Crash Course in Romance

Comedy / Drama / Suspense rolled together

This truly was a great series from the very beginning right through the end. I'm always a fan of Kyung Ho and he did not disappoint in his unique role as Chi Yeol. He and Do Yeon make great entertainment together in this sometimes drama, sometimes comedy. I don't get the craziness everyone has for an advanced math tutor, the trillion dollar man, but once I get beyond that, this was extremely enjoyable to watch.
There's much more comedic situations early on, gradually changing into a much more dramatic format blending with some definite suspense tones later. From episode 11 on, everything really takes an enormous change of direction. The shocking revelations that take place in the later part of the series makes for some fantastic entertainment.
Eui Shik & Jae Ha, seeing them in other roles, you really appreciate their performances in this drama. Truly impressive.
The rest of the supporting cast, Chae Min, Yoon Seo & Min Jae really complete the puzzle in making this a great series to rewatch a second time.
I think what stopped me from giving out a 10 as an overall rating was the final two episodes. I really didn't get the long lost mother showing up from Japan, creating a new drama story that really wasn't needed. Not only showing up, but her departure in the final episode was so casually accepted, it was hardly spoken of after her exit. We were still reeling from the shocking chain of events that occurred in the previous two episodes, it was not necessary at all to add that in.
That being said, this is definitely a series to enjoy. Great entertainment!!!

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My new classic after school drama

Romance between actual adults is always a concept that can either hit or miss for me. At times they tend to take themselves too seriously. This drama is just very fun and isn’t going to melodramatic route at all, which makes it feel completely fresh.

It’s so interesting to see this story as there are many layers and turns that this show takes that I didn’t expect. It would spoil the fun to list them all. I’ll say it pretty briefly but this show is fun. I love the concept of adults with kids having their lives and that being the focus. I have seen many dramas about teenagers but not am honestly more interrelated in the adult life and am glad it’s represented in a fun way rather than being too intense.

This show weaves together plot lines and character interactions in such a fun way where there are tropes but they are full of charm.

I have seen Jung Kyung Ho in I’m Sorry I Love you and am very impressed at his maturity through the years. He still is so handsome if not better looking.. of course I say that but his acting is so fun to watch in a romcom. He is so particular and arrogant but he isn’t praised for it. He has a lot of room to develop and already with a handful of episodes I love the banter between the two leads. I’m really interesting in seeing how this show plays out and hope it doesn’t get boring or go in a super dramatic and sad route. This drama should stay lighthearted and just needs to keep doing what it’s doing and it’s very good.

Towards the end it gets a little misguided with the whole second plot.. maybe third plot? Nonetheless it got me with that twist so I was entertained. This drama is just a good rounded out full drama.

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BEST ROM-COM WITH A TWIST OF MYSTERY. MUST WATCH.

I don't write reviews that much however, for this drama I feel like it's better to drop a review so that more people can watch this drama. Many people might say that the FL casting was bad or there were too many unnecessary sub-plots. But I will say that all those things added to the charm of the drama. Though it could pass it as only rom-com as well but I liked those small plots as well. They added seriousness to the issues that this drama wanted to address.
About the FL, I think she portrayed her role very well. She looked perfect as someone who had gone through so much in life and became older earlier. If you go through so much at a young age, your beauty bound to fade away and her casting was perfect for the show. Though I wish they could have dress up prettily at special ocassions but I still feel that the kind of style was her character.
She and Kyungho complimented each other so well and complete the drama. From bickering with each other to falling in love with each other, this couple gave us all kinds of butterfly emotions in stomach.
I also loved how the drama came to a perfect ending with all the characters falling in it's place. The best part was how mothers came to an understanding about their kids and how su-a, who was the most stressed one found a friend in Geon Wu. I am so happy that Hae Yi and Sun Jae was together as well. Our babies grew up so well.
For now I will say that this was the best rom-com of 2023 yet. I am sure we will get more rom-coms this year but for now, this will be on my top list. If you're wondering to watch or not, I will say go ahead and give it a try. After 2 episodes, you will be addicted to the drama yourself.

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not to be the woke friend but...

i don't usually write reviews, because many times my thoughts have already eloquently been put into words by another user, but this time i actually did feel the need to say something i didn't necessarily read on here. because while i do agree that this drama is a whole mess and everything went downhill just after the midpoint, the way everyone is talking about the female lead is so extreme in my opinion. yes, she is way older than what the drama makes her out to be, but almost everyone on here wants to pretend that a man can't fall for an older woman and it looks ridiculous and she dresses like a grandma and all that. i'm sorry but the way you guys are talking about this issue reeks of misogyny lmfao. yes, she is older than her late thirties and yes she dresses almost exclusively in knitted sweaters and big puffer jackets, but does that really make it hard to believe that a younger man would be interested in her? the chemistry was not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, i have seen way worse in other drama's. and when its an older man with a younger girl, those same people will stay mute on the matter. it bothers me a lot how 80% of the reviews on here are talking shit about the female lead this way, when really what made this drama bad is the extremely poor writing.

which, yes, does include the female lead and her best friend being written as caricatures of middle aged single ladies. i have to be honest and actually say i think the writing also reeks of misogyny. dressing up two single middle aged ladies as grandma's, having hysterical mothers act like tyrants around their children and making the same mothers obsessed with scandals and gossip. everything here feels like an exaggerated stereotype, and i really didn't appreciate that. i think the teenagers is where this drama shined the most, with roh yoon seo as nam hae i. i also really did like the acting in this!

but that's also the only thing i liked about this drama i would say. there were so many loose ends, so many plotholes and twists (especially in the second half of the drama) that really didn't belong. i really don't understand why this slice of life romance drama had to turn into a murder mystery plot, it was really stupid. and then to not even wrap it up at all and leave so many questions unanswered, makes you wonder if really this needed to have its own plotline at all. it's too bad, i would have liked it way better if all that hadn't happened and it had just stuck to being a romance drama. because, unlike 80% of reviewers on here, i didn't mind the female lead at all and i don't think the chemistry was as bad as everyone makes it out to be :)

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Realistic but Comforting

I appreciate the realness of this drama. The romance took a while to develop in my opinion but that’s how real life is sometimes. You take the time to get to know someone, see their faults and learn to accept your own.

A drama filled with understanding differing lifestyles and realizing that all that glitters isn’t gold. And people can fall in love even if they are from different social statuses.

I also appreciate the maturity level. It’s not just child like adults ignoring each other. Misunderstandings are usually cleared up with some sort of good communication.

Also like the attention the writers placed on persons who are autistic.

I think if you’re looking for a slower paced drama/love story with a few of life’s bumps along the way, this one is for you. Overall happy ending.

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Solid slice of life, interesting serial killer angel, cute romances but the chemistry was a bit off

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean comedy romance drama with 16, 70 Minute Episodes.

First I provide a synopsis then a review.

Synopsis
Nam Haeng-seon's (Jeon Do-yeon) has been all about supporting the niece her sister abandoned and her autistic brother. After giving up a spot on the national handball team to raise her niece and take care of her disabled brother, she carries on with the recipes her deceased mother used and runs a banchan shop that became a favorite of food bloggers. Money is tight as a single wage earner and the last thing she needs is to deal with an eccentric spoiled celebrity who breaks her autistic brother's phone following an misunderstanding. Or so she thinks. Choi Chi-yeol (Jung Kyung-ho) works at an elite academy where people line up quite literally to get their child a prized spot in one of his tutor classes. The two are destined to interact though as Haeng-seon's niece requests a slot in Chi-yeol's sessions so she can bring up her scores and Chi-yeol finds that, for some reason, Haeng-seon's food is the only food that does not trigger his eating disorder. It provides a slice of life of South Korea's competitive educational system which provides a backdrop for an unlikely romance.

Review

Overall a very light hearted romantic comedy with a slice of life into the competitive world of academics. I found that view on how much power and influence wealthy parents can have interesting and not all that different than what you might see with ivy league colleges in the United States. I recommend it for anyone that likes straight forward romances, slice of life and family dynamics.

Spoilers

The male and female lead had a 10 year age gap in the actual ages of the actors with the Jeon Do-Yeon being 10 years older than Jung Kung-ho. Do yeon is a beautiful and elegant lady but she looks her age. Kung-ho has a young face that looked even younger than his age and made the gap seem even larger. Both did an amazing job acting but the physical appearance of the age gap really disrupted the chemistry in my opinion. It was more sweet than passionate.

It was a little disappointing that the issue with Chi-yeol's assistant Ji-Dong Hee (Shin Jae-ha) ended with suicide. It felt like too little for everything he had done.

The chemistry between Haeng-seong's best friend, Kim Yong-joo (Lee Bong-ryun) and her brother, Nam Jae-woo (Oh Eui-shick) was also off. With the brother's autism it would have taken a slow build over the series with them slowly showing feelings for each other. Her abruptly expressing interest in him seemed like she was doing it only out of loneliness and his reciprocation wound up feeling like pity. There was no "ah finally" when they became a couple because it really wasn't that much of the series where she expressed interest in him, he initially rejected her, then they were together.

As a fan of the reality dating show "Heart Signal" I was fan girling when Bae Yoon-kyung had a role as Chi-yeol's blind date and 2nd romantic interest. I am excited her acting career has taken off and I thought she did a great job in this show.

I loved the relationship between the daughter/nice, Nam Hae-Yi (Roh Yoon-seo) and her aunt/mother Nan Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon). If you love and raise a child biology does not matter. And, an aunt, because of dominant and recessive genes can be more closely genetically related to their niece or nephew than the mother anyway.

I loved the relationship between the daughter/niece, Nam Hae-Yi (Roh Yoon-seo) and her aunt/mother Nan Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon). If you love and raise a child biology does not matter. And, an aunt, because of dominant and recessive genes can be more closely genetically related to their niece or nephew than the mother anyway. did I not want to see Hae-Yi try to fix him or feel like she owed anyone that, I felt like he wasn't there for her during some really key times when he withdrew and basically ghosted her. That is why I was more a fan of her dating the ice hockey player and fellow student Seo Geon-hu (Lee Min-jae) because he was more straight forward with his feelings, always there for her, and I thought he would have been very good for the often too serious and underconfident Hae-yi. Instead he wound up with selfish and spoiled and almost mean girl Bang Soo-ah (Kang Na-eon) who he claimed was nice but, aside from one time when she welcomed back Hae-yi when she returned from the hospital and gave her notes, never showed a kind side. I thought the ice hockey playing, lovable and handsome Geon-hu deserved better.

The friendship between Geon-hu and Seon-jae was cute as it developed out of their rivalry over Hae-ri. I felt like Geon-hu gave up Hae-ri as he could tell her hear was with Seon-jae but also he started to like Seon-jae as a friend and was willing to give up the girl for the friendship. Still I wish he hadn't settled for a character I did not find likeable. Hae-ri's loyal girl friend Jang Dan Ji (Ryu Da-In) would have been a better choice as she was consistently nice and loyal and he did seem to have a flirty friendship going on with her before he suddenly switched to Soo-ah.

#CrashCourseInRomance
#JeonDoYeon
#JungKyungHo
#RohYoonSeo
#LeeChaeMin
#ShinJaeHa
#OhEuiShick
#LeeMinJae

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The union of my expectation and reality

This review is going to be different from my usual style. I don’t want to go through and dissect the show point by point because it would be nitpicking. I want a broader approach because the show affects me at a more visceral level.

Fundamentally, my overall emotion after completed this show is disappointment. On paper, this show should be one of the biggest hit of 2023. Indeed, the ratings and the online chatters all points to a buzzworthy show. That is to be expected when you start with an award winning script writer who has penned hits like Once Again, Oh My Ghost and Weightlifting Fairy, then add the power coupling of Jeon Do-yeon and Jung Kyung-ho. Throw in a laundry list of veteran support actors and you have one heady mix. This should yield nothing short of perfection. I should be able to just write QED and adjourn to the Union Bar for some (cough) intellectual discords.

However, by the half way mark, I can’t ignore a growing sense of unease and it only intensified as the story unfolds further. What bothers and concerns me is not the acting, which is solid, nor a bad script but it is just so . . . . underwhelming. It lacks that magical quality I'd expect from our writer-nim. To be brutally honest, this is not her best work. Most plots are tropey, the majority of support roles are one dimensional, the murder mystery is hardly suspenseful and why do we even need one? She pushes the button hard on the exam hell suffered by many senior students but she offered little redress. If anything, the ML is a hypocrite because while fully acknowledging how unfair and stressful the CSAT system is, he also makes an obscene amount of money tutoring and basks in his status as a top star teacher.

Similarly, after all the trials and tribulations relating to the exam system, everyone comes up roses. All the young protagonists gets into college courses of their choice. Even the sport jock who failed the exam is now a hardworking lad who won't give up. Hwaiting! It is not exactly a warts and all exposé, is it?

This spills over into the murder mystery. I was really expecting a tight and suspenseful whodunit but it soon becomes clear that the murderer’s identity and even his raison d’etre are fairly obvious. The only people who are fooled by the numerous red herrings are the local police. Of course this leads to some soul searching by the leads but in the end, the punishment fits the crime and we collectively moved on without a backward glance.

This is a recurring issue. While the show decries certain issues, the message is conflicting and diluted. The murderer was tormented and abused but because he committed heinous crimes, he is the one to blame. Everyone else is a victim. Ditto, the helicopter parents who drove their kids to distraction or worse are mostly given hall passes. The Show concludes with scenes of our long-suffering young cohorts being happy, well-adjusted college students enjoying themselves. Is the Show condemning the system or supporting it?

As a piece of entertainment, it is buzz worthy and very watchable and ticked all the boxes. It gets the Monday morning water cooler seal of approval, but I find it wanting. It pains me to have to write this review. It should have been a celebration of a great script and wonderful acting. To be fair, there is an lovely autumn romance with its fair share of swoon worthy moments. The amount of chemistry is up for debate but I digress. There are tensions and high dramas but they are also weakened by some inelegant story telling.

If I had known nothing about the writer and the ensemble actors then I'd be happy to watch it as a decent k-drama with its fair share of foibles but, alas, I do know better. This makes it all the harder to be placated by the last episode which I can only describe as sugar overload. Everyone is gifted with a HEA ending whether they deserved it or not. I, for one, cannot unsee the scene of the pregnant FL's BFF chatting with one of the gang-of-mums about her marriage. I literally groaned out loud.

One final thought. Whomever is the FL’s stylist needs to be locked away in a dank dark dungeon. It takes a herculean effort to dress the FL in the most frumpy anti-fashion way. That, my friend, is THE true crime.

Peace out.

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Crash Course is a drama that has everything that you can think of packed into one show. Scandals, crazy moms, romance, school drama, murder mystery... It can seem like a lot, but it is honestly quite an enjoyable watch. I only found myself being really bothered by 3 plot points overall.

Why bring in other plots right at the last 2 episodes? I've always hated this in other dramas as I feel it takes away from the main story you're wanting to see. Especially towards the end of the show. While time could've been spent towards more interesting storylines such as Soo-Ah's illness-stress-thing going on. Even more scenes of Haeng-Seon and Chi-Yeol would've been better than the random plot they threw in for seemingly no reason. Also, one of the main plot points in this drama is that he cannot eat any food without getting sick besides Haeng-Seon's and her mom's, but that's never really explained or given a good explanation entirely other than it's just used as a purpose of him being in the shop all the time + lovers fate trope..

The acting in this show is amazing especially the Male lead, Jung Kyung Ho. I loved watching him and his character in Hospital Playlist and it was nice seeing him play a character that's quite the opposite from that one. He portrays the snobby yet only cute and sweet towards you character really well. The side characters honestly shined the most though, which I always tend to favor them in dramas more anyways. Roh Yoon Seo as Hae-Yi did an incredible job and I was hooked on seeing who she would choose in the end. Lee Bong Ryun always steals the show in any drama that she's in and I loved watching Kim Young-Joo find love. Especially not with someone I was expecting. It was an exciting surprise in the story for me. Oh Eui Shik also did a great job playing Haeng-Seon's younger brother.

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Tough one. Stuck with it - Kinda...

This one was a tough one to watch. In the beginning, some of the characters are so irritating that I was disappointed to find that they would be a love interest or, still in the story 4 episodes later. I thought, casting wise, this group was a bit of a mess. Maybe, closer to reality? But, I just couldn't see the two leads together - at all. She was so mean and so unforgiving. He went out of his way to continue to patronize her business, replace the phone, etc. and she still couldn't let anything go. Who cares if we see a character show regret if they don't follow through? A character should not be rewarded for being a thorn in someone's side.

As usual - some stellar performances - the only reason I watched a portion of every episode. , Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha) was brilliant. To change his personality on a dime like that - perfect. I could understand why he chose to die in the end. All the actors/actresses for the high school characters were perfect. Lee Chae-Min's breakdown while taking the exam was perfection - you really felt what he was going through.

Jeon Do-yeon's Nam Haeng-soon and Jung Kyung-ho's Choi Chi-yeol - did not work for me. I could not get to the point of accepting that they were suitable for each other as a couple. I could see them helping each other out in their own ways but, it would have been nicer to see them end up with other people. The late addition of the true mother was a waste of time on everyone's part. It wasn't even needed - especially, since she had zero redeeming qualities. Jae-Woo(Oh Eui-Sik) - eh - did not like that his issues all pertained to what the story needed to keep moving. Writer's convenience = lazy.

Also, regardless if it is life-like or, what - just because characters are together in a scene - you don't have to fill every waking moment with their nonstop conversation. I got to the point every time certain characters showed up - I knew I could fast forward through their whole time and not miss a single thing.

Really hated how hard the writers worked at making the whole cast have a happy, fairytale existence in the end. Villain? Takes his own life. Leads? Happy successful life. Teens? Exciting happy college life - not a speck or, mention of therapy or, how they healed anywhere. Parent's - awful to the core - ruined people's lives? All forgiven. Ruined and nearly put your own children in the hospital or, the morgue? All forgiven. Ruined marriages because you focused on all the wrong things? No worries.

Thank goodness for the fast forward button.

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A drama with romance, murder and mayhem.

What's not to like here? This K-drama is amazing the acting is good.

The story follows a popular middle-aged male teacher and a woman with a restaurant as their romance develops. A town full of kids being pressured to get the highest grade by their parents and if you want to be successful then he is the teacher you need in private school.

While the romance is slowly percolating between adults and of course students. Can't have a school setting without a little romance drama and my favorite unrequited love.

There is some mayhem and murder and other sad events. This drama is full of the crazy pressure these kids face from their parents and peers and some of its effects.

Differently a good watch.

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Started Out Better Than It Ended

I was loving this show up until about ep 10 or 11. It reversed some expectations. It was funny, it was light, it was heartfelt. The cast is brilliant. Jung Kyung Ho knocked it out of the park from start to finish. That being said, I didn't really feel much chemistry between him and Jeon Do Yeon... She's a good actress, but their relationship had "mommy issues" vibes. Anyway, the whole cast was great. The guy who played Jang Hui Jae, for someone who barely had any lines, was stellar.

I was really enjoying the humour, the plot, everything. I was invested in the stupid scandal being solved. I was invested in the education system plot. I LOVED that the "villains" (the mom group) had a strong motive and were believable.

So, what went wrong? Three things. It kind of went off the rails in 3 different directions in the last quarter of the show.

1. I felt the murder plot was unnecessary. That time would have been better spent fleshing out characters like Su-ah. They had so much material that they could have worked with in an engaging way... but they went the murder plot route, which cheapened the storyline.

2. Why bring back the mom for a brief moment? And why did Hae-e need to end up in a coma? This all felt so unnecessary. I would have really enjoyed if they used that time to better flesh out the dynamics of the teen group. That felt hurriedly wrapped up, which brings me to my last point...

3. Not everyone needed to be paired up in the last 10 minutes... that was awkward and unnecessary. Also, Nam Hae-e and Geon-hu had good chemistry, and it would have been sweet to see his hard work in school pay off with a kiss from Hae-e. Conversely, Sun-jae and her never had anything other than friendship vibes. Having Yeon-ju hook up with Jae-woo was just unrealistic. That whole last episode was bizarre and unnatural.

Actually, 4 things.

4. Not everyone needed a redemption arc and a happy ending! I was looking forward to seeing Su-a's mom unmasked for the jerk she was by her friend group. Yes, she had a messy scene and was shamed, but it's not the same. Instead, everyone ends up with their happy little ending, everything neatly packaged and wrapped up and tied in a bow. Su-a's mental/stress issues magically vanish and school is fine. Hui-jae goes into the army, etc. you get it. It just felt very hallmarky and kind of undersold how nuanced the story could have been.

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