTENTIAL SPOILER!!

Note:
(Beomseok is a very easily misunderstood character. Nothing he did is justified but I just can't hate him.)

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la historia y la actuación

muy buena 👌
se las recomiendo al millllll
la historia o el guión es muy bueno 👌 desde el primer capítulo me agarro
la actuación del protagonista es muy buena mi iso llorar nada más con verlo una excelente actuación 🎭 .
como le decía que esta bien narrada .
cuenta una historia que creo que vivimos en la vida real . en los grandes problemas que nos podemos meter . que hoy en día es algo que en esta juventud vive .
espero la segunda temporada no puede quedar con ese final .
se las recomiendo no lo piensen mucho y véanla.
los pueden ver en doramasgo,doramasflix,entre otras .10 de 10.

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Incredible drama unfolded

Additionally, this series satisfied my appetite because I have always been a big fan of gory dramas. The drama's acting is something that needs to be discussed frequently because the characters keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you wondering what their next move will be. Additionally, the relationships that were portrayed in the K-drama are noteworthy, particularly the bromance. Initially, when the main character is introduced to us, he is portrayed as a person who, in theory, has no empathy for or attachment to those around him. But as the story goes on, it becomes clear that this is all a façade. Once he becomes attached to you, he will stop at nothing to keep you safe, and even when you betray him, it is difficult for him to beat or destroy you. I discovered that this K-drama is based on a webtoon; even though the source material was not exactly adhered to, some homage was still paid to it. I am going to read the webcomic as a result, so I can confirm for myself that it is brilliant, just as everyone has said.
The OSTs that were played really captured the spirit of the drama; I enjoyed them in every episode. This K-drama, which also has psychological overtones, should really be watched by everyone. I never rewatch movies or television shows, but I might make an exception for this series, so that is the only reason I gave it an 8 for rewatch value. I am excited for this Korean drama's second season.

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Lack of a proper story

"I recently watched Boyhood (and loved it). As I noticed people comparing it with "Weak Hero Class 1," I became intrigued and started watching this action-packed Kdrama yesterday, finishing it in one day, lol.

Now, regarding the comparison, Weak Hero Class 1 is as much like Boyhood as Titanic is similar to The Notebook. Yes, they share similar themes, but that's about it.

What I loved about Weak Hero Class 1 were the action scenes; they were satisfying, nicely choreographed, and looked cool. The acting was also great; the two main characters, Si Eun and Soo Hoo, had so much chemistry that I had to Google if this show was a BL, lol.

However, putting the positive aspects aside, what I didn't like about Weak Hero Class 1 was the lack of a proper story. The narrative kept changing, and the plot was inconsistent. It felt to me like the sole purpose of the drama was to showcase the fighting scenes instead of focusing on the story.

That being said, I loved the show and would definitely rewatch it sometime in the future."

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